This story was updated at 3:40 p.m. on May 21, 2020, to include information on 15-minute parking spaces for pickup the city of Rockville established in March.
Federal Realty Investment Trust, which owns and operates retail properties throughout Montgomery County, launched a curbside pickup program this month in which customers park in a designated space and have food or retail goods brought to their vehicle.
The program, called The Pick Up, was launched in response to the COVID-19 crisis, which has closed most businesses and closed restaurants for sit-down service. The Pick-Up launched throughout the country on May 15, and in Montgomery County on May 8, Federal Realty spokeswoman Jill McCarthy said on Monday.
Federal Realty’s properties that are using the program have spaces that are marked “Pick Up” and contain a number.
Some restaurants have had curbside pickup since the beginning of the health crisis, but McCarthy said Federal Realty’s program extends to all tenants in their properties.
“This is really about saying in a shopping center or in a neighborhood like Pike & Rose or Bethesda Row that all of our businesses can participate in curbside pickup. With the program, whether you’re a small mom and pop or a national chain, your customers have the convenience and the comfort and safety right now,” she said.
McCarthy said all of Federal Realty’s properties as far south as Bethesda Row and as far north as Quince Orchard Plaza in Gaithersburg have The Pick Up, with the exception of Rockville Town Square, because it is the city of Rockville. She said the company hopes to get approval from the city soon.
Marylou Berg, a spokeswoman for the city of Rockville, wrote in an email to Bethesda Beat on Thursday that in March, about 40 Town Square parking spaces were converted into 15-minute spaces for pickup at retailers.
“The new proposal from Federal Realty is that 10 of those 40 spaces in Town Square be designated as ‘The Pickup,’ with numbered spaces identifying signage, during the process of reopening,” she wrote.
Berg wrote that the City Council is scheduled to discuss Federal Realty’s proposal at its meeting on June 1.
McCarthy said she anticipates that the pickup program will continue even after the COVID-19 crisis has ended. She noted that there are extra costs to businesses associated with online and purchases and shipping.
“It’s about saying, customers are gonna continue to want to shop their favorite brands, but our customers, even when we do return to whatever normal is, are still looking for convenient pickups,” she said.
“While I think COVID certainly expedited the launch of the program, this will not go away when people can return to normal shopping patterns.”
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media
