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Catoctin Motor Sports is one of three
businesses now occupying a portion of the old
Jubilee Foods store in Thurmont. Catoctin
Development and Advanced Development are the
other two businesses. All three are owned by
Donald Owens, who also purchased the vacant
grocery store and will be renting out the
remaining 12,000 square feet of space.
(Photo by - Robert A. Rosensteel Sr.) |
(2/1) Catoctin Development and Advanced
Development Services operated out of an office
in Frederick with 1,100 square feet of
workspace.
“Everyone was sitting on top of each
other,” said Sam Bollinger, co-owner of
Bollinger Enterprises. “When you got up from a
desk someone would take it.”
And that doesn’t include finding space to
work on the sprint cars that Catoctin Motor
Sports operates.
That’s no longer the case with the new
5,400 square foot office at one end of the old
Jubilee Foods store. And if the companies ever
run out of space, another 12,000 square feet
of empty space sits vacant next to the office,
ready to be rented.
The store had sat vacant for four years
until Donny Owens purchased it for his
companies.
“It was a mess,” Bollinger said. “There
were asbestos tiles on the floor and an old
drop ceiling. We pretty much gutted it. We
tore out the tiles and sprinklers, fixed the
sprinkler system and cut windows so we could
get some light.”
Other changes include an updated electrical
system, propane tanks, a fenced-in back area
and a security system.
The entire project cost about $400,000. The
companies had their first planning session on
redeveloping the old store in November and
moved in the middle of January.
“It was a lot less expensive,” Bollinger
said. “We bought it for a lot less than
anything we could have gotten in Frederick.”
The other advantage is that many of the
principals in the company are Thurmont natives
who have now been able to bring their
businesses back to their hometown.
“Our relocation to Thurmont is a key
component to our growth strategy,” Owens said.
“We’ve been able to plan the new facility to
streamline our operations, enabling us to grow
and provide more services to our customers.
And, it is nice to be back where I grew up.”
Catoctin Development is a residential
development company and Advanced Development
Services is an underground utility company. In
business for six years, the companies employ
35 people.
Canyon Construction was the general
contractor on the project and Bollinger
Enterprises represented the owner through the
purchase and renovation.
