Moreland Parkway, located just one block from West Street off Admiral Drive, has been "taken over" by the city of Annapolis, as reported in an October 11 posting on hometownannapolis.com (which is part of Capitol Gazette Communications based in Annapolis, Maryland.)
A $200,000 paving project that included road repairs and resurfacing on Moreland was completed in September (2009), and renovations on existing buildings are currently underway. Workers are also completing their work on new sidewalks, and plan to add a bike lane to the Parkway as well.
Additionally, two new building projects have brightened this corridor (which had been long-neglected), including the building which was previously home to the Merritt Athletic Club, whose gym has been transformed into a flex/office building.
Merritt Properties, who spent roughly $1 million on the project including tenant build-outs, also repaved the parking lot and added loading docks, new windows, beautiful landscaping and sidewalks.
Concurrently, the Morrell Cos. began construction on a $7 million project that includes renovating the former Earle's Moving and Storage Company (on Moreland Parkway) into a state-of-the-art, three-story, climate-controlled self-storage facility (with 500+ units for rental) called Annapolis Self Storage, whose grand opening will take place in December of this year.
These renovations are good for "all the businesses along Moreland Parkway," said George Shenk, president of the Whitmore Group, a printing company located on Moreland. "Clearly, it was a road in need of substantial repair…it's going to be good for both the business community and the community in a broader sense. We now have sidewalks!"
Built in the mid-1970s by the Annapolis Business Center Partnership, Moreland Parkway fell into disrepair during a battle over which entity – a Towson holding company or the city of Annapolis - was responsible for its upkeep. The Towson holding company filed a lawsuit against the city in May 2007, trying to force the city to fix the road. This battle climaxed in January (2009), when Moreland Parkway Holding LLC agreed to pay $60,000 to the city, and signed over the deed to settle the lawsuit.
The city placed Moreland Parkway under the purview of its Department of Public Works. Sam Brice, an engineer with the department, said the city's repaving project included extensive repair to the road.
Party supply company Rentals to Remember, is scheduled to occupy an 8,000-square-foot space at the old Merritt gym, according to Melissa Teague, Marketing Coordinator for Merritt Properties. Johnstone Supply, a distributor for the HVAC and refrigeration industries, will move into 10,000 square feet by November, she said.
Teague mentioned that Merritt used recycled materials, including wood harvested from sustainable forests and low-energy light-bulbs during the build-out, as their intention is for this building to meet the silver certification rating outlined in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System.