Yesterday I came across a crowing tweet (sorry, “post” on “X”) by County Exec March Elrich discussing the long-awaited “revitalization” of the vacant, neglected Burtonsville Crossing retail center in eastern Montgomery County.
CE Elrich was basically issuing a press release on behalf of the “MD14 Team” which consists of a slate of local MoCo politicians including Maryland State Senator Craig Zucker (Democrat), Delegate Anne Kaiser (Democrat), Delegate Bernice Mireku-North (Democrat) and Delegate Pamela Queen (Democrat). In his comments, Elrich boasts about $3.5 million in state taxpayer dollars (your, my, our money) that’ll now be given to national, well-heeled real estate developer EDENS to build out the shopping center space. It is yet another example of gross economic cronyism in Montgomery County by career politicians who simply refuse to foster a level, fair economic playing field for big and small entrepreneurs alike.
Here is what Elrich claimed would bring “prosperity” to eastern Montgomery County after years of neglect (*under his political leadership):
I join the residents of Burtonsville in their excitement for the new Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Soon, a Sprouts grocery store, a TJ Maxx, and Domain Fitness & Performance will anchor a beautifully renovated shopping center that has remained vacant for far too long. The success of the Burtonsville Shopping Center is due to a successful partnership between state leaders, the County government, community members, and EDENS. The $3.5 million approved today is a critical piece, and I want to thank the Maryland Board of Public Works, consisting of Governor Moore, Comptroller Lierman, and Treasurer Davis, for their approval. I look forward to continuing to work with Senator Zucker and Delegates Kaiser, Mireku-North, and Queen as we further invest in the growth and prosperity of the Burtonsville community.
And here is the money quote from EDENS employee and Managing Director, David Germakian:
For decades, Burtonsville Crossing has been an important part of this community, serving as a well-loved gathering place. We are excited to bring this shopping center back to life and thankful to Senator Zucker and the entire District 14 delegation, as well as Montgomery County, for the enthusiastic support we have received in order to make this redevelopment a reality,” said EDENS Managing Director David Germakian.
Unlike the lazy local media, I was not going to simply repost this puff stuff without diving a bit deeper. And sure enough, it didn’t take much research at all (it actually took about 5 minutes) to discover the following (thank you OpenSecrets.org donor look-up!):
So let’s do some brief maths… $1,000 in political donation to then-delegate (and husband to current MoCo Councilmember Dawn Luedtke) Eric L’s re-election campaign and $100 to Democrat Maryland State Senator Craig Zucker by Mr. Germakian helps to secure $3.5 million in taxpayer dollars (or future taxpayer dollars, with as much debt as the state of Maryland constantly issues) for Mr. Germakian’s employer, EDENS. No doubt, Mr. Germakian is looking at a nice future incentive comp bonus for all the money he both saved – and secured – for the firm. Other people’s money is nice. This is incredible ROI.
Again, EDENS isn’t hurting — this is a national developer and real estate trust with millions of square footage under management / build-out. They can easily get a loan for $3 million to finish construction and remodeling on this property. And if they can’t, then this project should have gone elsewhere.
More cronyism and back-scratching by local MoCo politicians dressed up as genuine, authentic “economic development”. I am happy for Burtonsville, MD area residents who get a new organic food grocer to anchor the shopping center (Sprouts Market) but dang… why are all MD taxpayers on the hook for a multi-million dollar business that already owns millions if not billions in assets? This is just redistribution from the taxpaying Maryland family back to a connected few so that a “District 14” slate can claim some kind of victory.
Well, we need a clean slate in MoCo and Annapolis, not a crony slate of politicians.
More to come.
