Residents: No Upscale Retail Within the Boulevard

Six years after the opening of Upper Marlboro’s Boulevard at the Capital Centre, local residents have growing concerns about the lack of upscale retail in Prince George’s County, one of the nation's richest majority-black jurisdictions.

In 2005, former Prince George’s county executive Jack B. Johnson called the new shopping center the county’s answer to upscale retail, but the national recession and major store closings have plagued the shopping center since its opening.

And after Borders’ recent closing, Upper Marlboro resident Vincent Chambers, 40, expressed concern about the lack of high-end bookstores and restaurants at the Boulevard.

“I’m still trying to figure out why there’s no Barnes & Noble here,” Chambers said. “There aren’t enough upscale restaurants over here. There’s no Ruth’s Chris Steak House or Cheesecake Factory. If you get a Cheesecake Factory over here, you get people from outside [this area]. The crowd would never stop.”

Chambers added that the Boulevard’s real estate company should work to fill vacant space throughout the shopping center, because observant customers might view the empty storefronts as a sign that the shopping center is not “up to date.”

Kenneth Baker, general manager of the Boulevard’s real estate company, Inland US Management LLC, said the shopping center is operating at 88 percent occupancy.

“We are continuing to aggressively market the Boulevard at the Cap Centre,” Baker added. “The next tenants we want to lease are fully executed.”

While Baker said he couldn’t name the apparent soon-to-be tenants until they sign leases, he hoped they could move in within the next two months.

Washington, D.C. resident Reneeta Bateman said there are no upscale shopping options in the Boulevard.

“I personally wouldn’t shop anywhere around here,” Bateman said. “I think they have good tennis shoe stores for kids, but nothing for me.” Bateman, who said she comes to the Boulevard about twice a year, noted that she’d come more often if Inland added a store like Macy’s or Bloomingdales.

Pasadena resident Harold Myles said there is a lack of upscale retail throughout Prince George’s County, not only in the Boulevard. The community would welcome more higher-end stores in the shopping center, Myles said.

In addition to the lack of upscale retail, the lack of big mainstays is also hurting the Boulevard, said Arthur Turner, president of the Coalition of Central Prince George’s County Community Organizations.

“A successful shopping center such as the Boulevard needs a true anchor,” Turner said. “The Boulevard never had an anchor. For example, if you go to the Bowie Town Center, you will notice that the anchor is Sears, the anchor is Macy’s. You have to have a true merchandiser that draws people to the shopping center.”

But Baker said the absence of “one big anchor” at the Boulevard has to do with its identity as a “lifestyle center” which has traditionally housed many big box tenants including Magic Johnson Theaters, HH Gregg and DSW Shoe Warehouse.

In order to retain Boulevard businesses, Baker said, Inland works to cater to families and promote an enjoyable working environment for employees through events like the annual Wind Down Thursdays, a summer jazz concert series.

Vincent Chambers, who has lived in Upper Marlboro for six years, noted that he felt a sense of community at the Boulevard. “The strengths [of the shopping center] are that it’s open,” Chambers said. “People can talk to people, eat food. They stepped the security up which is excellent.”

While Reneeta Bateman said she doesn’t feel safe shopping at the Boulevard, Harold Myles, who comes about once a month, said he didn’t have any safety issues with the shopping center.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Myles said. “People need shoes, people need clothes, people like to eat. So, it fits the normal need pattern of people.”

And while the Boulevard isn’t living up to its potential, the shopping center will eventually improve, said M.H. Jim Estepp, president and CEO of the Greater Prince George's Business Roundtable.

“I think that center has great potential,” Estepp said. “It has a Metro stop not far away, it’s got a stadium close-by, it’s got good management combined with good security. There’s no reason that shopping center can’t thrive.”