It would be hard to overstate how important it is to the city that the new development and redevelopment on the east side of Frederick be well planned and executed, as part of a coherent plan that, even if and as it the plan evolves over time.

It’s been close to a decade since citizens and planners and elected officials and others began to focus in a more organized manner on a large swath of developed and undeveloped land on the east side of Frederick that is now designated as “East Frederick Rising.”

We’ll be publishing a variety of blog entries and other information about this over the months ahead, but today I just wanted to help publicize an event scheduled for Friday evening, and at the same time, offer a variety of basic background information and related resources for you to check out if you would like to learn more about what has been happening, and what could happen.

From Alan Feinberg:

You are invited to a great party in the Catoctin Valley Cannery to celebrate East Frederick’s past efforts, current activities, as well as the incredible possibilities for this 2000-­acre area adjacent to Downtown. Enjoy getting to know each other, seeing the displays, and tasting an array of food and drink from the restaurants on this end of town. This promises to be lots of fun! We will be joined by Stuart Eisenberg, Executive Director of the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation (CDC). He will discuss his successes and lessons learned about how his CDC helped guide and entice new growth around the existing Hyattsville community. There might be something to learn from his experiences. Click here to RSVP!! Alan Feinberg

Coordinator for the “Celebrate East Frederick” event

feinberg.alan2@gmail.com

301-606-6717

There is a lot of information out there about the future of the east side of Frederick (the area outlined in yellow on the image above), some of which is out of date. But, even though it is more than four years old, I highly recommend that anyone interested download and review a document “East Frederick Rising” prepared for the City of Frederick, entitled “A Vision for the Revitalization of the East Side.”

This very well done 8.8MB pdf file is attractive, engaging and information packed

East Frederick Rising Mission Statement:

“It is the mission of East Frederick Rising, through community involvement, to revitalize and develop the east end of the City by creating a vibrant, safe and diverse environment where residential and commercial growth expands in accordance with smart growth principles. Membership includes current and former mayors, city leaders, prominent developers of award winning adaptive reuse projects, land use and legal professionals, real estate experts, local economic development professionals, historic preservationists. planners and urban designers.”

From a page on the City of Frederick’s website, entitled “East Frederick”

East Frederick Small Area Plan East Frederick is comprised of roughly 2,000 acres on the east side of downtown Frederick. A traditional manufacturing and industrial area, East Frederick represents a long-term opportunity for redevelopment, reuse, and infill development. In 2011, after a series of community meetings and outreach to the property owners, residents, and business in the area, the East Frederick Rising Small Area Plan was adopted by the mayor and Board of Aldermen. This plan provides a vision and framework for redevelopment over the next 30 years. East Frederick Rising A community-based group, with support from the City of Frederick, formed East Frederick Rising in 2008 – a 501(c)3 organization founded to provide programs, offer services, and engage in other activities that promote and support the east side of Frederick. East Frederick Documents East Frederick Small Area Plan

East Frederick Rising Vision Plan

East Street Corridor Plan (2001)

Early this year, David T. Whitaker wrote an excellent blog entry, for Smart Growth Maryland, about the development of the are known as East Street Rising:

East Frederick Rising: Another Planning Renaissance

Here is an excerpt:

“Planned on more than 2,000 acres between Frederick’s historic downtown and the Monocacy River, the East Frederick Rising project site contains old industrial areas, large undeveloped and underdeveloped sites, the Great Frederick Fair fairgrounds, the Frederick Brickworks property and the Frederick Municipal Airport. Excluding floodplains, airport lands, parks and other development-restricted areas, there are approximately 1,050 acres for potential development and redevelopment to the east of historic downtown Frederick. The East Frederick Rising project emphasizes a mix of uses as well as healthy and sustainable growth practices and a break with typical suburbanism. By embracing design features that mirror the walkable built environment of Frederick’s historic downtown, East Frederick Rising could be a model for future sustainable communities in Maryland.”

The blog also included this clear list of recommendations:

• Extend the street grid and walkable community aspects from the historic downtown. • Create a series of neighborhoods that are walkable and connected to each other. • Design early developments to be a five minute walk from development that is already in place. Patrick Street should be a connector and not a barrier between neighborhoods both north and south. • Carroll Creek, the greenway, recreational and stormwater management resource, should be the signature element of EFR and will create the real estate values that will drive absorption. • Invest in a centrally located elementary school as a driver of future walkable residential neighborhoods. • Explore development of a small lake on underutilized land and surface parking lots since water-based development drives real estate value. • Consider walkable main street retail fronting Patrick Street in the vicinity of the Frederick Fairgrounds to promote this unique and important use in the city. • Focus on multimodal and multipurpose infrastructure investments that complement walkable and sustainable development. • Employ “complete streets” and develop activity hubs as focal points for people walking and biking in the project area and include three new connector streets. • Complete the shared use path system along Carroll Creek for walking and biking to serve as both a park and a stormwater management resource. • Manage travel demand, stormwater and energy development and usage in the project area and consider the interrelationships of these management concepts throughout the planning and development process. • Monitor and assess the small area plans to assure that future development complies with the vision. • Explore the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF). If TIF is enacted early, it will provide bonding capacity to help fund over $50 million of infrastructure over the next 20 years. See the Maryland Department of Planning’s publication Models & Guidelines #29, “User Guide For Maryland Sustainable Community Revitalization Tax Increment Financing.” • Consider special taxes to promote redevelopment and tax abatement to encourage key uses to locate in EFR and investigate crowd source funding mechanisms to foster creative uses in the project area. • Market Frederick: Promote a range of incentives to attract prospective retailers, businesses and creative employers to EFR.

And, finally, in his conclusion, Whitaker notes:

“While none of us knows all the answers, most Frederick residents agree that it is important to use a thorough public planning process that explores the best elements of the past to create sustainable, creative and successful places for future residents, entrepreneurs, investors and visitors.”

That captures both the necessity and important of employing a good public process and the challenge of doing it well, which is easier said than done.

More information…

Frederick News Post

Letter to the Editor (Alan Feinberg)

Update on east Frederick development efforts

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Frederick News Post

City officials discuss steps to achieve vision for east Frederick

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Your4State.com (VIDEO)

Frederick Officials, Staff Discuss Vision for East Frederick

July 10, 2014

MacRo Report Blog

East Frederick Rising: The Future Of Modern Urban Renewal

July 09, 2014

Smart Growth, Maryland

East Frederick Rising: Another Planning Renaissance

January 28, 2014

Your4State.com

Group Plans to Develop Eastern Part of Frederick

December 11, 2013

Frederick Gorilla

Will East Street Rise Again?

February 1, 2012

WTOP

East Frederick Rising scrutinizes mission after grant falls through

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Gazette

East Frederick Rising unveils vision for city

Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010

Frederick News Post

Grant money moves East Frederick Rising forward

Wednesday, June 9, 2010