Rock Hall Village: An Experiment with Small Retail Spaces

After seven months of hard work, the Rock Hall Village Project was completed in October; giving the town of Rock Hall a much needed Main Street makeover. This project is the first of its kind for the Brawner Company, known locally as the operators of the Haven Harbour Marina.

“There is a charitable undercurrent to the whole project in that we are providing the town a new centerpiece and gazebo in which a farmer’s market, concerts, and anything oriented to the community can be hosted,” said Bill Brawner Jr., company president. “Prior to the emergence of the gazebo, there was no real gathering place in the town of Rock Hall, something that really gives a town identity. By creating this project we thought perhaps we could solve a few problems for the town economically, and work towards helping regenerate a fairly sluggish economy.”

The Rock Hall Village Project is comprised of 14 different buildings, two of which are uniquely geared to the public. There are a total of 12 structures geared toward retail operations, and of those 12, six businesses have already made a commitment to sign a lease. The Village will house everything from from artists, to clothing retailers, and finally brokers.

[slideshow id=85]In addition to building the cluster of retail shops, the Brawner Company also wanted to accommodate the public by making one of the buildings available for a Visitor’s Center with public restrooms. The town’s old Visitor’s Center was seldom used and located away from Main Street, where most tourists and visitors gather.

“So now they have a small Visitor’s Center as a gateway to the community. People can stop and get literature and learn about local happenings around town, and in the process it’s improving exposure for the town and broadening the community at large,” said Brawner in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “This is located in a very central area that everyone sees, at (the corner of) Main Street, so it is a very important piece of property. We kept this thought at the forefront of our minds and knew we wanted to create something extremely attractive to improve upon the fabric of Rock Hall and to help stimulate new business activity at a time when things are in decline economically.”

Why Rock Hall? The answer is simple. The Brawner Company has been invested in the town for almost two decades, from a business-related standpoint as well as a personal standpoint. Brawner resided in Rock Hall when he was a student at Washington College and for several years afterward. He graduated in 1997

“We have homes there and other businesses that are operating in Rock Hall, so we knew there were these deficiencies and that this would be an optimal time to fill some of those gaps – one being with the gazebo and a public restroom facility,” he said.

The opportunity for the Rock Hall Village presented itself when a fire completely destroyed some buildings on the 1.14 acre property. Instead of restoring the old buildings, the Brawners decided to start from scratch and the concept for the Village was born.

Feedback for the most part has been positive; 80 to 90 percent of the public is in favor of the project.

“Now that it is completed I think people are just delighted and blown away with the outcome. I believe we have exceeded people’s expectations. It definitely seems to be a step in the right direction,” he said.

The goal is to have all units in full operation by this spring in time for the tourist season crucial to the success of these local businesses. Brawner hopes that this project will inspire further improvements to enrich Rock Hall.