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, as part of the Long Reach Rising Revitalization project led by Howard County.

Photo courtesy Long Reach Community Association.

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. Sanchez has two other business locations in Gaithersburg and Arlington.

In the past year, more than 45,000 square feet of office and retail space has been leased, including 25,000 square foot of the space that previously housed Safeway. The Village Center was built in the late 1970s and is widely used by the neighborhood, residents to meet a variety of office and commercial needs. Prior to the center opening, residents of Long Reach gathered for a village meeting and voted for arts and crafts as the prevailing theme for the village center.