Three Notch Place
Originally Published: January 12, 2024
Possible Shopping Center in Hollywood
Image Description: 1) Winegardner Chevy —no longer planned; 2) 11K SF Retail; 3)4K SF Restaurant; 4) 5K SF Store/Gas Station; 5) CVS; 6) 6K SF Retail; 7) 3K SF Retail
Twenty acres at the corner of Route 235 and Sotterley Road, across from the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department, could look very different in coming years. A site layout of the proposed Three Notch Place found on the website of real estate brokerage KLNB, shows one small, two medium, and one large pad site. An additional two acres are available, with four acres shown as being under a Letter of Intent.
Zoned mixed use, moderate intensity, the traffic count notes nearly 29K cares per day pass by the site. The draft plan shows four entrances to the shopping center: one right in/out only on 235; one signalized light on 235 (the HVFD light would become a full traffic signal); one right in/out only on Sotterley Rd; one entrance/exit onto Old Three Notch Rd. Demographics on the sales brochure show up to 109K people within a 10 mile radius (which would include Calvert County), with incomes as high as $167K per year.
This proposal has yet to be heard by the Planning Commission. However, a review of past permit and planning documents associated with the property, and available on the County’s website, show previous attempts to construct a shopping center. Back in 2005, the Planning Commission granted concept approval to what was being called either “Hollywood Commercial Center” or “Sotterley Gate Center.” Documents from Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) list a “mix of uses such as offices, personal or business services, retail sales, convenience store and car wash.” In May 2005 the County Commissioners at the time approved an amendment to the Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan (CSWP) allowing the shopping center to connect to water/sewer service. It was assumed Phase 2 of the Twin Ponds subdivision would be completed by the time of shopping center construction, facilitating the water/sewer connection further north.
I also found a memo from Teresa Wilson, a Historic Preservation Planner, to the Technical Evaluation Committee, dated March 2004. In the memo, Wilson outlined a number of issues she found, writing “the amount of impervious surface created by this plan is excessive and unattractive.” From a historic perspective, a house called Goldsboro Race was originally on the site which may have created archeological sites of interest. Wilson also pushed back on the development being located at the head of a road leading to Sotterley. “A commercial center which looks like the proposed plan is not what should meet the eyes of visitors to the County who are traveling to this nationally known site.”
Former LUGM Director Phil Shire sent a letter to Dean Partnership LLP, the property owner, in January 2011 advising the previously granted concept approval had expired, and “it will be necessary to file a new application for review.” But there are other files, with more recent dates, suggesting what could end up there. Construction papers dated March 2017 show Winegardner Chevy, a 30K SF dealership, situated on the northern tip of the property. Setback from the corner of 235 and Sotterley Road could be a CVS Pharmacy according to construction plans stamped received by LUGM in July 2019. A full site layout, included in the CVS documents, shows the following: 11K SF retail building, 4K SF restaurant, 5K SF convenience store with fuel (in that order, north to south, along 235); two buildings near the back of the property close to Old Three Notch Rd are 6K and 3K SF retail buildings.
Remember, nothing is final until it receives approval from the Planning Commission. This location is within the Hollywood Town Center, which is where development should be located according to our Comprehensive Plan and Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The Hollywood Town Center connects to the northern part of the Lexington Park Development District. Commercial development is slowly moving north along 235, so I expect projects like this to become a reality in Hollywood.
UPDATE: I’ve been informed that the Winegardner dealership mentioned in this post is no longer planned.
