By Carrie Wells

Special to The Examiner

College Park, a city of sandwich shops and abandoned businesses, has long been billed an eyesore and an impediment to the progress of the University of Maryland’s goal to become a top-10 research institution.

But by 2013, East Campus, a portion of university land that houses a few maintenance buildings and a bus depot, could be transformed into a city center filled with shops, a Birchmere Music Hall, movie theater and housing.

This story continues below
Advertisement

The plan for the $900 million, 38-acre project will be submitted to the Prince George’s County Planning Board within the next couple of weeks and could be approved by January, developers said.

Construction on the massive town center, enclosed by Paint Branch Parkway and Route 1, could begin as early as 2010.

It is expected to include:

  • A grocery store
  • Apartment and graduate student housing
  • An open gathering area with a stage
  • The first movie theater to come to College Park in decades

Cautious optimism

Longtime College Park City Councilman Bob Catlin said the project should spur redevelopment and improve the relationship between the city and university.

“This project is special,” he said.

“People are cautiously optimistic about it; we expect it to be successful.”

The project has seen many revisions as the Steering Committee and community sought a more smart-growth, college-town feel.

Changes have included shorter, denser buildings and visages that better reflect the campus’ Georgian architecture.

“The creation of urban blocks and public gathering spaces will contribute to a new pedestrian-friendly environment, encourage nearby revitalization and support light rail transit that may traverse the area in the future,” according to the Washington Smart Growth Alliance, which recognized the project in September as meeting smart-growth standards, including density, walkability and environmental-friendliness.

Environmental positives

Developers have made sustainability a priority of the project, seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification, an official recognition that requires the project to conform to strict environmental standards.

Various environmentally friendly measures such as drought-resistant plants and energy-efficient heating systems are scored, and if a project racks up enough points, it can get the certification.

“We think it’s the right thing to do to teach people to live in a more sustainable manner,” said Jon Eisen, a project designer from subcontractor Street Sense.

Making East Campus walkable, instead of car-oriented like the current town center, also is among developer’s priorities.

Among the transportation features for the project are:

  • Dedicated bike lanes
  • Connection to the Purple Line, a light rail extension of the Metro system that is awaiting state and federal approval to be built
  • No free parking for residents and shoppers, to encourage walking

Paying for the project

The City of College Park and the university are working together to try to mitigate the financial burden, and the project hinges on the success of a tax-increment financing deal with the city.

The deal would have the city pay off about $1 million of the project’s debt a year.

In return, the city would get a 50 percent boost in tax revenue, said Richard Perlmutter, the co-principal developer from Foulger-Pratt.

College Park is evaluating the proposal.

Graduate students take issue

Housing for the proposed East Campus development plan may not be within financial reach for many University of Maryland graduate students.

Graduate students are promised 2,200 beds to be built in the first phase of the project, 450 of which will be rented at a subsidized rate beginning at $690 for one bed in a four-bedroom apartment, said Doug Duncan, the university’s vice president for administrative affairs.

Duncan, who represents the university on the project, worked with Foulger-Pratt Argo to develop downtown Silver Spring as Montgomery County executive.

Those rates have Anupama Kothari’s blood boiling.

The Graduate Student Government president said the typical graduate student stipend of $1,000 to $1,500 would make it impossible for most graduates to live in the subsidized apartments, especially once parking rates of about $100 a month are factored in.

“The sheer economics don’t make sense,” Kothari said.

“They keep saying how it’s affordable, but it’s not affordable.”

Developers said they were trying to strike a balance.

“You have to understand we have to make it affordable to build,” said Richard Perlmutter, the co-principal developer from Foulger-Pratt.

carrie.wells@baltimoreexaminer.com