It is extremely difficult right now to focus on good little stories of the local variety. Sure, our nation is being set on fire with selfishness and hatred but can I interest you in Restaurant Week or a show at Toby’s?
It feels callous and unfeeling to act like things are normal. And I feel like such a disclaimer will be hanging over this space for quite some time.
And yet, a large part of who we are is made up of our good little stories. They are signs of our humanity. - - jam
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Today at eleven am there will be an official ribbon cutting event for the new 7 - Eleven in Oakland Mills. This location consists of the usual convenience store along with gas pumps and a car wash. If the stars align and my yearly heating inspection cooperate, I will be there.
What’s the big deal about a 7-Eleven, you ask? Well, the bigger deal is probably the land it’s sitting on, which has been empty for a really long time. A hazy recollection puts it at twenty-plus years. I moved here in 1999 and I think there was still an Exxon Mobil gas station there but my husband told me it was probably the most expensive gas station in Columbia and was to be avoided. I think it closed not too long after that.*
People who know the details: feel free to fill me in.
That site, located at the corner of Robert Oliver Place and Stevens Forest Road, is the reason that I found myself at a County Council Meeting in the George Howard Building for the very first time. Community members came out to support a proposal for a class A office building on that lot. It would have given that empty space a new purpose and it would have brought more people into our village center to patronize our businesses and, hopefully, to learn more about the goodness of Oakland Mills. After all, “We Value Connections.”
It didn’t happen. That’s a pitifully short explanation for a really complicated story and it involves creative thinking from former County Executive Ken Ulman, insurmountable glitches in financing, and a dubious County Council. Other people could tell that part of the story better. I’m telling it because it was my first experience in going to a public meeting to advocate for something on behalf of my community.
I guess you could say that put me on the road to ruin, or at least on the road to where I am today.
That plot of land does not belong to the Village of Oakland Mills. It is privately owned. But the success or failure of every component of a Village Center has an impact on the Village as a whole. I sometimes see community groups gloating that they have torpedoed projects in their areas that they deem to be unsuitable. This concerns me because they seem to be under the impression that they will now be able to entertain better offers.
I don’t think they understand what it is like when no one wants to invest in your community at all. Businesses fail, or decide not to renew their leases. Those spaces are not filled. People start describing your community space as “sad” or “ sketchy.” Folks on the other side of town who have never even been to your neighborhood warn friends away from visiting it.
The Oakland Mills Community Association has worked with merchants and has advocated for the Village Center for as long as I can remember. This includes both professional employees, Village Board members, and neighborhood volunteers. Embedded within every success we have are their efforts and advocacy.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention County Government here because I know they have been partners and helpful sounding boards in many Village Center issues over the years. There’s probably another blog post in that all by itself.
Finding a way for the Village Centers in the older Columbia Villages to thrive and be commercially relevant has been an ongoing theme for years now. I honestly think we need to cheer every success.
So, if you don’t live in Oakland Mills, maybe you can drop by soon to try out the new 7 Eleven and see for yourself what we’re like.
*This had nothing to do with my lack on patronage.
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