Clarksburg Town Center revisions unveiled

Residents praise first detailed peek at the final plans for the development

Representatives of developer Newland Communities presented the plan at a community meeting at Cedar Brook Community Church.

‘‘It looks beautiful,” Carmen Latoni said. ‘‘It is much more productive from what we originally had. This whole process is going to be very healthy for the residents in the long run one year from now.”

Latoni, who has lived in Clarksburg Town Center for more than two years, was among the 70 community members at Thursday’s meeting.

The plan includes a town plaza at the library site, with a fountain and seating. It will be ringed by lush landscaping and a pedestrian friendly design.

Two parking structures will be built for the retail area under the Plan of Compliance and on-street parking will be a key feature of the retail center. Newland will provide surface parking near the library that will be designed to allow the county to eventually build a deck on the surface to provide a second level of parking.

One block that fronts Clarksburg Square Road and General Store Drive, near a one-or two- story garage, will feature stores on the first floor with two stories of apartments or townhouses above.

The parking garages will cost $8.4 million and provide at least 840 parking spaces, according to Park and Planning documents.

There will be parallel parking in the main area of the retail core and along Overlook Park Drive and Clarksburg Square Road.

Douglas Delano, vice president of operations for Newland, heard some positive feedback from residents about the retail area and the rest of the site plan during the meeting.

‘‘They are right to be optimistic,” Delano said after the meeting. ‘‘The plan is an excellent plan and it is going to be a really good Clarksburg Town Center when it is complete.”

Residents also raised concerns about the delay in construction.

Newland announced that Florida-based Regency Center would no longer be the developer of the retail district. And with Regency’s departure, Giant Food has dropped plans to anchor the retail district with a more than 65,000-square-foot super store on one level.

The new plan shrinks the anchor grocery store to 51,000 square feet, however, the store may be 65,000 square feet if it is more than one level.

A two- or three- story garage will be near the grocery store, with the top parking level at grade to accommodate grocery shoppers.

The plan also calls for the focal point of the retail area to be a town plaza surrounded by small shops and business.

Eight developers already have expressed interest in partnering to develop Clarksburg Town Center’s retail district, Delano said. The decision to part ways with Regency was mutual, he said.

‘‘Their agreement with us came to an end a couple months ago,” he said. ‘‘We felt mutually that the concept of the retail center has changed so much since the original concept that it was best that we each consider our positions.”

The plans for the retail center changed significantly as a result of a mediated deal between Newland and the Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee, the group that uncovered the violations. The deal will cost the developer and five builders almost $15 million.

The mediated deal will provide the retail area with significantly more than the 20 shops suggested in the original plans, Delano said. He does not have any information on specific tenants coming to the retail district because no developer has officially signed on to the project.

The new plan also calls for a library, seating and an open-air market building.

The market building will consist of a roof with a hole in the middle to let in sunlight, supported by columns. The building will be a great place to hold farmer’s markets or art shows, said Amy Presley, president of the Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee.

Under the deal, Sinequa Square will now include an outdoor amphitheater and additional landscaping. The pool complex will feature a 1,200-square-foot community building and the existing pool will expand to meet competitive swim regulations.

The Clarksburg family, founders of the town, will get a prominent memorial on the corner of Clarksburg Square Road and Overlook Park Drive. It will feature a 12-foot-tall stone obelisk with a plaque and evergreen shrubs.

Presley said 75 percent of the comments she received from Clarksburg residents after the meeting were praise for the plan. The other 25 percent of the comments were questions about details of the plan, she said.

Presley said it felt great to present the plan her group helped to put together.

‘‘It was a proud moment,” she said Monday. ‘‘We are looking forward to getting this kicked off [and] on the ground. It was one more milestone.”

Bob Ditthardt, senior project manager for Newland, detailed a refinement to the original Plan of Compliance during Thursday’s community presentation. The refinement creates a two-story addition to the residents’ clubhouse. The upper level will feature a community gathering room and the lower level will include a kitchen and concession area.

Murphy’s Grove Pond, which residents had complained is an eyesore, will include a fishing pier and a walking trail. An artist’s rendering of Murphy’s Grove shows plenty of greenery around the pond.

The final site plan for the development will be submitted to the County Planning Board by the end of the month, Delano said.