New Development in Capitol Heights (Greenbelt, Beltsville: 2015, mortgages, townhouses)

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

I heard Oxon Hill might develop as well, due to the Casino, etc. What do you think?

Casinos don't bring development, if anything they attract decline.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by Optimistic20744

Waiting on 24 hr gym chipotle and movie theater. And life shall be good lol. Im often on redfin looking at recent sales and i noticed empty lots being bought recently in the area. May be smart to do and sale once things pick up more.

There's a movie theater in the shopping center on Oxon Hill Rd, the one with the Checkers and Bed bath & Beyond. Forget the name maybe River Crossing?

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

There's a movie theater in the shopping center on Oxon Hill Rd, the one with the Checkers and Bed bath & Beyond. Forget the name maybe River Crossing?

Rivertowne 12. It was horrible when I was in high school. I'm not sure if they improved.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Rivertowne 12. It was horrible when I was in high school. I'm not sure if they improved.

Different theater than the one that existed before. It has different owners, but I have read some bad reviews on the theater so I don't think it's much different quality-wise, from the original.

[Inquisitive1906]

Originally Posted by mrmaryland455

lol the prices are low for a reason.....capital heights is a bad area.....so take my advice buying a condo in that area is only going to hurt you....not help you.......

lolol

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

Casinos don't bring development, if anything they attract decline.

Not sure about the decline, perhaps you are right. A casino is just NOT a creative way to create jobs. I mean, come on, how many casinos do we need here? Now if there are shows, good restaurants, and plently of family entertainment, well ok...I guess.

The best thing this area did, IMO, was to go after Biotech. But even that has gone stale although we are home to a big cluster of bio here.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

A casino is just NOT a creative way to create jobs.

I'm not sure I understand.

Is a sandwich maker at one of the bazillion Subway restaurants in the area any more meaningful than someone who chooses to work in the hospitality industry at a casino? Are jobs at the Red Roof Inn down the street any more glorious than at a casino hotel? What about the resume building work at Six Flags, a movie cineplex, or even FedEx Field, which all include some form of hospitality while people are being entertained? If someone wants a career in hospitality and gaming why should they be denied an opportunity to work because some people don't feel that those jobs are worth pursuing by the state?

Do people know now that video gaming terminals are actual server clients that run Linux? That requires someone with IT skills. With 3600 terminals, that's a lot of IT jobs. Casino jobs today just don't consist of waitresses and people that flip cards. There are restaurants, hotels, boutique stores, spas, theater and music production staff, parking lot attendants, cashiers, managers, chefs, security professionals, landscapers, building maintenance staff, event planners, interior designers, customer service reps, etc. If you take away the casino portion, wouldn't those same jobs be a good thing? Why does the perception change about those same jobs if they are attached to a casino? We wanted more stores, hotels, restaurants, spas, music venues, etc. Didn't we?

There are private businesses that will become vendors of the casino. Should they be denied more business opportunities?

I think a casino resort is a very creative way to create jobs.

Casinos don't bring development, if anything they attract decline.

In places where the local economy is weak, this may be true. When you look at all the places where crime is high near a casino, a weak local economy is almost always the case. Especially in areas where casinos ARE the economy, namely Atlantic City and Las Vegas. MGM at National harbor is an anomaly and I don't think there are too many examples in this country where a casino is built in one of the wealthiest metro areas. I'm not sure we'll see a decline based off of one casino. I could be wrong, but I'd bet money on it. (pun intended )

It still remains to be seen how the three new casinos in Maryland will affect local crime and development. Apparently I'm the only one watching what happens around Maryland Live! It is the perfect test case. It is located in a majority white suburb of Baltimore with relatively low crime. Yet, I was thinking how funny it is that when people mention crime and casinos, Maryland Live! never gets mentioned. Hmmmmmm. Are people only concerned about casinos in urban areas?

As far as I know, developers are still interested in Hanover, MD and to my knowledge, it has not turned into a cesspool of drugs, gangs, rapists, and prostitution. lol

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I'm not sure I understand.

Is a sandwich maker at one of the bazillion Subway restaurants in the area any more meaningful than someone who chooses to work in the hospitality industry at a casino? Are jobs at the Red Roof Inn down the street any more glorious than at a casino hotel? What about the resume building work at Six Flags, a movie cineplex, or even FedEx Field, which all include some form of hospitality while people are being entertained? If someone wants a career in hospitality and gaming why should they be denied an opportunity to work because some people don't feel that those jobs are worth pursuing by the state?

