Hyattsville - getting more desireable, getting less desireable? (Clinton, Langley Park: apartments, lofts)

[Tiger Beer]

Hyattsville - getting more desireable, getting less desireable?

Don't know what it is about Hyattsville, but it consistently seems to have enough negatives going for it. Don't know if its the PG label, or what it is....it also does seem to have some higher crime stats than people feel completely comfortable with...

Yet, it has some pretty cool housing stock, and on the surface, it certainly appears like it should be desireable and a quite comfortable to live.

What's your take on Hyattsville?

[Khemistry]

I'm sorry, from where and from what year are you getting your so-called "statistics" and "facts" from?? What negatives are you supposedly hearing about Hyattsville? Every time I turn on the news or read an article about Hyattsville, as of late, has been nothing but positive news. What are these "higher crime stats" you're referring to? I'm almost certain the last time I read an article about crime in Hyattsville (which wasn't too long ago) the article was about how much crime has dropped in the area. Are you residing in Japan and negatively portraying and stereotyping a city/town, many thousands of miles away??

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Khemistry

IEvery time I turn on the news or read an article about Hyattsville, as of late, has been nothing but positive news. What are these "higher crime stats" you're referring to?

Agreed. Over a span of 7 years, Hyattsville has vastly improved, especially around the Metro and the Arts District. See other recent threads.

As a former resident of the area, I have lingering negative impressions, especially of an ugly area around Prince George Plaza near the Federal offices. But please read comments from current residents.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Khemistry

I'm sorry, from where and from what year are you getting your so-called "statistics" and "facts" from?? What negatives are you supposedly hearing about Hyattsville? Every time I turn on the news or read an article about Hyattsville, as of late, has been nothing but positive news. What are these "higher crime stats" you're referring to? I'm almost certain the last time I read an article about crime in Hyattsville (which wasn't too long ago) the article was about how much crime has dropped in the area. Are you residing in Japan and negatively portraying and stereotyping a city/town, many thousands of miles away??

I get the majority of my information from the city-data forum, and the majority of past threads on Hyattsville seem to portray it negatively.

That being said, when I actually drove around and visited Hyattsville and plenty of other cities throughout the DC area, I thought Hyattsville seemed quite alright to me.

So, I suppose I'm just trying to figure where the reality is at...rather than just randomly trying to make a place that I'm quite interested in/curious about, look bad.

[hbosch80]

Its still too ghetto imo, well at least the PG plaza/Hyatts Metro area. And when I say ghetto, I mean it doesnt strike me as a sophisticated area. They either need to tear down all the apartments behind PG plaza and build more upscale apartments or condos, or they need to either tear down The Mall at PG or make it so that every other store isnt either an urban clothing store or an athletic shoe store. That mall needs to grow up and get more grown-up stores that will attract the type of people that the area seems to be trying to attract. How many tennis shoe stores does a mall really need? Until they do something about PG Plaza, that area will always be pretty bad.

[SmoothGuy]

Originally Posted by hbosch80

Its still too ghetto imo, well at least the PG plaza/Hyatts Metro area. And when I say ghetto, I mean it doesnt strike me as a sophisticated area. They either need to tear down all the apartments behind PG plaza and build more upscale apartments or condos, or they need to either tear down The Mall at PG or make it so that every other store isnt either an urban clothing store or an athletic shoe store. That mall needs to grow up and get more grown-up stores that will attract the type of people that the area seems to be trying to attract. How many tennis shoe stores does a mall really need? Until they do something about PG Plaza, that area will always be pretty bad.

Agreed, they really need to revamp that mall badly kind of like what they are doing with Westfield Wheaton Mall . It would be nice to have at least an Express, Aldo, H&M, Urban Outfitters, etc.. in PG county for once. And how many JC Penneys do they need in PG? Do ppl actually shop there in the DC area? Can we get a Nordstrom or Belk at least?

[justtitans]

Hyattsville is a hit or miss place. The issue with Hyattsville though is it gets lump together with places that aren't technically part of the city because of postal codes. For instance places like Landover, Landover Hills, and Langley Park for example share Hyattsville addresses. As far as the actual Hyattsville, parts around PG Plaza aren't the safest (although it has definitely improved), but that's not unusual because a) it looks really dark around the metro station at night and b) shopping areas tend to have higher crime. It also doesn't help that has some seedy apartments complexes that have been mentioned already. Parts of Hyattsville that tend to be nice are places like the Arts District that cater to a certain demographic, not as accessible and more tucked away. If you ask me there are some nice qualities about Hyattsville but it can be a pain to be in given all the traffic congestion and some of the less desirable surrounding areas.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by hbosch80

Its still too ghetto imo, well at least the PG plaza/Hyatts Metro area. And when I say ghetto, I mean it doesnt strike me as a sophisticated area. They either need to tear down all the apartments behind PG plaza and build more upscale apartments or condos, or they need to either tear down The Mall at PG or make it so that every other store isnt either an urban clothing store or an athletic shoe store. That mall needs to grow up and get more grown-up stores that will attract the type of people that the area seems to be trying to attract. How many tennis shoe stores does a mall really need? Until they do something about PG Plaza, that area will always be pretty bad.

