What’s For Sale in St. Mary’s County?
Originally Published: April 10, 2023
These recently built chain store locations are already for sale!
7/11 on Great Mills Rd
https://www.loopnet.com/.../45955-Run-Lexington.../26664426/
7/11 across from Patuxent Crossing (San Souci) https://www.loopnet.com/.../22606-Three-Notch.../26891393/
Dollar General on 235 near Hermanville Rd https://www.loopnet.com/.../21179-Three-Notch.../26612688/
These stores were built by vertically integrated real estate development firms, companies that take responsibility for standing up a retail location by overseeing and funding the process–design, construction, etc–and then sell the properties to a landlord. PennTex, out of Pittsburgh, is selling the Dollar General and 7/11 on 235, while a company called Secure Net Lease from Dallas, TX is selling the 7/11 on Great Mills Rd. All leases for the properties run through 2038.
The marketing material for these properties shows how the developers market St. Mary’s County. Brochures highlight the largest employers and housing developments within a 5-10 mile range of the retail location. They also list nearby schools along with the estimated number of students and staff. The Dollar General brochure incorrectly shows Carver Elementary located at the Carver Heights Recreation Center. Boasting high traffic counts in the area, proximity to schools, and describing how well-served the Lexington Park area is by 10 separate routes of the “St. Mary’s City transit system” that passes “through town.” Clearly, these real estate firms don’t have anything other than a monetary investment in this area.
One of the flyers includes local news articles to underscore the great opportunity at hand. Information pulled directly from the County’s tourism website is the majority of one article. Another takes language from a report by The Baynet covering the approval of the apartment building and townhome complex on the corner of FDR Blvd and Route 4.
These selling points are why developers seek to build retail establishments near schools–remember when there was a proposed 7/11 near Leonardtown Middle School? Nearby residents spoke out and it was denied. The developers don’t care about what is good for our community–they’re just trying to make money. That’s fine, but it means it is up to us to ensure our community is planned well.
We must push for changes to our Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance that would prohibit establishments like convenience stores, smoke/vape shops, and gas stations from being built in close proximity to schools and recreation parks. An important part of development is planning–not just approving plans but creating documents with guidelines about what type of development we want and where it should be located. It’s vital for our community to engage in the processes surrounding the creation of the Comprehensive Plan as well as revisions to the Zoning Ordinance.
