Owings, MD – A spokeswoman for the property management company whose strip mall in Northern Calvert County was heavily damaged by fire Wednesday morning, Jan. 6 said the multi-storefront structure will be rebuilt.
Cynthia Brown of Brandywine Investment Properties LLC told The BayNet that rumors the structure, known as The Bright Center West, will be condemned were inaccurate and, in fact, two of the tenants will have their businesses open this weekend.
“Tax Depot is still open and Andy’s Nail Salon will be reopening Saturday,” said Brown, whose company owns, leases, manages and develops the Bright Center. The other occupants, Floral Expressions and Owings Drycleaners, sustained the heaviest damage from the fire.
The blaze, which did nearly $1 million in damage to the structure and its contents, occurred after a motor vehicle, which was driven by a Prince George’s County man, ran off Route 4 and crashed into the building.
The driver, identified as Vincent Troy, 32 of Upper Marlboro, is facing 14 separate charges related to the crash. The list includes driving while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, driving while so far impaired by drugs cannot drive safely, negligent driving, reckless driving, failure to control speed on a highway to avoid a collision, driving while suspended, driving while revoked, driving without a license, failure to display license on demand and failure to display registration on demand.
According to court documents, Troy is being held in lieu of $50,000 bond. A hearing in District Court regarding the incident is tentatively scheduled for March 24 at 10:30 a.m.
According to Brown, the renovation of Bright Center West is in the works. “We have plans to start immediately,” she said, adding that the rebuild project would need to go through the county’s permitting process.
Brown the owners of the floral shop and drycleaners have plans to temporarily relocate although she could not specifically address what those plans were.
“They got a lot of community support,” said Brown of the overwhelming response from Calvert residents and other local business owners who have reached out to the displaced merchants.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
