Bill Proposes Tax Credit for Struggling Burtonsville Businesses
East County legislators want to introduce a bill that would encourage property owners to upgrade businesses along Route 198.
A group of Maryland legislators wants to throw the shops in Burtonsville a lifeline—a tax credit for property owners that would help offset property taxes related to upgrading their businesses.
Delegates Eric Luedtke, Anne Kaiser and Craig Zucker along with Sen. Karen Montgomery, all of District 14, announced that they have introduced a bill to help the business climate in Burtonsville's struggling shopping district.
“We are working closely with the county to do everything possible to support the redevelopment of Burtonsville,” said Luedtke in a statement. “These tax incentives will encourage property owners to make improvements to their property and support existing small businesses in the meantime.”
The credit would only apply to businesses that are part of the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan, an effort by the Montgomery County Planning Department to rezone Burtonsville Crossing, a struggling shopping center, and recommend land uses that would help bring a community feel to the neighborhood. Included in the designated area are the two shopping centers—Burtonsville Crossing and Burtonsville Town Square—and the row of restaurants and shops on Route 198.
The bill would also allow a credit against the personal property tax of small businesses in the area, the delegates' press release stated.
Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5), who represents Burtonsville, said the bill would help "spur revitalization" in the area.
"We all agree that we need to accelerate the revitalization of Burtonsville and provide residents in the area with a high quality destination for shopping, eating and spending time with friends and family," Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At large) added.
Following a realignment of Route 29 that sent traffic past Burtonsville, an Amish market decamping to Laurel and a Giant grocery store shuffle that left Burtonsville Crossing, an older shopping center, without an anchor since 2010, business has slowed for some of the commercial area.
Burtonsville Crossing is nearly empty while Burtonsville Town Square, a shopping center that opened across the street in 2010, continues to slowly fill its empty spaces.
A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. in the County Council Office Building in Rockville.
Do you think the tax credit will help? What do you want to happen in Burtonsville?
Charlotte Wade
9:23 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
One of he issues with bringing in an anchor to Burtonsville Crossing lies with the restrictions Giant has put on what can be located in their former space. That is one aspect that needs to be revisited.
jaygirl
10:53 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
I only recently heard about the Giant restriction. It's ridiculous that they could make it nearly impossible for the old shopping center to continue to flourish and thereby impact the other businesses in the area. I'm not sure what else could fit in a space as large as Giant was (and btw, the new one is just TOO big!), but perhaps the space could be divided for two or so other businesses that could still be considered anchor stores. It's crazy for that center to continue to be practically empty.
DaveE
9:15 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
I would like to see some kind of restaurant mall in the Burtonsville Crossing space. Bring in people like Bone Fish Grill where the closest location is Gaithersburg. It would be nice not to have to drive to Columbia to eat dinner. Maybe the people from Columbia would drive to Burtonsville if you put in the right restaurant.