New Laurel Towne Center names 3 stores, College Prep Conference this Saturday, Peruvian Chicken in Bowie, Prince George’s gets AAA Rating from Fitch Credit Rating, notes growth and stability
Laurel Towne Center
From the Gazette, “Laurel Towne Centre is being built at the site of the former Laurel Mall, which is currently being demolished. The mall closed in May after 33 years of operation, but had been in decline since the 1990s, said Pete Piringer, Laurel’s public information officer. The new shopping center is expected to be completed in fall 2014 and Regal Cinema movie theater, Harris Teeter Neighborhood Food and Pharmacy and Burlington Coat Factory have been confirmed as tenants.”
Prince George’s County Council Chairman Andrea C. Harrison (D) is sponsoring the Get in Step college prep conference, for county students, grades 8-12, on Saturday, January 26th from 9 a.m.-3 p.m, at Charles H. Flowers High School, 10001 Ardwick Ardmore Rd., Springdale. Meet representatives from colleges and professional and private organizations; financial information, workshops and panel discussions. Free, registration requested. 301-952-3864 or councildistrict5@co.pg.md.us.
Lima’s Peruvian Chicken is open in Collington Plaza. I love Peruvian Chicken and I will be by there in the near future. They’re officially located at 3552 Crain Highway, Bowie Maryland. Stop in and post pics here at the blog. The Bowie Patch gives it a good review, “Through the lunch hour, both carry out and dine in business was steady. Lima’s serves charbroiled rotisserie chicken with two sides in prices ranging from $6.25 for a quarter chicken to $15.95 for a whole chicken. Sides include two types of beans, two types of rice, salad, fried plantains, fried yucca, fresh veggies and french fries. Patrons can also choose from a range of Peruvian specialties, such as anticuchos (beef heart skewers), rachi (beef tripe), ceviche de pescado (fish in lime juice), and parrillada mar y tierra (steak, shrimp and chicken served with potatoes.) A variety of cheese steaks, tacos and burritos are also on the menu.”
I’m not quite sure who Fitch is but I take it they rate municipalities and companies based on their credit. Investopedia defines Fitch Credit Rating as such, “Along with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, Fitch is one of the top three credit rating agencies. Its rating system is very similar to S&P’s in that they both use a letter system.” The highest rating you can receive from Fitch is AAA and that’s exactly what Prince George’s County received. YAAAAY!!! Some excerpts from the Fitch report, “ROBUST ECONOMY WITH EXPANSION POTENTIAL: Fitch posits that substantial transit oriented development is likely, given the notable amount of available land. Expansion continues in the $2 billion mixed-use National Harbor project along the Potomac River, including the $100 million Tanger Outlets at National Harbor. A recently approved gaming facility, expected to open in 2017, will most likely be located adjacent to the National Harbor. The county anticipates that its recently created $50 million revolving economic development initiative fund will boost additional job creation. Fitch considers early results promising…Real estate values, hard hit during the recent national housing correction, are showing signs of recovery, although foreclosures remain the highest in the state. The 2012 housing median sale price rose 5.2% over that of the prior year after a steep 47% decline from the housing peak in 2006. Inventory and sales volume metrics have also improved a bit over the past year. County taxable assessed value (TAV) has benefited from banked Homestead Tax Credits, which, by limiting the TAV growth of homesteaded properties, allow localities to bank surplus TAV to offset real estate declines. The credits, coupled with some growth in the commercial base, allowed AV to grow through fiscal 2011 despite steep housing price reductions.”