EAGLE VILLAGE will shed
The University of Mary Washington Foundation recently got approval to replace the big, red-and-black Park & Shop sign at the shopping center's entrance with one bearing its new name.
"It will have a plasma screen advertising community events," said Jeff Rountree, the foundation's chief executive officer.
The smaller sign in front of Country Cookin' will be replaced with one listing tenants' names. Both signs should be up in 90 days.
UMW's foundation bought Park & Shop in 2007 and is transforming it into a multi-use center with student apartments, a parking garage and retail and office space.
It will finish up demolition needed for the first phase of construction in the next week or two by tearing down the stores where the Hair Cuttery, Lee's Cleaners and Mailhouse Plus were located, Rountree said. Those three businesses have moved to the southern end of the shopping center near the U.S. post office.
Construction should be finished by next summer on the two student apartment buildings and parking garage near where Roses used to be. The foundation already is negotiating with tenants for retail and office space on the first floor of the buildings.
Eagle Village's next big change will occur in mid-January, when tentative plans call for U.S. 1 to be closed temporarily so several cranes can swing sections of a pedestrian bridge into place. The nearly 200-foot-long span will connect the present campus to Eagle Village.
"We may have the closures at night or it may be just a weekend when the highway is shut down," Rountree said. "Plans with the city haven't been finalized. They're working out the traffic plan now."
The foundation recently selected, but has not yet hired, a firm to draw up plans for second phase of the Eagle Village project and revamp UMW's master plan.
"We want them to work together well," Rountree said.
The planning process should take about six months, and work will be done in stages contingent upon new and current tenants' needs and the expiration of existing leases.
"You've got some long-term tenants in there, and those people have every right to stay," Rountree said.
Among them is Giant, which signed a five-year lease around the time the foundation purchased the strip shopping center.
"We were told when we bought the center in 2007 that they would renovate in 2008," Rountree said. "Obviously, that never happened."
There have been a number of rumors since then about Giant Food's plans, but the Landover, Md.-based company remains mum.
According to Jaime Miller, Giant's spokesman, parent company Royal Ahold did announce in 2007 that it would remodel or replace approximately 100 Giant stores in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington over three years
"In 2008, we remodeled over 30 stores and we've already renovated 12 stores so far in 2009 with the goal of remodeling another 20 by the end of this year and almost 30 more stores in 2010," he said. "For competitive reasons, we cannot confirm which stores will be renovated until we physically begin construction on a store."
Rountree, however, said it's critical for the foundation to find out what Giant intends to do.
"If they're going to stay in that building for 20 years, we can model around it," he said. "If they're going to close, move or have a new store, that's going to impact the plan pretty appreciably."
UMW's foundation also is considering extending campus walk to Mary Washington Hospital in Phase II of the Eagle Village project, and college and hospital officials are talking about "possible synergies," Rountree said.
"Nothing major has come out of those yet," he said.
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com