Eric J. Brown
Published: March 23, 2008

The small business owners of Aquia Towne Center are not being treated fairly at all by Ramco-Gershenson. How can someone allow a lease to be signed knowing that in less than a year they will have to ask the lessee to move out?  Cedis 1 Imports opened in October 2006 and now they need to be out by July 2007. Ramco-Gershenson had to know what was going to happen to this store when the lease was signed. They probably already had a contract signed with the demolishers. These businesses in Aquia Towne Center need to know what the master plan is so that they can plan for their future. Better yet, why doesn’t Ramco-Gershenson work with these businesses and the residents of Aquia Harbour to formulate a plan of what is needed for Aquia Towne Center?

Why are we as citizens of Stafford County letting outsiders that live in other states build what they think we need? Why aren’t our Stafford County supervisors doing more to protect the interests of our community? It’s been over two years since Shoppers Food Warehouse moved out of the town center. Why did the county let it degrade to this point?

The outsiders have a plan; as we can see they have already started to execute this plan by tearing down the old Shoppers building. We as citizens of Stafford need to be a part of this plan and voice our concerns at any meeting that comes up on this topic.

Eric J. Brown
Aquia Harbour