Not in My Front Yard

Dogs may be cute, but commercial landlords still shy away from doggy daycares and boarding businesses. (Dogs usually have terrible credit scores, if they even have one at all.) Lee & Associates’ Dennis Boyle and Bill Harrison, above, just placed Tecla’s K-9 Academy in 13k SF at 7111 Dorsey Run Rd. NAI KLNB’s Bob Smith repped the landlord, H&H Rock Properties. The daycare and training center's owner, Tecla Walton, also has a center in Ellicott City.

Here’s Tecla and one of her charges. Three years ago, Bill also put Camp Bow Wow (daycare and boarding) into 7,200 SF in Columbia’s 7165 Oakland Mills Rd. Between those two deals, he could’ve placed several similar uses, he says, but landlords worry about the barking and, well, the poop (Bill says these businesses know how to handle that part, though). He looks in industrial areas to mitigate noise concerns, but it's still a difficult use to place, he says.

Another challenge for doggy-based business are economics. MacKenzie Commercial’s Karen Deeley (snapped yesterday at right with Dogma co-owner Virginia Byrnes and 13-year-old Wally, who's as happy as a dog in a dog treat store) was on the search for space for a high-end pet-boarding company a few years ago. It wanted to build new near the airport, but in Anne Arundel County, that use falls under general commercial zoning, which means high land prices owing to competition for land with hotels, banks, convenience stores, and gas stations. And the deal just didn't work out.

Excuse me, may I get a free sample? Karen is now repping Dogma in its search for space in DC and its Maryland suburbs. It’s got three stores in the Baltimore metro: Brewers Hill, McHenry Row, and Mt. Washington (Wally’s favorite).

Tell us when we’ve shown you enough Dogma customers (didn’t think so). Virginia tells Karen that hands-free leashes, interactive toys (for human and pet), and clothes were popular at last week's Global Pet Expo in Orlando.