'Smart City' Atop South Mountain Will Have it All

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

1. I think it is intended to be kind of self-contained, but I don't think anyone will be forced to live there or anything.

4. I think I read somewhere that there may be land put aside for an elementary and middle school if need be.

With that many residences they will need multiple elementary schools and probably two middle and one high school.

[bus man]

No matter how self-contained they make this place, inevitably some people will want to live there but work elsewhere, or work there but live elsewhere. I'm not familiar with the site, so I can't comment on the infrastructure. But I do know that I-70 and I-270 are inadequate to handle a sizable increase in demand, and I don't believe that U.S. 15 is much better. Any plans to expand these roads?

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by bus man

No matter how self-contained they make this place, inevitably some people will want to live there but work elsewhere, or work there but live elsewhere. I'm not familiar with the site, so I can't comment on the infrastructure. But I do know that I-70 and I-270 are inadequate to handle a sizable increase in demand, and I don't believe that U.S. 15 is much better. Any plans to expand these roads?

I-70 and I-270? This site is located along two-lane rural roads that criss-cross the mountains of Maryland and Pennsylvania. I'm surprised that they're even able to attract this many businesses given the inadequate infrastructure. You need to take twisty, curvy roads to get to both Waynesboro (closest town) or Hagerstown (closest big town).

[ki0eh]

I'm actually a little surprised at how undeveloped the Cascade-Pen Mar area has been to date. The home values I saw there seem more typical for much further out in PA and WV.

[westsideboy]

Driving on those roads in the Catoctins is not fun in even slightly bad weather. I think the area hasn't been subject to heavy development for that reason, and the reality that there is a ton of developable farm land that is closer to the major metros and easier and more cost effective to build on.

If you drive around up there you will see some really high dollar houses here and there, so certainly some people have moved into the area, but the big developments seem to stop around Thurmont and Smithsburg on either side based on my observations

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

I'm actually a little surprised at how undeveloped the Cascade-Pen Mar area has been to date. The home values I saw there seem more typical for much further out in PA and WV.

Pen Mar and Cascade were once the sites of vacation spots for wealthy urbanites from Baltimore and D.C., but you're right, it has kind of regressed back to nature in the past few decades. If the developers can pull off Cascade Town Center, I have a feeling that we'll be seeing much more development outside of Fort Ritchie's walls in both Maryland and PA.

[Tallybalt]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

Pen Mar and Cascade were once the sites of vacation spots for wealthy urbanites from Baltimore and D.C., but you're right, it has kind of regressed back to nature in the past few decades. If the developers can pull off Cascade Town Center, I have a feeling that we'll be seeing much more development outside of Fort Ritchie's walls in both Maryland and PA.

The old houses are still up there, in Blue Ridge Summit and Monterey. The Monterey golf course is one of the oldest in America, I believe. All the big hotels are long gone now. I imagine most people driving to/from Waynesboro cut through the area without even knowing of the old summer resort communities that still survive in the hills.

I must say I have no idea how 10-12,000 full time residents will be able to live up in the hills. You'd have to substantially rebuild and widen the existing roads to accommodate the traffic and the huge population growth would radically change the character of the vicinity. 10-12,000 people is comparable to Waynesboro itself. That's a full size town with schools and hospitals.

[Noble Savage]

Would love to see something positive happen to the place. Not sure a Columbia or Pentagon City is it though. I was stationed there from 79-83. Great place for me at the time.