Transforming the east side into a vibrant “smart growth” community

Frederick’s distinctive districts to get facelifts

Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Five years ago, Brian Sclar wanted nothing more than to keep his longtime family business, Reliable Recycling, on East Street. Today, he’s made peace with the fact that the City of Frederick’s east side, with all its planned changes, has no place for his business in the future.

Across town, the 38-year-old Fredericktowne Mall is facing a similar dilemma, but the problem isn’t location, it’s age.

Huge indoor malls have been out of favor with shoppers and retailers for the last decade. Store owners are returning to the town-center style of malls where the storefronts face the outside, similar to outlet malls in Gettysburg, Leesburg and Hagerstown.

The future of the west end of town depends on revamping the outdated corridor, including the mall. On the east side, the challenge is to retain a sense of the history, but rid the area of some of the industries themselves to remake it into something worthy of a gateway into the city.

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