Potomac Towne Center Ranson WV (Martinsburg, Charles Town: townhouse, parking, business)
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Movies theaters are a dying breed. Not only are they overly expensive.....but more importantly - Hollywood is seriously running out of new ideas. There's very little new originality....everything is regurgitated, over and over and over.
DISAGREE!
Especially after seeing the movie Interstellar last night. Wow.... for all those out there that say there are no original ideas coming out of Hollywood you are wrong. Dead wrong; there are, you just have to search for them.
After the movie, my date had to put my eyes back into my head and pick my jaw off of the floor. I also find if very hard to believe that only two people wrote the script for this movie- incredible.
For those unfamiliar with the movie- this picture is along the lines of other SCIFI films such as 2001 and Close Encounters etc.
All I can say about the film is just.... Wow......
Back on topic:
I heard from a reliable source (the handyman who is fixing my house in Ranson) that Carl M. Freeman Companies-the company that was developing the Potomac Towne Center is nearly bankrupt. This speaks volumes as to what has been happening and not happening at the shopping center.
Additional:
It has been three weeks since my move to Leesburg and I am loving it. Two nights ago I really, really needed to go to Target. For the first time in six years I didn't have to travel to Martinsburg to go to this department store! Total travel time: 2 minutes!
Especially after seeing the movie Interstellar last night. Wow.... for all those out there that say there are no original ideas coming out of Hollywood you are wrong. Dead wrong; there are, you just have to search for them.
After the movie, my date had to put my eyes back into my head and pick my jaw off of the floor. I also find if very hard to believe that only two people wrote the script for this movie- incredible.
For those unfamiliar with the movie- this picture is along the lines of other SCIFI films such as 2001 and Close Encounters etc.
All I can say about the film is just.... Wow......
Back on topic:
I heard from a reliable source (the handyman who is fixing my house in Ranson) that Carl M. Freeman Companies-the company that was developing the Potomac Towne Center is nearly bankrupt. This speaks volumes as to what has been happening and not happening at the shopping center.
Additional:
It has been three weeks since my move to Leesburg and I am loving it. Two nights ago I really, really needed to go to Target. For the first time in six years I didn't have to travel to Martinsburg to go to this department store! Total travel time: 2 minutes!
It figures that they're about bankrupt, there hasn't been any work on the site in years. They probably spent quite a bit on the site work for the Boulevard, yet it is only partially leased.
I'm honestly surprised that a hotel hasn't tried to build a location on the hotel space.
I have been enjoying this thread for about an hour or so. I live in very rural east San Diego now, but from 1988-1991, I owned a home in Knoxville and would do alot of my shopping in your area. I miss the Harpers Ferry flea market and the Golden Corral on 340. When I left, the 340 bypass had just started.
I know it's off topic, but I wanted to quickly share a project of similar fate out here for your amusement. If you look at a map of SoCal, there is a city of 40,000 about 1.5 hours east San Diego called El Centro, they had a big faky boom from 2003-2008. Thousands of people moved there to escape high SD home prices and drove 110 miles EACH WAY to and from work. Well a developer built and entire enclosed mall Imperial Valley Mall, anticipating the demand. It has a Sears, Macy's, JC Penny's and a Dillard's, 61 other shops a food court and a 14 screen Cinemark. It is accessed from a freeway exit that still has no traffic signals and is surrounded still on 2 sides by alfalfa fields. I don't expect it to survive another 5 years.
For some reason, reading this thread made me think of that.
I have been enjoying this thread for about an hour or so. I live in very rural east San Diego now, but from 1988-1991, I owned a home in Knoxville and would do alot of my shopping in your area. I miss the Harpers Ferry flea market and the Golden Corral on 340. When I left, the 340 bypass had just started.
I know it's off topic, but I wanted to quickly share a project of similar fate out here for your amusement. If you look at a map of SoCal, there is a city of 40,000 about 1.5 hours east San Diego called El Centro, they had a big faky boom from 2003-2008. Thousands of people moved there to escape high SD home prices and drove 110 miles EACH WAY to and from work. Well a developer built and entire enclosed mall Imperial Valley Mall, anticipating the demand. It has a Sears, Macy's, JC Penny's and a Dillard's, 61 other shops a food court and a 14 screen Cinemark. It is accessed from a freeway exit that still has no traffic signals and is surrounded still on 2 sides by alfalfa fields. I don't expect it to survive another 5 years.
For some reason, reading this thread made me think of that.
