News

Good or bad, Prince George’s may dodge HQ2 impacts

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Crystal City’s selection as one of two new offices for Amazon’s much-ballyhooed HQ2 search has been made official. And while Prince George’s County was long-ago dismissed from consideration for the project, Crystal City’s selection will still have an impact on Prince George’s County, according to a paper released earlier this week. But Prince George’s County’s housing market may be less impacted by Amazon’s presence than other close-in suburban communities, the report found. If you buy into the hype, Amazon’s decision has the potential to create a “second downtown” for the Washington, D.C., area, with up to 25,000 news jobs headed to Virginia. Many of those jobs will be filled by workers who migrate here, rather than springing from the soil of Crystal City.

Brentwood

Inside Studio 3807; A photo tour of Route 1’s newest mixed-use apartment complex

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Studio 3807, the new 147-unit mixed-use apartment complex that’s been under construction at – appropriately – 3807 Rhode Island Avenue,  is about to have its grand opening this coming Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Before this weekend’s grand-opening festivities, members of the Brentwood Area Business Association were privy to a meeting and tour of the nearly-complete facility. Route 1 Reporter got to tag along and explore the new apartment complex, a bright yellow, white and gray building. To put it briefly: this place is swanky.

Commercial Real Estate
Courtesy city of Hyattsville, Marvin R. Blumberg Co.

Landy development could expand Hyattsville’s borders

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Hyattsville’s borders could grow for the first time since the mid-2000s as a developer of a large tract of land near Northwestern High School has requested annexation into the city. If Hyattsville City Council approves the annexation, the city would grow by nearly 15 acres in what is called the Landy Property. There, Developer Marvin R. Blumberg Co. plans to build 300 townhome units, pursuant to transit-oriented design specifications in place under the Prince George’s Plaza Transit District Development Plan. The property is 33 acres in total, portions of which closest to Northwestern High School are already within Hyattsville’s municipal borders.

Art
Photo by Michael Theis/Route 1 Reporter

Wanted: Sculptural courtyard art, will pay $35,000

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Calling all sculptors and artistic architects: The Hyattsville Community Development corporation has a commission out seeking proposals for three sculptures to grace the grounds of an affordable housing complex near Magruder Park. The property in question is the Parkview Manor apartment complex next to Magruder Park at 5042 38th Ave. in southern Hyattsville. The property is owned by the Silver Spring-based Montgomery Housing Partnership which recently undertook a $3.4 million refinancing to fund renovations to the property. In addition to the art, the work will include new roofs, electrical wiring, water lines, sanitary infrastructure, new HVAC units and windows, among others. The property also will have asbestos removed or sealed.

News

Route 1 multifamily trends good for renters, bad for developers

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The headline is dramatic: “Traditionally affordable suburban Maryland community faces uncertain future from nearly 2,000 new multifamily units.”
Yikes, right? That’s the headline on an article from real estate analysis company CoStar Group’s news service from mid-October 2018. But behind the scary wording is a more nuanced story about long-term shifts in the multifamily real estate market of the Route 1 corridor’s inner-Beltway suburbs. Here’s the nuance: the development should be good news for renters, at least in the near-term, as a sudden abundance of multifamily units along the corridor are expected to put a damper on rising rents. So why the scary wording?

Commercial Real Estate

Hyattsville Armory Apartments could breeze through approvals

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A large planned mixed-use redevelopment in downtown Hyattsville could get approval much quicker than might be expected. At the Oct. 1, 2018 Hyattsville City Council meeting, Hyattsville planning and economic development staff said the proposed Hyattsville Armory Apartments might meet all the necessary zoning requirements to bypass what is called a “detailed site plan” review and approval of a project by Prince George’s County planning authorities. The move could save significant time for the developers, Washington, D.C.-based Urban Investment Partners. A detailed site plan review requires series of public hearings before municipal and county public bodies that typically sees the affected city council issue opinions about proposed development schemes before final approval is given by either the Prince George’s County Planning Board or the Prince George’s County Council (who, somewhat confusingly, decide planning matters under the nom-de-plume of the Prince George’s County District Council.

College Park

Seeking ‘year-round’ residents, College Park eyes tax relief for redevelopment

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College Park City Council appears broadly supportive of a new tax abatement scheme designed to bring market-rate apartment housing – and hopefully more “year-round residents” – to the city’s downtown Baltimore Avenue corridor. College Park City Council will consider two measures at its Sept. 25, 2018, meeting; one would create what is called a “tax increment financing” program that allows the city to cut property taxes in exchange for developer concessions and increased city oversight into a proposed development project. The second measure would apply that newly-created program to a proposed redevelopment of the now-crumbling properties housing the former Quality Inn and Plato’s Diner by Terrapin Development Co., the real estate development company established by the University of Maryland and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, and Bozutto Development Co., the real estate developers overseeing the project. The proposed development includes 393 residential units and 60,000 to 70,000 square feet of retail space.

College Park
A medium-sized two-story brick apartment building sits on a large yard infront of a wet two-lane residential roadway. The sky is grey, trees in the background are leafy and green.

Would-be College Park mayor’s apartment building sold at auction

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An old-town College Park apartment building owned by former mayoral candidate Tom Chen was sold at auction in August to settle tax debts, according to state property records. The property, 4619 College Ave., was auctioned for $315,000 in a sale recorded Aug. 15, 2018. The property was ordered to be sold in order to pay off tax debts allegedly accrued by Chen, according to documents filed with the deed. The building is a 5,500 square foot brick-clad multifamily apartment complex, built in 1930.

Commercial Real Estate

More apartments proposed for Hyattsville office conversion

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The developer behind a novel office-to-apartment conversion near Prince George’s Plaza Metro want to add 28 units to the plans. If approved, the number of units in the building would increase from 311 to 339 units. Procedurally speaking, the developer, Berkshire Cos. subsidiary 3700 East West LLC, has submitted a revised detailed site plan to Prince George’s Planning Department for approval. The developer’s original detailed site plan was approved by the Planning Board in July 2017.