The Community Action Council of Howard County’s early childhood education program, Head Start, is coming to the Long Reach Village Center. This new location will allow for more classroom capacity and reduce challenging transit needs.

Head Start and Pre-K provides free pre-school to eligible 3- to 5-year-old children. Programs provide family engagement services, speech & language therapy, mental health consulting, hearing & vision screening, and nutritional counseling.

To learn more, please visit https://www.cac-hc.org/

VM Services, a storefront selling cellular phones, phone plans, wire transfers and more, is moving into 1,643 square feet of the Long Reach Village Center. The owner, Nora Sanchez, previously rented a small space in Deli Town, another store in the Village Center, and is now expanding to her own space. Ms. Sanchez has two other business locations in Gaithersburg and Arlington. View full press release here.

Howard International Grocer, a market specializing in international foods and halal meat, is moving into 1,733 square feet of the Long Reach Village Center. Owner, Monzurul Islam, formerly lived in the Long Reach neighborhood, and has family still in the area. Mr. Islam has three other retail locations and a wholesale distribution business in Prince George’s County. The Howard International Grocer will sell fresh meat and fish, frozen meat and fish, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, milk, eggs, snacks, and more. View full press release here.

The Blooming Hope Dominican Hair Salon is moving into 1,272 square feet of the Long Reach Village Center. The salon will offer hair services for women, men and children, and offer beauty products and accessories. Angela Concepcion and Jardiel Morel, owners of Blooming Hope, have owned and operated salons for more than 30 years in the Dominican Republic. View full press release here.

In the past year, more than 45,000 square feet of office and retail space has been leased, including 25,000 square feet of the space that previously housed Safeway. The Village Center was built in the late 1970s and was designed to meet a variety of residential, office and commercial needs. The Long Reach Rising goal is to help stabilize the area through maintenance, repair, beautification, and placemaking. These businesses join Roving Radish, Manneq Art, Head Start, Every Kid Can Cook, Roll Up N Dye, the Columbia Arts Center, the Stonehouse Community Center, the African Art Museum of Maryland, and new Howard County Arts Council artists’ studios, as part of the emerging arts, culture, and entrepreneurship hub.

For more information visit howardcountymd.gov/longreach