Annexation hearing set for Tuesday

June 07, 1998|By JULIE E. GREENE

A public hearing will be held Tuesday on the proposed annexation of 416 acres west of Hagerstown, including land for the $40 million Centre at Hagerstown shopping center.

The 7 p.m. hearing will be in Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.

City Council members will vote whether to approve a resolution for the annexation after the hearing. If approved, it would become effective on July 24.

About 79 acres of the land northwest of the Interstate 81 and U.S. 40 interchange is for the shopping center.

A master plan for the 416 acres suggests a golf course surrounded by 1,100 residential units, a business park and more retail businesses, including a hotel. The master plan could change, officials said.

Phillip L. Ross, director of the McLean, Va.-based development firm for the shopping center, said he doesn't anticipate any problems at the annexation hearing.

Ground is expected to be broken on the shopping center in September so the first phase of stores can open in late summer 1999, said Ross, of Petri Dierman Kughn.

The shopping center is expected to include an 18-screen movie theater, a home improvement store, a large pet store and a large book store.

The center would create 1,500 full- and part-time jobs with an expected annual payroll of $20 million to $23 million, Ross has said.

City and Washington County officials are still discussing which local government will provide sewer service to the shopping center. The city is expected to provide sewer service.

Under a development agreement with the city, the center could be served by the county's underused Conococheague Wastewater Treatment Plant if the deal doesn't raise costs for the developers, according to Deborah Everhart, the city's economic development coordinator.

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