Grading Recent Prince George's County Development (Bowie, Potomac: real estate, apartments, hotels)

[pgtvatitans]

Okay so we are in a period of time in Prince George's County where there is a lot of development on the table to be produced but we also have been in the midst of some recent development that is expected to change the perception of this county as a place that can attract businesses. With that said I wanted to discuss your thought on some of the more established projects that we have going on. What do you like? What do you dislike? For the future projects we could the county do to recreate success or to not repeat mistakes? Here goes the list (please feel free to add on if I forgot anything):

National Harbor

Developer: The Peterson Cos.
Cost: $4 billion
Location: Near Capital Beltway in Oxon Hill on the Potomac River
Description: 350 acres and 7.3 million square feet encompassing the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center and other hotels; 1 million square feet of office buildings, retail and entertainment; 2,500 residential units; four piers; and two marinas.
Major Companies/Retailers: McCormick & Schmidt, Grace's Mandarin, Jos A. Bank, Bond 45, Potbelly, Baja Fresh, Elevation Burger

University Town Center

Cost: $1.2 billion
Location: East-West Highway and Belcrest Road in Hyattsville
Description: 1.9 million square feet, with 800 to 1,900 dwelling units; office, retail and entertainment; and 16-story student housing facility.
Major Companies/Retailers: Regal, Carolina Kitchen, Five Guys, Qdoba

Woodmore Towne Centre

Developer: Petrie-Ross Ventures LLC, Greenberg Gibbons Commercial and Hovnanian Land Investment Group
Cost: $500 million
Location: Landover Road and Capital Beltway in Landover
Description: More than 245 acres of mixed use, with 900 residential units; 700,000 square feet of retail; 1 million square feet of office space; two hotels; and the anchor Wegmans supermarket.
Major Companies/Retailers: Wegmans, JCPenney's, Best Buy, Petco, PNC Bank, Costco, Party City

Ritchie Station Marketplace

Developer: The Michael Cos.
Cost: $200 million
Location: Ritchie Marlboro Road and Capital Beltway, Capitol Heights
Description: 130 acres and 1 million square feet of retail development featuring department and other stores.
Major Companies/Retailers: BJ's Wholesale, Pohanka Honda

Brandywine Crossing

Cost: $4.5 Million
Description: Adjoins Brandywine Crossing, a major regional power center complying nearly 500,000 square feet (First Phase) with phase 2 breaking ground late 2011
Major Companies/Retailers: Costco, Target, Safeway, Marshalls, Jo-Anne Fabrics, Bonefish Grill

Vista Gardens Marketplace

Description: 400,000+ Square Foot Retail Center Anchored by Target, Home Depot, Shopper' s Food, and Office Depot
Major Companies/Retailers: Panera Bread, Starbucks, Capital One Bank, Ledo' s, AT&T, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings, Elevation Burger

Arts District Hyattsville

Cost: $200 million
Description: a $200 million mixed-use revitalization development along the U.S. Route One Corridor in historic downtown Hyattsville. The 25-acre retail and residential development is a project of regional real estate developer EYA featuring of variety of unique homes and live/work units.
Major Companies/Retailers: Yes! Organic Market, Big Bad Woof, Busboys and Poets, Elevation Burger, Tara Thai, Chipotle

[bowian]

The Vista Gardens Marketplace is actually a decent shopping center, from the brick surrounding wall and the fenced-in pond to the landscaping to the choice of businesses and the general location. Now, the lawsuit that nearby Lakeview residents filed in the planning stages could have something to do with how nice the center turned out, but hey. It is convenient, has a good mix of the basics, and the restaurants are not bad -- no real cheap takeouts, etc. The existence of Shoppers is a bit off, but it seems to be working.

I did hear about a fight/disturbance recently at the Grace's bar/restaurant. But that place is nice, and it's better than the Half-Note Lounge down the street.

I like Woodmore Town Centre for the most part. The layout is a little bit different, but most of it is quite attractive. It would have been nice to have an upscale department store there, like Nordstrom. I don't get to Wegman's often -- that may be a good thing, because I overindulge on their macaroon cookies and the jalapeno bread. But what the heck, I'm due for another trip there, lol.

I really like National Harbor; it's fun. I haven't eaten there, but I wouldn't mind doing so at some point. We'll see how that development progresses.