You're under the impression that a job is a job. I don't agree. While I might agree that there will be jobs provided from casinos, lots of them probably with MGM, I just think its a real "cop-out" when it comes to building casinos, instead of finding other avenues to increase revenue. For decades this State was against casinos/gambling, and the previous governer was shot down for even sugggesting it. Now, all of a sudden, its gambling central here in Maryland and while its good to keep the money home, I just think it shows a lack of creativity on our elected leaders part. Thats just my opinion.

However, I do think promoting small business, high tech start-ups, cyber security (which I know they are doing) data centers, Life Science manufacturing, and bringing in industry such as Volkswagon, Apple, Microsoft, or any of the thousands of firms that provide decent paying jobs. Also, I wouldnt knock sandwich shops, is a much better idea to create jobs and increase revenue. While I am not anti gambling, far from it, I do think it's a short term fix for stable jobs that pay a reasonal salary. Collecting cigarette butts or cleaning rooms isnt what I would suggest is our future....

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

You're under the impression that a job is a job. I don't agree. While I might agree that there will be jobs provided from casinos, lots of them probably with MGM, I just think its a real "cop-out" when it comes to building casinos, instead of finding other avenues to increase revenue. For decades this State was against casinos/gambling, and the previous governer was shot down for even sugggesting it. Now, all of a sudden, its gambling central here in Maryland and while its good to keep the money home, I just think it shows a lack of creativity on our elected leaders part. Thats just my opinion.

However, I do think promoting small business, high tech start-ups, cyber security (which I know they are doing) data centers, Life Science manufacturing, and bringing in industry such as Volkswagon, Apple, Microsoft, or any of the thousands of firms that provide decent paying jobs. Also, I wouldnt knock sandwich shops, is a much better idea to create jobs and increase revenue. While I am not anti gambling, far from it, I do think it's a short term fix for stable jobs that pay a reasonal salary. Collecting cigarette butts or cleaning rooms isnt what I would suggest is our future....

Baby steps. Not every county can be the epicenter of one industry. We may get there one day. We do have NASA, FDA just across the border in White Oak, UMD, Andrews AFB, and the NSA just across the border to our north. But for now, PGC doesn't have a lot of celebrity chef restaurants, luxury spas, music venues, four-star hotels, and high-end boutique shops. I could see your point if those things were all we had. we certainly wouldn't need more. But we don't even have those. I'm grateful for the jobs we do have and those that will soon be here with MGM and potnetially the FBI. Your vision won't happen overnight. And I don't think expanding gambling has hindered that vision or even distracted the state from that goal. I do think that expanding gambling has given us some breathing room.

I'll share with you what Victor Hoskins said in his interview a few weeks back.

Major corporations have little interest in locating their headquarters in Prince George's County, he said, so Prince George's won't waste its time and resources chasing those headquarters.


"If we get them, God bless us," Hoskins said. "If we have them, we want to keep them. But you don't throw out a lot of capital trying to get a Northrop Grumman that frankly doesn't want to be here anyway. But you know what? Northrop Grumman will put their assembly facilities here. They will put their engineers here. But they're not going to put their corporate headquarters here. Be realistic. Don't burn your fuel."

Victor Hoskins on New Carrollton, a new football stadium and why bears drown in the ocean - Washington Business Journal


I think Mr. Hoskins is a prudent man in the development area and I agree with him. Let's focus on what we can win instead of wasting time chasing after unicorns and rainbows. If we get one or two, great, if not, we keep what we have and we go for the low-hanging fruit. I've seen counties in worse condition. we're driving a Lexus wishing we had a Maserati. IMHO

[Mr Beco]

Adelphisky,

I wasn’t talking about just PG County. So I completely agree with you. Hoskins might have talent, so lets see what he can do.

I am a Maryland tax payer, so I root for the entire State to be vibrant and out of debt. When Gov Ehrlich was pushing gambling/slots, I was 100% for that, yet he was shot down. Perhaps that was politics, not sure. Anyway, I am a proponent of promoting the area for major business sectors such as biotech/life sciences, medical, tech, manufacturing, etc. For example, Northern VA gives incentives for Data Centers, Maryland does not. I am not a proponent of reaching out to casinos and making Maryland another Atlantic City. The jobs are nice, but as I mentioned, I believe its short-term boost.

Although, it will be good to keep the money home....so at least our gamblers won’t be going to Atlantic City or Delaware. Which is why I wanted it when Ehrlich was Gov.