I agree as well. This was one of the reasons why the Blvd failed. Know your demographic and cater to it. Another example of poor planning. The surrounding area has definitely changed, but the mall has not caught up to it.

[Khemistry]

Originally Posted by hbosch80

Its still too ghetto imo, well at least the PG plaza/Hyatts Metro area. And when I say ghetto, I mean it doesnt strike me as a sophisticated area. They either need to tear down all the apartments behind PG plaza and build more upscale apartments or condos, or they need to either tear down The Mall at PG or make it so that every other store isnt either an urban clothing store or an athletic shoe store. That mall needs to grow up and get more grown-up stores that will attract the type of people that the area seems to be trying to attract. How many tennis shoe stores does a mall really need? Until they do something about PG Plaza, that area will always be pretty bad.

Originally Posted by SmoothGuy

Agreed, they really need to revamp that mall badly kind of like what they are doing with Westfield Wheaton Mall . It would be nice to have at least an Express, Aldo, H&M, Urban Outfitters, etc.. in PG county for once. And how many JC Penneys do they need in PG? Do ppl actually shop there in the DC area? Can we get a Nordstrom or Belk at least?

Originally Posted by pgtitans

As far as the actual Hyattsville, parts around PG Plaza aren't the safest (although it has definitely improved) ... It also doesn't help that has some seedy apartments complexes that have been mentioned already. Parts of Hyattsville that tend to be nice are places like the Arts District that cater to a certain demographic, not as accessible and more tucked away.

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I agree as well. This was one of the reasons why the Blvd failed. Know your demographic and cater to it. Another example of poor planning. The surrounding area has definitely changed, but the mall has not caught up to it.

Oh, but there are plans to redevelop that ghastly area behind P.G. Plaza. Read about it at this link and click on the other link within the link to view a rather nice PDF document, showing computer renders of what developers want to make the area look like. The link is here Development News: Toledo Terrace, Firehouse Lofts - Hyattsville, MD Patch I believe the redevelopment has actually already started with them tearing down those shoddy apartments behind Post Park. The area behind P.G. Plaza will literally be unrecognizable, as it is today, if it is fully developed as what's envisioned in that link. Here's two of the computer renderings...



And I agree 100% about the comments regarding P.G. Plaza. Every single time I am forced to go there (which is often) I am shaking my head in total bewilderment. You have an are with a growing income demographic, that is becoming surrounded by luxury condo developments, and (gasp!) you can actually find many white families walking through the mall, but P.G. Plaza reminds me of Capital Plaza or Landover Mall from the mid-90s. I guess they figured building a mediocre Target, giving the mall a craptacular new name, and a slight makeover, was all it takes. I really would love it if Westfield would takeover P.G. Plaza. I keep envisioning what the mall could become if it were properly managed. There's so much land at the P.G. Plaza site, they can literally build either a complete second story or basement floor and/or wrap the mall around like an elongated ring to resemble malls like Arundel Mills. You add a large and attractive parking garage to compensate for the loss of parking spaces, and you need to get some REAL stores at the mall. P.G. Plaza can easily support the stores you'd find at a lot of the better Montgomery County malls.

[wisedisguise]

Originally Posted by hbosch80

Its still too ghetto imo, well at least the PG plaza/Hyatts Metro area. And when I say ghetto, I mean it doesnt strike me as a sophisticated area. They either need to tear down all the apartments behind PG plaza and build more upscale apartments or condos, or they need to either tear down The Mall at PG or make it so that every other store isnt either an urban clothing store or an athletic shoe store. That mall needs to grow up and get more grown-up stores that will attract the type of people that the area seems to be trying to attract. How many tennis shoe stores does a mall really need? Until they do something about PG Plaza, that area will always be pretty bad.

When mentioning shopping centers in PGC the #1 storefronts are going to be urban clothing/tennis shoe shops. Look at Iverson mall/Marlow Heights. That shopping center has no upscale stores to draw customers though the residents who do go to shop will drive some distance to get to those stores in NOVA, MOCO or other locales. It makes no sense to me.
The various Dollar stores have become the new Walmart and Walmart is what used to be Hecht's or Woodies. It isn't all a result of the current economic economic situation, though it does play a small factor, as this has been a trend for years prior. How many real restaurants are in PGC in the Andrews AFB vicinity? There may be a few hole in the wall places but the majority is chain fast food joints. I don't know of any sit down diners where you can go eat breakfast as they have disappeared. There was once a Denny's in Clinton that was always busy and I remember Tucker's over on Rt 4 which is now a shadow of what it once was. Both of those were on the fringe of AAFB. There is a huge void for some reason.