Route 1 Reporter (https://route1reporter.com/category/news/college-park/)
College Park’s midtown stretch of Baltimore Avenue continues to redevelop, as a prominent real estate investment company has dropped nearly $30 million on two properties upon which it plans to build a student housing project, according to city officials.
Beltway Plaza Mall is one step closer to redevelopment.
At its Feb. 19, 2019, worksession, College Park City Council will discuss financing options for its planned $12.5 million City Hall.
Most of College Park’s recent capital projects, except for the Knox Road parking garage, have been fully funded the year of the project, a pay-go system. But a large, multi-million-dollar project such as its new city hall is not suited for such financing. For one, it would cost nearly $14 million in one year for this project. Such an outlay would eat up most of the city’s budget in a given year.
In College Park’s political discourse, the move was somewhat controversial. As in any small town with a college, there is a vocal segment of the city’s civic sphere that disdains or fears student involvement in city politics; who argue the civic priorities of land-owning residents should take precedence over those of a more-transient student population.
Greenbelt City Council voted to conditionally support a conceptual redevelopment proposal for Beltway Plaza Mall. The action took place at its Feb. 11, 2019, meeting. While the mall’s owners, Bethesda-based Quantum Cos. hailed the move, there’s still a chance Greenbelt could end up opposing the conceptual site plan if city officials and the mall’s owners fail to agree on conditions set down during the meeting.
A majority of Greenbelt City Council still appears broadly supportive of conceptual proposals to redevelop Beltway Plaza.
Yale Avenue apartments fetch big price from bankrupt developer; Brentwood industrial owner adds to holdings.
Mere months after being sold at auction, a dilapidated apartment building once owned by a recent College Park mayoral candidate has been sold at a big markup to a new owner, state property records show.
The property in question is 4619 College Ave. in College Park’s old-town neighborhood. It houses a small-ish, two-storey brick apartment building with several rental units. As recently as August 2018, the property was owned by Tom Chen, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of College Park in 2017. Chen’s ownership of the property became a campaign issue during his 2017 mayoral candidacy after an article by The Diamondback newspaper highlighted complaints and code violations lodged against his properties in the city.
The controversial – and not-yet realized – sale of a Metro-owned plot of land on Route 1 is part of a larger effort by the regional transit agency to capitalize on its property assets. This week, officials with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration revealed they hope to sell several property holdings spread across the region. The new information provides additional context for a College Park neighborhood association’s opposition to potential development of a WMATA-owned wooded tract of land immediately north of Riverdale Park Station under which Metro’s Green Line travels between Prince George’s Plaza and College Park Metro stations. WMATA announced this week it hopes to sell eight properties spread across the greater D.C. region. They are as follows, taken right from WMATA’s press release:
Baltimore Avenue, College Park, Maryland
Parcel is located at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Albion Road and adjoins the Riverdale Park Station residential and retail complex anchored by Whole Foods
Southern Avenue Metro Station Parcels, Temple Hills, Maryland
Two parcels adjoining the Southern Avenue Metro Station on the Green Line
Glenmont Metro Station Parcel, Silver Spring, Maryland
Parcel adjoins the Glenmont Metro Station west entrance on the Red Line
9400 Lottsford Road, Largo, Maryland
Parcel is ¼ mile from the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center, in construction, and the Largo Town Center Metro Station on the Blue and Silver Lines
Branch Avenue Metro Station, Suitland, Maryland
Parcel is across the street from the Branch Avenue Metro Station on the Green Line
5708 Vine Street, Alexandria, Virginia
Pad site just off the intersection of Eisenhower Avenue and South Van Dorn Street
7100 Chestnut Street, Washington, DC
Single family lot
1100 Park Road NW, Washington, DC
Corner lot at the intersection of Park Road, NW and 11th Street, NW
12415 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland
Pad available for ground lease only next to the Glenmont Metro Station east entrance.
Hundreds of renters in Riverdale Park have a new owner as multiple apartment complexes trade hands in a single transaction. A bit further north, a court auction results in the sale of industrial land near Greenbelt Station. For different reasons, they are two notable commercial real estate transactions to enter the record from the past quarter in Prince George’s County’s Route 1 communities. River Crossing Apartments go for $8.4 million
A number of apartment properties traded hands for a cool $8.4 million in a sale recorded late November in Riverdale Park. All of the properties in the transaction neighbor each other, located at 5610, 5609 and 5505 54th Avenue in Riverdale Park.