Maryland Gazette – Small Retailers Feeling the Redevelopment Squeeze

Some five years ago, Amanda Sanchez moved her restaurant/bar from Silver Spring to Wheaton because her rent was rising and access problems arose from a redevelopment project.

Now the owner of Riverside Lounge is going through Act II of the same squeeze play.

The area around Sanchez’s relocated business in downtown Wheaton is undergoing changes that include more mixed-use development with new offices, housing and retail.

“There is not much parking for my customers,” Sanchez said. “It’s a very slow economy. I might have to sell because of the new offices and houses causing rents to increase.”

To read the full article, which references LEDC’s ongoing work with the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton, click here.

 

Wheaton Gazette – Leader of Latino Economic Development Corp. Looks to Protect Small Businesses in Wheaton

Manny Hidalgo’s office on Price Avenue sits a block away from the proposed site of Wheaton’s 484-acre downtown redevelopment project, which would transform the Wheaton Triangle into a town square with new restaurants, retail stores and mixed-use office buildings similar to Downtown Silver Spring.

Hidalgo serves as executive director of the Latino Economic Development Corporation, a government-supported nonprofit that provides microloans and technical assistance to small, mostly Latin-owned businesses. So it comes as little surprise that he has positioned himself on the frontline of Wheaton’s redevelopment debate.

The 41-year-old, second-generation Cuban-American sees preserving the small businesses of Wheaton as the top priority in any redevelopment. As county officials and developer B.F. Saul continue negotiations on a General Development Agreement, a critical step that would allow development to begin, Hidalgo said his organization will play a growing role.

To read the full article, click here.