Purple Line Stokes Gentrification Fears

In Maryland, the Purple line is years away from completion, but a group of small business owners say they're already feeling its effects.

Danny Santacruz owns America Hair Design, right at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and University Boulevard in Langley Park.  One day, the Purple line will go through there. Construction is at least three years away, but Santacruz and his salon may not be here by then. Rent is getting higher and higher, to the point that Santacruz says he could rent in D.C.'s upscale Dupont Circle neighborhood for the same price.

"I've noticed on the leases, there's no renewal now after five years," says Santacruz. "They continue to increase (rent). It could have to do with the Purple line. It could not. It could just be a coincidence. I don't really know."

He's done business in Langley Park for 11 years, but now, he sadly imagines what riders will one day say as the ride the Purple line through there. "'Yeah, I remember they used to have Hispanic cuisine at this restaurant, or Indian cuisine at that restaurant,'" he says. "'Oh yeah, that was a long time ago. We have whatever store is there now.'"

Moreira-Smith says Casa does not want to see here what happened in the D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights, where big box retailers such as Target and Best Buy now do business. The Montgomery County Council is considering a bill targeting such retailers by forcing them to sign community benefit agreements supporters feel would protect existing businesses.

"These big box businesses are not here to compete with local small businesses.  They're here to take over," Moreira-Smith says.

County executive Isiah Leggett has threatened to veto the measure, saying it sends a bad message and makes the county less business friendly. There is no construction start date set for the Purple line.