I think Ritchie Station is a freakin' fail. I need to check out the Arts District -- Tara Thai is tempting. I haven't been to the rest.

[pgtvatitans]

Originally Posted by bowian

The Vista Gardens Marketplace is actually a decent shopping center, from the brick surrounding wall and the fenced-in pond to the landscaping to the choice of businesses and the general location. Now, the lawsuit that nearby Lakeview residents filed in the planning stages could have something to do with how nice the center turned out, but hey. It is convenient, has a good mix of the basics, and the restaurants are not bad -- no real cheap takeouts, etc. The existence of Shoppers is a bit off, but it seems to be working.

I agree. Love this shopping center. It was very well designed and has a certain feel to it that makes notch above most shopping center in this county.

Originally Posted by bowian

I did hear about a fight/disturbance recently at the Grace's bar/restaurant. But that place is nice, and it's better than the Half-Note Lounge down the street.

Interesting. Didn't know Half-Note was that bad. My alma-mater's DC Alumni has events there quite often, what is wrong with it?

Originally Posted by bowian

I like Woodmore Town Centre for the most part. The layout is a little bit different, but most of it is quite attractive. It would have been nice to have an upscale department store there, like Nordstrom. I don't get to Wegman's often -- that may be a good thing, because I overindulge on their macaroon cookies and the jalapeno bread. But what the heck, I'm due for another trip there, lol.

For me it's hard to see where they are going with WTC because it has so much left to be completed. Based on right now, it just seems like something is missing there. Love the Wegmans, but I think it may benefit from have a nicer sit down restaurant. I'm not talking about one of those cheap chains like Applebees or Friday's, but something along the lines of Bonefish Grill or PF Changs or something.

Originally Posted by bowian

I really like National Harbor; it's fun. I haven't eaten there, but I wouldn't mind doing so at some point. We'll see how that development progresses.

Right now it's good, but not great yet. I think once they figure out what direction the gambling goes, they will establish an identity. The outlet mall will help draw people but they would benefit greatly if they could attract employers to move there.

Originally Posted by bowian

I think Ritchie Station is a freakin' fail. I need to check out the Arts District -- Tara Thai is tempting. I haven't been to the rest.

Ritchie Station was supposed to be Vista Gardens II, so to speak, but it definitely has failed. I liked the original idea that they had when they were going to move the Sears from Landover Mall there along with Kohl's and Walmart, but I think it suffered from the economy. If you have to put a car dealership in a shopping center, just to add something, that's a bad sign.

I haven't been to the Arts District but I remember when they started building it. That area looks so much different than it used to. I think they definitely did a nice job setting it up. It would honestly make a lot of sense for this county to continue to build in that area and make it a place to attract yuppies. It seems like it would make perfect sense given the location and the businesses they have attracted there.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

Okay so we are in a period of time in Prince George's County where there is a lot of development on the table to be produced but we also have been in the midst of some recent development that is expected to change the perception of this county as a place that can attract businesses. With that said I wanted to discuss your thought on some of the more established projects that we have going on. What do you like? What do you dislike? For the future projects we could the county do to recreate success or to not repeat mistakes? Here goes the list (please feel free to add on if I forgot anything):

National Harbor

Awesome place. Lucky that it is one of the first, recent, Potomac river projects out of the gate. Great development momentum even with the ups and downs.

University Town Center

Sad, sad, TOD development. It is a lesson in management and marketing. Even with the excellent location and a healthy mix of retail, it failed. There are many opinions about why, but there's no way you can be so close to a metro station and 410 and not be successful. Could a grocer like Safeway have saved UTC? I doubt it. What would it take to make UTC successful? A mix of affordable and luxury apartments, great marketing, and good management.


Woodmore Towne Centre

I spoke earlier on this project. Horrible design for walkability. It forces everyone to use their vehicles. There are no pedestrian plazas or wide sidewalks with trees. No benches. Nothing for people who may want to walk from the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, there is no central core or grid-like street design. Mostly big-box retailers on their own little distance islands.


