Business park near Ballenger Creek to replace landscaping business

First published Thursday, June 6, 2024 in the Frederick News-Post.

A new business park called Jefferson Exchange may replace a landscaping business along Jefferson Pike across from Jefferson Technology Park, according to records showing all planned development in Frederick County released Wednesday.

The developer proposes to tear down the sheds, trees and office that make up the landscaping business that currently sits at 6126 Jefferson Pike, Creative Landscapes by Gregory.

Four large buildings with loading docks totaling 182,160 square feet are planned for the property.

Creative Landscapes moved to Frederick in 2005, according to its website. Land records show that the owner purchased the 19.7-acre property for $1.3 million.

Creative Landscapes has a second location in Montgomery County and it is unclear what will happen to the Jefferson Pike location. An employee who answered the phone for the business Wednesday referred questions about the development plans to owner Greg Kenel. Kenel did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The plan has the Frederick County’s Planning Commission’s initial approval and the Planning and Permitting Division’s staff is now reviewing it, said Ashley Moore, a senior planner in the planning department said.

Once the staff finishes reviewing the proposal, it will present the proposal along with recommendations to the Planning Commission, Moore said. If the Planning Commission approves the plan, the developer can start the process of obtaining a building permit.

Developer St. John’s Properties started the process in March 2021 by petitioning the county to rezone the property from agriculture only to a mixed-use development without housing, documents show. A representative of the developer did not return a phone call asking for comment.

The Frederick County Council and then-County Executive Jan Gardner granted the request in June 2022 via an ordinance, noting that projects like this one align with the county’s vision for a more urban and walkable area with jobs, shopping and housing that is accessible by public transit.

The developer plans to build a sidewalk along Jefferson Pike, planning documents show. “Limited” transit already exists in the Jefferson Technology Park, the ordinance notes.

Ultimately, the county does not know what the development would look like, said Jen Specht, the communications manager for the Division of Planning and Permitting.

The division has requested mock-ups, Moore said. The application cannot move forward until the county receives them, Specht added.

“There will be information we will continue to receive until the applicant can prove they meet our ordinances,” Specht said. “Then, we schedule a hearing to be heard before the Planning Commission.”