Arnold Still Healthy After 5 Business Closings, Chamber President Says

This is Part Two in a two-part series focusing on the business atmosphere in Arnold following the closing of five businesses over the last four months ()

A county business leader said that despite Arnold's recent troubles, the business corridor it's a part of is in solid shape. But that bright outlook hasn't stopped several business owners from having to make the tough decision to close up shop.

Bob Burdon, president of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, said the group actively monitors business activity in the region and concluded the recent closings were not a part of a downward economic trend in the area.

Rather, Burdon said the closings were the result of isolated incidents at the associated shopping centers—namely, Arnold Station and the Bay Dale Shopping Center.

"I have not seen anything to cause me concern in that commercial corridor," Burdon said. "I think it's actually done rather well in the recession that we've gone through, in comparison to other areas that have had challenges."

Burdon, a resident of Arnold, pointed to the area's strong communities as having propped up other healthy businesses over the years. 

"You don't see a tremendous amount of foreclosures happening," Burdon said.
"I think it's a very stable community, and I think that stability has held most of those businesses in good stead."

Rosa Cruz, communications director for the county's Economic Development Corporation, said the group has reached out to local officials, including County Councilman Dick Ladd, to see if there is anything that can be done to help. The group offers resources, guidance and loans for small businesses in need of assistance or that are in a time of transition.

Part of Cruz' job is to let local businesses know that there is help for those who seek it, she said.

Despite the available resources, not all business owners had a choice in the matter when it came to closing.

No Alternative for Some Businesses

When The Depot at Arnold Station closed in January, Arnold lost one of its only venues for wine and liquor. But its closing wasn't due to poor sales, according to its former owner Mike Mangum. It was the result of a rent hike. 

Mangum said the shopping center's owners chose to increase rent by more than 80 percent in November, sending him scrambling to find a way to make that increase viable for his business. Ultimately, he concluded he couldn't make it happen. Instead, he scouted for alternate locations in Arnold but also came back empty-handed.

"I would have liked to stay here in Arnold, but there's nothing here. There's no retail spots that could house The Depot. We looked," Mangum said.

Instead, Mangum hosted a closing sale and has plans to reopen The Depot in Annapolis, where he said the rent is cheaper.

Rick Shane, co-owner of Shane & Kauffman Salon, leased his shop's space from Honeysuckle Quality Consignment Shop on Ritchie Highway. However, the consignment store decided to expand into his space and gave him no option to lease in the coming year. So, like Mangum, he went out searching for a space to reopen the business.

For seven months, Shane said he underwent negotiations for a spot nearby that could become a second home for the salon, but commercial rent in the region has become "outrageous." He chose to shut down the business after 16 years and planned to take a sabbatical before choosing his next business venture.

Renovation, Plans for Change in Arnold

An upcoming swap of retail space between M&T Bank and Rite-Aid in the Bay Dale Shopping Center will spur a renovation of sorts at the center. Parking spots would all be repainted to accomnodate the construction of a larger building to replace the bank.

Rite-Aid would move out of the center into a free-standing building in the corner of the parking lot under the proposed plan. This new, 14,600 square-foot Rite-Aid would replace the existing M&T Bank. The bank would then move to a 3,000 square-foot portion of Rite-Aid's current spot in the center.

 at the existing Furniture Solution store on Ritchie Highway. The existing structure would be torn down and rebuilt into a smaller building, according to plans from the developer.

No deadline has been set for the construction, but at a community meeting in July 2012, the developers said they were aiming at late 2013 to begin work, which was expected to take four months.

Ladd cited developments and changes like these as ways to reinvigorate the local business community but said it may not be enough.

"I don't think that will be able to change the level of business sufficiently to alter whatever is causing the problem today," Ladd said.

What do you think could turn around the local business atmosphere in Arnold?