Thursday, April 30, 2009

Fenton Village: ‘Funky,' diverse and overlooked - Gazette

Neighborhood residents seek to define community as they consider ways to garner commercial attention

by Jason Tomassini | Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 23, 2009

What is Fenton Village?

That was the simple question asked of residents from the Silver Spring neighborhood last week at a forum to discuss the future of the area bordered by Fenton Street to the east, Georgia Avenue to the west, Wayne Avenue to the north and Philadelphia Avenue to the south.

Some felt Fenton Village should remain as is: home to residents of diverse backgrounds, long-established service-oriented shops and locally-owned restaurants that don't constitute "destination shopping." Others wanted to capitalize on what they called the neighborhood's "funkiness" to carve a more prominent niche for Fenton Village within a redeveloped downtown Silver Spring.

After an overview of the neighborhood was presented April 22, the roughly 50 people in attendance broke into five work groups to discuss Fenton Village. One group of community members spoke thoughtfully of how Fenton Village has evolved and how to preserve the neighborhood's character while still bringing in visitors and viable businesses.

http://gazette.net/stories/04292009/silvnew183703_32529.shtml

No comments: