Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I saw an interesting and largely favorable article/blog in the Post today on the appreciation of real estate in PG County. I echoes what other have stated on the forum as well as substantiates PG's positioning as a future growth area in the region.
I saw an interesting and largely favorable article/blog in the Post today on the appreciation of real estate in PG County. I echoes what other have stated on the forum as well as substantiates PG's positioning as a future growth area in the region.
This is why I simply cannot stand the Washington Post right here:
Quote:
There are several reasons why home prices in Prince George’s County languished while other local markets across the region recovered. Suburban Maryland tended to lag behind Northern Virginia both in the run up in home prices in 2002 to 2006 and then in the deprecation. As a result, the recovery also came a little later in suburban Maryland. Also, the foreclosure problem was felt very acutely in Prince George’s County and the process for working through foreclosures was slower in Maryland than Virginia.
Let's just deal with cold hard facts. How can you talk about housing value and deprecation and not talk about the crime rate and schools effect on this or just the overall perception of this county versus the rest of the region? I know talking about the negative stuff gets old, but the reality is, the market isn't going to pick up if there isn't demand, and people aren't demanding places here like they were in NoVA for these reasons. Sorry facts are facts.
It is true though that the development that is coming to PG county has really spurred people to come back in addition to the low housing value, but going forward PG County has to keep the momentum. PG County needs to keep developing, keep improving the crime rate and to improve schools. If they can do these things, even marginally then things will continue to pick up.
This is why I simply cannot stand the Washington Post right here:
Let's just deal with cold hard facts. How can you talk about housing value and deprecation and not talk about the crime rate and schools effect on this or just the overall perception of this county versus the rest of the region? I know talking about the negative stuff gets old, but the reality is, the market isn't going to pick up if there isn't demand, and people aren't demanding places here like they were in NoVA for these reasons. Sorry facts are facts.
It is true though that the development that is coming to PG county has really spurred people to come back in addition to the low housing value, but going forward PG County has to keep the momentum. PG County needs to keep developing, keep improving the crime rate and to improve schools. If they can do these things, even marginally then things will continue to pick up.
Agreed PG has to continue to improve its public services to ensure that potential residents (and corporations for that matter) look at it as a place to establish roots. I was reading an article a while back that discuss how one of former mayor Anthony Williams' goals was to increase the number of residents who were white-collar single with no kids or married with no kids by a marked percentage from the 2000 census to the 2010 census. The justification for targeting these groups was because they did not rely as heavily on public services. Hence the focus on entertainment districts and TOD. To date, they have passed their original goals. Although PG (being mostly suburban) probably won't be as attractive to singles or married with no kids since it is not in the city, I think that it could be a viable alternative if given the right mix of recreational activities/outlets that can serve as hubs or centers. An example of this would be the East Campus and Cafritz developments being more young adult centered; Fedex/Landover area becoming a sports and entertainment district; National Harbor/Oxon Hill/Eastover transforming into a entertainment, shopping, tourist (signifcant focus on this group. Think Georgetown), and business (Maybe focused on Global trade and Technology) district; and Konterra as a business (focusing on the Professional Services/Consulting sectors), and entertainment (targeting business people). Whatever is decided they really need to revisit their original plans and renew efforts to aggressively create these centers to begin targeting specific segments instead of the spray and pray method currently being employed.
The whole region's prices went up recently, not just PG.
More an indicator of the region's dependency on the government jobs than necessarily on anything PG County is specifically doing.
That's true but until recently PG County's home prices were not rising as quickly as other jursidictions in the DC metro. I think that it is partly due to the fact that some areas in PG are not as bad as the county's reputation would evoke and people are starting to see that. Especially price conscious buyers who see they can get more for their money while living closer to DC.
The whole region's prices went up recently, not just PG.
More an indicator of the region's dependency on the government jobs than necessarily on anything PG County is specifically doing.
This is news because PG had not seen an increase for years, even while the rest of the region was picking up. Other parts of the region have been in recovery for about 2 years now, but it hasn't been until now that PG is showing signs of recovery.
Agreed PG has to continue to improve its public services to ensure that potential residents (and corporations for that matter) look at it as a place to establish roots. I was reading an article a while back that discuss how one of former mayor Anthony Williams' goals was to increase the number of residents who were white-collar single with no kids or married with no kids by a marked percentage from the 2000 census to the 2010 census. The justification for targeting these groups was because they did not rely as heavily on public services. Hence the focus on entertainment districts and TOD. To date, they have passed their original goals. Although PG (being mostly suburban) probably won't be as attractive to singles or married with no kids since it is not in the city, I think that it could be a viable alternative if given the right mix of recreational activities/outlets that can serve as hubs or centers. An example of this would be the East Campus and Cafritz developments being more young adult centered; Fedex/Landover area becoming a sports and entertainment district; National Harbor/Oxon Hill/Eastover transforming into a entertainment, shopping, tourist (signifcant focus on this group. Think Georgetown), and business (Maybe focused on Global trade and Technology) district; and Konterra as a business (focusing on the Professional Services/Consulting sectors), and entertainment (targeting business people). Whatever is decided they really need to revisit their original plans and renew efforts to aggressively create these centers to begin targeting specific segments instead of the spray and pray method currently being employed.
I agree with you. I think that is what PG County should be focused on now, building an identity with each part of the county. This is a huge county and there are a diverse group of people but it doesn't seem to be a lot of cohesiveness with the overall vision.
I agree that parts of Hyattsville should be marketed to young professionals, not only because they have a very hip and chic areas over there in the Arts District, but also because they are close to UMD. It has the potential to be a smaller Silver Spring and that seems to be what they are working towards.
National Harbor is an interesting one. I think that is going to a challenge because as you posted up before the vision is to transform 'downtown' Oxon Hill, but the problem is you have a huge residential area right in the middle of this. I think they need to find a way to incorporate those existing homes into the plans, possibly even creating a path between them and the National Harbor or else it's always going to be resistance.
As far as Fedex/Landover being a sports and entertainment district, I think they have dropped the ball with that one. For one, Fed Ex Field has a horrible reputation and so does the area around it. But what really screwed it up is they had a chance to add the DC United to that area and perhaps have a sports parks type area, but the county council wasn't going for it. What makes the Verizon Center so vibrant isn't necessarily just the arena, but also because of what's around it. They have too many residential parts around it. They could really have put more commercial retail around it to capitalize on the foot/car traffic from those games. Perhaps this is something they can do with the old Landover Mall site?
I agree with you. I think that is what PG County should be focused on now, building an identity with each part of the county. This is a huge county and there are a diverse group of people but it doesn't seem to be a lot of cohesiveness with the overall vision.
I agree that parts of Hyattsville should be marketed to young professionals, not only because they have a very hip and chic areas over there in the Arts District, but also because they are close to UMD. It has the potential to be a smaller Silver Spring and that seems to be what they are working towards.
National Harbor is an interesting one. I think that is going to a challenge because as you posted up before the vision is to transform 'downtown' Oxon Hill, but the problem is you have a huge residential area right in the middle of this. I think they need to find a way to incorporate those existing homes into the plans, possibly even creating a path between them and the National Harbor or else it's always going to be resistance.
As far as Fedex/Landover being a sports and entertainment district, I think they have dropped the ball with that one. For one, Fed Ex Field has a horrible reputation and so does the area around it. But what really screwed it up is they had a chance to add the DC United to that area and perhaps have a sports parks type area, but the county council wasn't going for it. What makes the Verizon Center so vibrant isn't necessarily just the arena, but also because of what's around it. They have too many residential parts around it. They could really have put more commercial retail around it to capitalize on the foot/car traffic from those games. Perhaps this is something they can do with the old Landover Mall site?
You are spot on with the Hyattesville/UMD area. To me that would be the easiest to transform since the basic infrastructure is there. They already have metro stations in the area and will hopefully have the purple line (if they stop bickering over money). The one thing that they would definitely need to improve is the Mall at Prince George's. If revamped to be more upscale and trendy while appealing to a wider demographic, it can serve as a centerpiece given what is already in place.
The National Harbor is going to take some time but I can see it eventually getting their. I can see them adding a second entrance eventually but that would be after better safety measures are in place. The reality is that their is still a high transient population in that area which greatly contributes to the crime issues and perception, hence the physical barrier. I think that will change over the next decade but it will be a slow process.
I was hesitant about the Fedex field area for the reasons that you mentioned but paralleled it to National Park area that, although in a much better position to succeed, is struggling with becoming what was envisioned. I felt that they missed an opportunity with DC United. Granted they felt that it would be cost prohibitive for the county but I think it would have been a very strategic investment given the ethnic diversity of the county and growing interests in European Soccer. I agree it could have served as a second anchor to spurn complimentary businesses (restaurants, retail, hotels, etc). I don't know what the current plans are for the Old Landover Mall but they really need to move that project along to help that area become more viable and encourage visitors to stay longer. As it stands it is not very walkable and has limited amenities. We will see.
You are spot on with the Hyattesville/UMD area. To me that would be the easiest to transform since the basic infrastructure is there. They already have metro stations in the area and will hopefully have the purple line (if they stop bickering over money). The one thing that they would definitely need to improve is the Mall at Prince George's. If revamped to be more upscale and trendy while appealing to a wider demographic, it can serve as a centerpiece given what is already in place.
There are plans for a major redevelopment behind the mall by Percontee. See plans below. In addition, UTC may be showing signs of life even after the embarrassing foreclosures.
Belcrest Plaza
New Planned UTC Construction? (Streetsense Retail management)
There are plans for a major redevelopment behind the mall by Percontee. See plans below. In addition, UTC may be showing signs of life even after the embarrassing foreclosures.
Belcrest Plaza
New Planned UTC Construction? (Streetsense Retail management)
Interesting so do you know if there are any plans to integrate this into the UTC? I read that it was recently bought at auction.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
