College Park

Low demand for College Park coronavirus relief

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College Park set aside $1.7 million to assist residents and businesses dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. But so far, few have availed themselves of the grant program. According to city manager Scott Somers, the city has only processed 28 small-business assistance grants totaling $47,400 plus 18 family assistance program grants totaling approximately $6,200. “I was surprised at how low that was,” Somers said during College Park’s Aug. 4, 2020, City Council meeting.

College Park

950-bed mixed-use student housing approved for College Park

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The Prince George’s County Planning Board unanimously approved detailed plans for a 9-story, 950-bed, 282-unit student housing complex in southern College Park. The move clears the way for Athens-Georgia-based Landmark Properties to apply for building permits for the mixed-use project, which will also include 6,670 square-feet of ground-floor retail. The project, which will demolish an existing office building, is the second major redevelopment in the pipeline in College Park’s southern Baltimore Avenue corridor. Dubbed the Standard at College Park, the complex will be built on a 1.9-acre parcel of land between Hartwick Road and Guilford Road. In an April letter, developers told the Calvert Hills Civic Association they hoped to open to project by Spring 2023, which would be an ambitious schedule even without a recession and a persistent regional construction labor shortage. 

An excerpt from the application materials for The Standard at College Park shows the site location, about a half-block west of Baltimore Avenue and Hartwick Road.

College Park

Tiny Trolley Trail gap to be bridged in Berwyn

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Sometimes, it’s the little things. A small gap in the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail in College Park could soon be filled per a plan under review with Prince George’s planners. The gap is currently located to the north of the Trolley Trail’s intersection with Berwyn Road in College Park. The plans will bridge what is currently a small gravel parking lot which has stood in the way of the trail. Though, to be fair, the lot hasn’t been much of an obstacle.

College Park

College Park approves $1.7M coronavirus relief fund

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College Park City Council unanimously approved a $1.65 million coronavirus relief package designed to aid businesses and provide direct aid to city residents affected by the pandemic’s disruptions. 

The vote took place at College Park’s May 26, 2020, City Council meeting, held virtually. The measure is expected to be funded through federal disaster aid reimbursements. 

The biggest line item in the relief package is a $1 million small business assistance grant program. Only College Park city businesses with 25 or fewer full-time may apply. The program provides up to $15,000 per business for to offset losses from business interruptions or decreased customer demand caused by the emergency measures imposed to try to stem the spread of the disease. The grants are further restricted to commercial entities with no more than 10 outlets.

College Park

Another one: 9-story, 282-unit student-housing project planned for College Park

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Another developer has eyes on College Park’s southern Baltimore Avenue corridor, this time with plans to build a large mixed-use student housing complex on Guilford Drive. The developer behind the project, dubbed The Standard at College Park, is Landmark Properties, an Athens-based developer of student housing. Last month, Landmark Properties filed paperwork for approval of its preliminary plans. In those documents, the developers outline plans to build a nine-story, 282-unit student-housing complex with capacity for 951 beds set atop 6,671 square feet of ground-floor retail “likely to include a restaurant use.” The building is planned to have a 180-space parking garage. The site in question is a 1.85-acre parcel of land sandwiched between Hartwick Road and Guilford Road, just west of the massive planned College Park Southern Gateway development, which will have hundreds of market-rate multifamily units. 

The application was accepted March 11, 2020.