Minh’s Barber Shop - Grand Opening at Academy Junction

On Thursday, I was on my way to a West County Chamber Board Meeting when I was flagged down by an old friend and Odenton’s newest retailer, Minh’s Barber Shop, located one door over from the West County Chamber at A.J. Properties’ Academy Junction (off Piney Orchard Parkway and Rt. 175).

After my meeting I had an opportunity to catch up with Minh while being one of his first haircuts at his new establishment.

I’ve been going to Minh at the Columbia Barber Shop (off Snowden River Parkway and Mintstrel Way) since they opened almost 10 years ago.  Since then the Columbia Barber Shop just keeps expanding their chairs to keep up with demand. Now, Minh is ready for prime time. Minh’s Barber Shop anticipates following this same successful business model in Odenton, MD and is open for business.

They provide quick and affordable clipper cuts for men at only $9.00 a head.  If you like to be pampered with a shampoo he will hook you up for an extra $5.00, but some men like myself just want a clipper cut and be on our way (after asking for a quick neck massage that is).  What I really like about this business model is that Walk-Ins are always welcome (for those of us on the run) and the wait is never very long at all (especially in their comfy leather chairs watching the flat screen TV).

As a Board Member for the West County Chamber of Commerce, I would like to be the first to welcome Minh to Odenton and look forward to many more quality hair cuts to come.  Come on Odenton and Fort Meade residents, let’s support Minh by stopping by during his Grand Opening this weekend.  Don’t forget to tell him the Wilson Bros. sent you and to remind him to give you an extra long neck massage.

Odenton Town Center - When’s That Going to Happen?

Shaun and I have displayed the West County Chamber’s Odenton Town Center Exhibit at several community events over the last year or so, including DISA conferences and Church Grand Openings. It makes me smile every time I hear someone say, “The Odenton Town Center, huh? When’s that going to happen?”

All I have to do is start going through all the major construction going on right now to see their faces change and realize they haven’t been to Odenton in a while. One great example of what’s happening inside the Odenton Town Center is The Village at Odenton Station.

Opposite the busiest MARC Rail Station on the Penn Line with 3,000 riders per day, you can’t help but notice Dolben’s The Village at Odenton Station project. The Village at Odenton Station is Anne Arundel County’s first transit-oriented, mixed-use development. The development consists of 57,000 square feet of retail beneath 235 luxury apartment homes, and is adjacent to the Odenton MARC Rail Station, with direct access to Fort Meade via shuttle bus. This mixed use, transit oriented project is less than 2 miles from Fort Meade, with 109,000 vehicles entering the gates daily and 56,000 employees.

With over 10,000 residential units throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions, The Dolben Company prides itself in putting together only the highest quality team to develop and manage their communities.  Just look at the level of detail they have put into The Village at Odenton Station and you will see just how meticulous they are.  Dolben is providing an old fashioned, pedestrian-friendly village architecture, designed to Bronze Natural Green Building Standards, and providing open spaces featuring a piazza, clock tower, and hiker/biker trail.  They even went to great lengths to go to the tile mill to have their exterior tiles customized to match the exact color they wanted.

Metropolitan Management’s Trish Palumbo, the retail broker for the Village at Odenton Station, personally met us at her site and is very excited about this project.  She told us that the 57k SF of retail that she represents will deliver by April 2012 and that the 235 luxury apartments, which are ahead of schedule, are projected to deliver by the end of 2012.

She has also indicated that she currently has significant interest and letters of intent out on several retail spaces including several quality restaurants, a coffee shop (Shaun and I have our fingers crossed for a Starbucks), a dry cleaner, pharmacy, smaller restaurants, retail, and medical services.  With over 600 on-site parking spaces, the retail component will also have full access to the train station’s parking spaces after hours.

The leasing of the 235 luxury apartments is also keeping pace and the project is projected to be fully occupied by the end of 2012. 

Check out the The Village at Odenton Station Virtual Tour

Carroll Independent Fuel Co. - New Tenant and Developer in Odenton

Back in July 2011 we blogged about Odenton residents that were excited about the recent demolition of Odenton Town Center’s most prominent eyesore — the old Chinese restaurant on the nearly 2 acre lot at Rt 175 and Charter Oaks Blvd. 

Last week I decided to follow up with the land owner, Frank Dimick, to see how his leasing prospects were coming.  He has Inked a deal that will result in a very timely development of the property. 

Here’s what Mr. Dimick told us:

As of today the new tenant and developer is Carroll Independent Fuel Company. They operate a large number of locations in Maryland. It is a family owned business and has been in operation for more than a hundred years. The main offices are located at 2700 Loch Raven Rd, Baltimore, Maryland 21218.

They are going to be trying to pick up from where the earlier tenant, Eastern Petroleum, dropped the ball. This is a very solid company that with the County’s cooperation has the ability to really perform in a very timely manner and enhance that corner with an attractive Gas, C-Store, Restaurant and Car Wash.

Since we were unable to reach Carroll Independent Fuel Company’s President for clarification, it  is still unclear if they will use the original Eastern Petroleum concepts or if they will need to get new renderings approved by the Odenton Town Center Oversight Committee.

We were, however, able to find one of their concepts online.

The Columbia Bank Coming to Odenton Town Center Summer 2013

The Columbia Bank has officially signed a lease with The Halle Companies to move into the Seven Oaks Shopping Center in the first quarter of 2013.

The new bank will be on a pad site near the front entrance of the center and is a build to suit as The Columbia Bank continues to expand in the county. Above is a rendering of their typical building, which we think will fit in great with the Odenton Town Center Master Plan’s requirements. (More renderings here.)

We think that it’ll be a great addition to the shopping center which is starting to become more and more upscale with the addition of the “Class A” Seven Oaks Office Building which features wood finished walls and granite floors in the lobby.

If you haven’t peaked in the window at the lobby of the office building, you should. The Halle Companies — for whom Kevin is the broker on the building — has put a lot of resources into the lobby, and even had the wood in the lobby resurfaced when owner Cookie Halle wasn’t happy with the quality of the original finish.

For those not familiar with The Halle Companies, you may be interested to know that they are the owners of the 230 foot Martha Ann that was docked at the Annapolis Yacht Club this spring, as well as a few other superyachts. As a result, Cookie is a bit of an aficionado with what I’ll term a higher standard when it comes to wood.