Floats, Fuddruckers, and Foreclosures

Who knew that the inaugural parade floats are built by a Prince George’s County company?
Fuddruckers coming to Brandywine Crossing.
Still too many foreclosed homes in the county.  2000 and counting.

I’m not a huge Fuddruckers fan; their scratch baked hamburger buns are too thick for me.  But for those of you who enjoy them, here’s news from Citybiz.com:  “Fuddruckers has leased 3,995 square feet for a new restaurant at Brandywine Crossing, which is located at 15900 Crain Highway in Brandywine, MD.  Geoffrey Mackler and Brian Mitchell with H&R Retail represented landlord, Faison-Brandywine, LLC, in the transaction.  Brandywine Crossing is a 650,000 square foot regional power center on 88 acres at US Route 301/MD Route 5 and Chadds Ford Drive/Matapeake Drive in Prince George’s Co.”  Let me just say that I knew nothing of the Brandywine Crossing located at 15908 Crain Hwy, Brandywine, MD 20613.  I think I’ll have to check it out.

I’m so proud of Lanham‘s own Hargrove Incorporated who will be supplying some of the floats for the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade.  Yay Hargrove!!!!  Hargrove specializes in trade shows and major events, has been selected by the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) to make some of the floats for the Inaugural Parade as well as create the staging and decor for the Inaugural Balls at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The company will also design the setting at the National Building Museum.  This is Hargrove’s 17th Inaugural. They started doing inaugural events back in 1949 for President Harry S. Truman’s second inaugural.

While home prices are steadily creeping upward in PGCo, there is still a crisis number of foreclosed and abandoned properties.  The Washington Post story tells of a vandalized home in Clinton that will break your heart.   An excerpt, “Neighbors tried for months to get the foreclosed house on Student Drive boarded up. Finally, about 6 p.m. New Year’s Day, Leroy Button looked out his window and saw the five-year-old house across the street engulfed in flames — a blaze being investigated as a possible arson. The next morning, all that was left was a charred shell and a sense of frustration.”  

I didn’t even bother to read the comments for the article because I know how nasty the keyboard cowards can be when talking about PGCo residents and the housing crisis.