Arts District Hyattsville

One of the best urban redevelopment projects in Maryland (not me saying that). The place is awesome from what it used to be. I like the atmosphere - sort of hippy and progressive (it's an arts district). A great mix of retail and even more to come. I think this part of Hyattsville will become a walkable destination for people outside of Hyattsville once the momentum continues north on Route 1. There are lots of great properties that could be transformed to mesh with the current development in the arts district. This would be realized even more with Cafritz in play.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

Interesting. Didn't know Half-Note was that bad. My alma-mater's DC Alumni has events there quite often, what is wrong with it?

The lounge goers take up all the parking spaces from patrons of the other businesses, and it attracts some sketchy-looking people. Dressed up sketchy-looking people, but nonetheless. I have to admit I don't look too kindly upon quasi-pimpwear (loud colored suits with a cigar hanging out the mouth) and tight-ass dresses. Also, some of the other businesses have taken to buzzing in customers. That started happening after the Half-Wit Lounge opened, and it must be happening for a reason. I think the lounge (apparently) tries to keep things decent, but a business like that attracts all kinds of clientele.

[pgtvatitans]

Originally Posted by bowian

The lounge goers take up all the parking spaces from patrons of the other businesses, and it attracts some sketchy-looking people. Dressed up sketchy-looking people, but nonetheless. I have to admit I don't look too kindly upon quasi-pimpwear (loud colored suits with a cigar hanging out the mouth) and tight-ass dresses. Also, some of the other businesses have taken to buzzing in customers. That started happening after the Half-Wit Lounge opened, and it must be happening for a reason. I think the lounge (apparently) tries to keep things decent, but a business like that attracts all kinds of clientele.

Seems so out of place for that area. Bowie is more of a family friendly place. I've heard they are pretty strict on nightclub-type places. I just don't understand the motivation of that business picking that location.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

Seems so out of place for that area. Bowie is more of a family friendly place. I've heard they are pretty strict on nightclub-type places. I just don't understand the motivation of that business picking that location.

I don't either. The shopping center sits across from Lakeview, a very nice-looking development. I am recalling that the lounge replaced a sports bar that was there previously and that didn't attract nearly the traffic. But my memory is foggy. That shopping center has been struggling ever since the Super Fresh closed. Some huge cheap furniture place is there now, after the old supermarket sat vacant for a long time. Several of the other businesses are customer-friendly; I hope they stick around.

[pgtvatitans]

I forgot to post this a week ago, but I had a chance to go Woodmore Town Center for the first time in a while and after looking at it, I completely agree with what adelphi_sky was saying. If you only go to that shopping center for Costco's or Wegman's then you wouldn't know a whole lot about what's in the shopping center. Everything seems kind of separate and not very cohesive. It feels more like a strip mall than a town center.

I also think that some of the stores is a bit off putting. I like the fact that they did something different by putting Noodles and Company, but places like Kenny's Chinese, Subway, a Nail shop, a Barber Shop, a Cleaners, and of course a liquor store. COME ON!!! How many shopping centers are we going to have in this county with the same stuff? Largo Town Center and Kettering Shopping Center for example have basically all the same type of stores and they are probably less than 5 miles away. Where is the diversity in ideas?

And lastly, the Wegmans has fallen off a bit. My wife was already not a fan of going there (She hates PG with a passion), but it didn't help that when she and my daughter went to the bathroom, it was filthy. I've been to about 4 or 5 different Wegmans and never seen a bad bathroom. I hope this doesn't become a trend of issues for this location.

[bowian]

Uh-oh. With regard to the types of stores, I have a feeling that's all Woodmore Town Center can draw right now, and it will take what it can get. Too bad. I think PG has a problem attracting and keeping more upscale stores, outside of a decent anchor store.

With regard to Wegman's, yes the store should monitor and clean its bathrooms. But what the hell is it with people jacking up the bathrooms? If you make a mess, clean up after yourself! You don't go into any store, let alone an upscale grocery store, and act like a pig. I've seen this happen in a variety of stores and other establishments.

[HurricaneDC]

National Harbor:
It's pretty nice. I've only been a few times but I like the shopping selection and there are always some good events going on down there. I think it will continue to improve.

Woodmore:
I haven't personally been, but a friend of mine who lives nearby loves it. I think that's the kind of development PG needs more of. Then again after reading some of the other comments on here, it may need improvement.

Ritchie Station:
Never been but I've passed it a few times. It looks like a vast empty wasteland. Fail.

Hyattsville:
Fantastic. Parking/traffic can be messy though.