Thank you very much for sharing! I researched the Imperial Valley Mall a little and found it to be incredibly interesting. I have to admit it is the newest fully enclosed mall I have ever seen. I always thought the trend of constructing entirely inclosed malls began to dwindle in the mid 1990s. It's interesting and in a way refreshing to see a fairly new example of an enclosed mall. I am impressed by the tenant line-up (according to their website) and the number of outparcels it has. How is the mall doing? You mentioned that you do not expect it to survive another five years. How is the mall's foot traffic and is it holding tenants pretty well? Thanks again
I have an update on the Windmill Cinema which was to be built on route 340 in Charles Town (near Aldi Foods and Tractor Supply Company) and Franks Theaters which was to be built at the Potomac Towne Center in Ranson.
I was talking to the realtor who is handling my house Ranson (after my recent relocation to Leesburg.) and casually asked if he had any updates on either. He told me the Charles Town movie theater died a while ago. Berkeley 7 just hasn’t removed the theater link from their website. As for Franks Theaters, they backed out as well. My source said he had recently seen the release report for that project.
So there you have it- Both projects are OFFICIALLY DEAD. Want to live in Jefferson County and you like going to the movies or are a movie buff? Then you will be taking your business out of the county to Martinsburg, Hagerstown, Winchester or Frederick if you like IMAX movies.
I do have some closing thoughts on this: *venom spews from mouth*
Berkeley 7 Theaters- you had a good idea when you decided to build a 4 screen locally owned movie theater for area residents. You just chose a poor location to do so. In hind site, you should have built it in Jefferson Crossing next to IHOP. You would have catered to the gamblers who wanted some place to leave their families while they were in the casino. Further, you wouldn’t have encountered the problems with the sewer that ultimately doomed your project.
Franks Theaters- what can I say...... Thank you for the last six years of false hopes and broken promises that you gave to area residents and this movie buff who dreamed and hoped that you would build your theater virtually in his backyard.
I can’t count how many times I drove by the proposed site wishing there was something- anything there only to find nothing. I doubt there will ever be anything there either.
I guess I should have taken the hint (a long time ago) when the businesses that were supposedly headed to Ranson skipped Ranson and went to Martinsburg instead- Best Buy, Target, Golden Corral to name a few.
As cat1116 pointed out on another thread, Bob Evans is closing in a round of corporate closures.
Potomac Towne Center has always had tenancy issues. The owners really need to change course and try attracting more big name tenants. Otherwise, the center will continue its downward spiral.
I just found this interesting description of the project from 2007:
"The eastern panhandle of West Virginia is experiencing steady housing and population growth and national retailers are beginning to take notice as The Home Depot, Kohl’s, Panera Bread and Starbucks Coffee have all entered the market. This area of West Virginia is trying to become the next extension of Washington, D.C. Potomac Towne Center is being developed by Carl M. Freeman Companies Commercial Real Estate in Jefferson County, West Virginia and the national retailers are believing.
“We had to work hard to get retailers to take a serious look at the market,” says Kim Damion, marketing manager for Carl M. Freeman Companies Commercial Real Estate. “They had preconceived notions about West Virginia, but once they were there and witnessed what was happening, they realized that this is the next extension of the Washington, D.C., corridor.”
And the national retailers that have opened stores in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia are reporting sales figures well above their best projections. “This is a testament to how hungry the market has been for quality retail,” Damion says.
Potomac Towne Center is definitely the driving force behind attracting those retailers to West Virginia. It is a five-phase, 1.5 million-square-foot project located in Charles Town/Ranson, West Virginia. Phase I, The Marketplace at Potomac Towne Center, is open and anchored by Kohl’s, Weis, The Home Depot, Petco and Panera Bread. The balance of the center is filled by regional and local tenants.
Phase II, The Boulevard at Potomac Towne Center, is currently undergoing land preparation and will begin turning over sites this month. Its anticipated completion date is the middle of 2008. This phase will include entertainment, restaurants and a hotel. It will also bring the area’s first new office space to the eastern panhandle in almost 20 years as well as the first Starbucks Coffee.
Phase III, The Main Street at Potomac Towne Center, is in the design stages and land preparation is expected at the end of this year. This phase will be a power center with several big box merchants currently in negotiations.
“This development is successful due to the housing growth of Jefferson County,” Damion says. “Ranson is only 45 miles from Washington, D.C., and closer still to many corporate headquarters in Montgomery County, Maryland.”
Ranson is home to the Charles Town Races and Slots, which currently attracts 6 million visitors to the area each year. It is planning a major expansion of 65,000 square feet with hopes of table gaming becoming a reality later this year. If voters pass the issue in June, it will only drive more visitors to the area creating more need for restaurants, hotels and retail space."
Referring to my post above about the 2007 article, where was phase III, known as "The Main Street at Potomac Towne Center", going to be? Was it supposed to be west of "The Marketplace" adjacent to the railroad tracks?
It appears that the owner of John's Cafe is trying to sell the business.
Last edited by Dequindre; 05-20-2015 at 07:45 PM..
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Jefferson County Movie Theaters: Epilogue
