Waverly Main Street Plans To Stay ‘Real’

Tripp Muldrow doesn’t think Waverly Main Street should try to be something that it’s not.

While so many neighborhoods and cities are striving to be "precious" and "cute," that’s not the direction Muldrow, a planner from Arnett Muldrow & Associates, believes the district needs to go.

"Well Greenmount Avenue really is not 'precious' and 'cute' and 'adorable.' It’s real. And that’s part of what we want to do. There’s something about being 'real.' Don’t fool me. Give me something real,” Muldrow said.

On Thursday night a team from Mahan Rykiel Associates presented a master plan it has developed with the community intended to help the business district improve its brand and perception.

The master plan, which is scheduled to be made available to the public on Friday through Waverly Main Street’s website, makes suggestions ranging from façade improvements to logo designs on making the commercial district a more thriving place.

"There’s a lot and I call it 'exaggerated perceptions' about this community. There’s a lot of drama about what goes on in this corridor that when you get down to the reality of it it’s not what everyone is telling the story about," Muldrow said.

The master plan includes a market study of the 21218 zip code that shows there is a strong need for retail, such as an electronics retailer, and full service restaurants. It also showed there isn’t a need for more liquor, convenience or full service grocery stores.

The plan also calls for giving buildings such as Kitty’s Lounge, the old Uncle Lee’s building and former Boulevard Theater major façade renovations, in addition to creating more access to the popular 32nd Street Farmers Market and the planned Waverly Commons project.

After the meeting Charles Village residents Laura Bianca and Reginald Parker said they were impressed with master plans and the vision it lays out for Waverly Main Street moving forward.

"I like that they really listened to a lot of our comments on Tuesday night and I’m really taken in by the character of Waverly and all the neighborhoods surrounding," Bianca said.  

Jermaine Johnson, Waverly Main Street director, said that he was very excited following the presentation and that he feels it was a culmination of the ideas from merchants and residents. 

"It really clearly displayed Waverly. It really showed how diverse, interesting and quirky Waverly can be," Johnson said.

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, who represents the area, also said that she was happy with the results of the master plan and was confident that the suggestions will actually be carried out.

“We’re not a shopping mall. It’s not like going out to the suburbs and seeing the same old storefronts. It’s local. It’s vibrant. It’s exciting and come on over,” Clarke said.  

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