College Park City Council Slams Prince George’s Redistricting Proposal

College Park City Council unanimously condemned a proposal to redistrict Prince George’s County Council voting districts. The vote took place during a rare emergency session of City Council held Oct. 18, 2021 specifically to address the redistricting proposal before Prince George’s County Council meets Oct. 19, 2021, to possibly introduce the proposed map for consideration. Once introduced, the map cannot be amended – only voted up or down.

College Park Hires New City Manager (Again)

College Park has hired a new city manager in Kenneth Young, filling a vacancy that had been open since late December 2020. It’s also a job that had almost been filled by another candidate who was fired by city officials before her first day on the job.

A large suburban strip mall is seen from above, at an angle. A sidewalk of street-facing retail, including a Shoe Show store, can be seen across a small two-lane circulator roadway.

Phase One of Beltway Plaza Redevelopment Takes Shape

Detailed plans for an ambitious redevelopment of Beltway Plaza will soon be weighed by the Prince George’s County Planning Board. If approved, construction at the site could begin within a year. 

The six phase redevelopment would eventually demolish the mall and add between 875 and 2,250 multi-family husing units and would replace the 800,000 square-foot central mall with between 435,000 and 700,000 square feet of commercial retail space. 

The first phase calls for the construction of a three multifamily apartment buildings with a total of 750 units, a 92-room hotel and a 27,000 square foot recreation center. The last time we heard about this project, the mall’s ownership group — Silver Spring-based Quantum Cos.  — was soliciting feedback on the finer details of their detailed site plans. A diagram shows a proposed overhead layout for a six-phase redevelopment of Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt.

Crucially for any retailers inside the mall: the current mall structure will not be touched during the first phase of the redevelopment. Rather, the first phase is focused on a sparsely-used parking lot on the northern side of the mall, fronting Breezewood Drive. 

The plans recently received the conditional blessing of the Greenbelt City Council, with some reservations from City Council members, according to the Greenbelt News Review. 

The project goes before the Prince George’s County Planning Board at its Sept.