Read our original story here: Burtonsville Crossing Redevelopment to Include Sprouts as Grocery Store Anchor
Per Montgomery County: On Thursday, County Executive Marc Elrich was joined by Council President Gabe Albornoz, Councilmember Tom Hucker, members of the Montgomery County State Delegation and representatives from EDENS to announce bringing a main “anchor” store back to the Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center and the redevelopment of the vacant shopping center. A lease has been signed by the Phoenix-based company Sprouts Farmers Market in what is seen as the first critical step to kick start the revitalization of a once thriving retail area. It will also be the grocery chain’s first store in Montgomery County. “We are excited to partner with Sprouts on bringing a unique grocery experience to Burtonsville,” said David Germakian, Managing Director, EDENS.
There’s excitement on the local level as well. Today’s announcement was a surprise to the community. A few dozen people were invited to the learn about the project as it was being unveiled but closer to 100 people showed up for Thursday’s reveal. “Thanks in part to the state economic development funding the Maryland District 14 legislative team secured the Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center will be redeveloped over the next year,” said Maryland State Senator Craig J. Zucker on behalf of the team that includes Del. Anne Kaiser, Del. Eric Luedtke and Del. Pamela Queen. “We are very glad that the revitalization of the shopping center is finally becoming reality. We are pleased that the $10 million that we secured will be put to good use.”
Sprouts is projected to open in the second half of 2023. EDENS shared its plans for redevelopment, which includes renovated facades, expanded sidewalks with outdoor seating and dining opportunities, enhanced landscaping and improved pedestrian and vehicular connectivity. At the center of the upgrades is a plaza that could be used for community events such as movie nights. “As the District Councilmember, revitalizing Burtonsville Crossing has been my top property,” said Councilmember Tom Hucker. “I’m so thankful that we will be able to deliver this important victory for the East County. It was long overdue, but I want to thank all of the residents for their tireless advocacy and everyone who helped make today possible.”
“Having Sprouts open in the Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center is such great news,” said Council President Gabe Albornoz. “Sprouts will certainly be a catalyst for revitalization there and open the door to more shopping opportunities for people in the East County. Burtonsville has a bright future.” The County Executive hinted at some of the potential changes that could be made around Old Columbia Pike now that this deal has been finalized. “I look forward to working with EDENS as we continue to develop a plan that integrates adjacent county-owned land with EDENS’ revitalization efforts,” said Elrich.
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Dave Golden, founder and moderator of the Burtonsville 2.0 Facebook group, had a call with real estate development company EDENS regarding Burtonsville Crossing. Below you’ll see the notes from his phone call:
08/25 Burtonsville Crossing Update
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Kristy Inman, Vice President – Leasing
David Germakian – Senior VP, Regional Lead, Mid-Atlantic Region
• There has been quite a bit of work and focus on Burtonsville Crossing with a lens towards post-COVID development. David and Kristy have been working on it personally for several months.
• While it may not look like it, and they understand the frustration, they are within a matter of months before being able to talk about breathing new life into the shopping center.
• They will be present at the Praisner Center on Burtonsville Day, September 25th. David, Kristy, and Ryan plan to be there from EDENS.
• Over the last 6 months, EDENS has had a number of conversations with the county and state. Tom Hucker has met with them and they are encouraged working with him.
• They plan to reposition what’s there – make some tweaks to create a community plaza, pedestrian connectivity to the BRT lot (which will include improvements) and reconfigure the shopping center plans. This includes adding drive-thrus and convenient curb-side pickup.
• EDENS as a company is not proud of what’s there. They are now focused and excited. They are cautiously optimistic after 18 months.
• EDENS just finished a shopping center in Annandale (developing during COVID) with expanded sidewalks, outdoor dining areas, and convenient grab-and go spaces. They plan to implement a lot of this in Burtonsville Crossing.
• To kick it off, they need to first secure an anchor stores. They are close to moving to lease with a grocery store that would ignite things. After the anchor store is secured, a snowball effect will take place with new shopping and dining opportunities.
• They would plan to reposition the former Giant space.
• The resiliency of Burtonsville Town Square across the street through COVID is a testament to the community supporting the demand.
• They have also studied this shopping center, recognizing opportunities that are not there that will be incorporated into the new Burtonsville Crossing.
• They recently hired a new Director of Community Experience who will be our point of contact.
• They look forward to providing updates as they progress.
