As a business owner and resident of Remington, I am writing because the voice of the majority is not being heard regarding the 25th Street Station project planned for the former Anderson Automotive site.
Most of my neighbors, both residents and other businesses, wanted this project three years ago, and we want it now. The project developers worked tirelessly with the community to come up with a plan that was ultimately voted on and approved by the City Council — only to be stymied for three years by some serial anti-development obstructionists and a number of lawsuits that were ultimately dismissed. The opponents have had their day in court, and they lost.
With that out of the way, we have been hopeful of getting this project going and benefiting from the jobs our residents need and the economic benefits that this project will create for Remington and surrounding communities.
The developers have listened to the community, and many changes have been made to the design of the project as a result. Importantly, the project now has a lot less retail density than originally planned, which will create less overall traffic. The changes over the past three years have all been improvements and there is no further reason to delay the project.
I urge the Planning Commission to defer to the wishes of the majority of residents and business owners in Remington and Charles Village and approve this project at the meeting on Nov. 21.
Steve Karabelas, Baltimore
The writer is owner of Corky's Grill in Remington.
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