Will the house Market get better for southern Maryland with the new casino? (Bowie: low income, renting)

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

I agree but given the fact that PGC will not win on schools at this time, their focus needs to be on adding/enhancing ammenities that will make them a viable choice for those potential residents for whom the quality of public schools is not a consideration. They shouldn't focus on being in line with a DC but be able to be comparable to other nearby jurisdictions. Although I can appreciate their interests in improving the school system, that activity is a crap shot for short-term gains. In the short term they need to focus on other quality of life measures to compensate for what is lacking in the public school system.

The improved crime rate is a good start.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

The improved crime rate is a good start.

I agree and they appear to be making strides in that area with the recent reduction in crime rates.

Prince George’s County officials to announce historic lows in crime - The Washington Post

They would also benefit by aggressively increasing the number of police officer to resident ratio. As well as using alternative technologies like installing camera grids in retail/business districts or high crime areas.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I mean there has to be something to this. What logical reason are our property value in this county always cheaper than surrounding areas? Demand drive prices and clearly people aren't demanding to move here like they would want to move to a place like Arlington, VA.

Two top reasons in my opinion:

1. To put it simply, there are few options for amenities in this county. When you drive through this county, there's nothing here. There's no Tysons, Crystal City, Old Town, Rosslyn, Silver Spring, Bethesda. Just strip malls. Not too many places to go listen to great live music, or to hang out at happy hour with a variety of professional people. We have restaurant chains and theaters and that's pretty much it. National Harbor changes the game to some degree. But its size and impact pales in comparison to some of the larger districts I mentioned.

2. Jobs. If there were more job centers here rather than retail and entertainment, people would rather live closer to where they work. So far, PG is still a bedroom community pretty much. People live here, but they go elsewhere to work and play. That's why the FBI locating here is so important. That's 4,000 people in our county daily. I'm sure at least a percentage of those employees would rather live closer to work and could stomach the current school situation if they could save a few hundred bucks a month on commuting. Also, I'm sure services would then be built around that facility to accommodate those employees. I recall working in Ashburn at the MCI campus. There was NOTHING out there but fields and cutouts for future neighborhoods. Then little shopping centers started popping up near the campus of about 3,000 employees. That's where I had my first 5 Guys experience.

If we get more amenities like single proprietor restaurants, places to go hang out after work, places to go hear good live music and have a beer, then perhaps people, (younger) would say, "Hey, I don't have to go to DC to work or to have a good time. I could live right here." If we have those two things, I think people would find a way to make the school issue work. If I knew I could make a good salary here and have something to do without having to go to DC and VA, and pay 25% for my housing, I think high ranking schools would be further down that list of needs.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

They shouldn't focus on being in line with a DC but be able to be comparable to other nearby jurisdictions. Although I can appreciate their interests in improving the school system, that activity is a crap shot for short-term gains. In the short term they need to focus on other quality of life measures to compensate for what is lacking in the public school system.

I agree. Improving schools, as has been proven here, can take decades. PGC needs to pick at low-hanging fruit. I'll be honest and say that the more college educated young professionals that move to the county, schools will naturally improve as a result of more kids attending from households that place a higher value on education mixing in with those kids who don't. That's just one way of looking at it. The new kids would raise the average.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

I agree and they appear to be making strides in that area with the recent reduction in crime rates.

Prince George’s County officials to announce historic lows in crime - The Washington Post

They would also benefit by aggressively increasing the number of police officer to resident ratio. As well as using alternative technologies like installing camera grids in retail/business districts or high crime areas.

I know gun control laws would be a great addition. They recently had a gun buyback program that was pretty successful. The more guns off the street, the better.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Two top reasons in my opinion:

1. To put it simply, there are few options for amenities in this county. When you drive through this county, there's nothing here. There's no Tysons, Crystal City, Old Town, Rosslyn, Silver Spring, Bethesda. Just strip malls. Not too many places to go listen to great live music, or to hang out at happy hour with a variety of professional people. We have restaurant chains and theaters and that's pretty much it. National Harbor changes the game to some degree. But its size and impact pales in comparison to some of the larger districts I mentioned.

2. Jobs. If there were more job centers here rather than retail and entertainment, people would rather live closer to where they work. So far, PG is still a bedroom community pretty much. People live here, but they go elsewhere to work and play. That's why the FBI locating here is so important. That's 4,000 people in our county daily. I'm sure at least a percentage of those employees would rather live closer to work and could stomach the current school situation if they could save a few hundred bucks a month on commuting. Also, I'm sure services would then be built around that facility to accommodate those employees. I recall working in Ashburn at the MCI campus. There was NOTHING out there but fields and cutouts for future neighborhoods. Then little shopping centers started popping up near the campus of about 3,000 employees. That's where I had my first 5 Guys experience.

If we get more amenities like single proprietor restaurants, places to go hang out after work, places to go hear good live music and have a beer, then perhaps people, (younger) would say, "Hey, I don't have to go to DC to work or to have a good time. I could live right here." If we have those two things, I think people would find a way to make the school issue work. If I knew I could make a good salary here and have something to do without having to go to DC and VA, and pay 25% for my housing, I think high ranking schools would be further down that list of needs.

This is a chicken and the egg argument here because I would argue that those things don't exist because there is a lack of demand and the lack of demand ultimately stems from a lack of quality education. What do you ultimately believe is the reason why employers are avoiding Prince George's County? Taxes? You can argue that but then isn't it obvious that Montgomery County has the same issues and still has significantly more jobs? So what makes the two places different because places like Silver Spring, for as nice as it may be, still has a considerable crime rate too. I can only think of one difference and that's schools.

A few side notes:

• My understanding is there are 11,000 FBI workers. Not sure if that is what the figure is moving, but I think it's more than 4000 so it will definitely be significant.
• If you are a federal employee, and given that they want to move the FBI close to a metro station, commuting would be a virtual wash. The subsidy that one can receive would have little impact on someone looking to save money on commuting, especially when they can subsidize public transportation cost.
• You are imposing your views on this situation. I don't disagree with you about how you view the situation because that is your own personal assessment and there may be others that feel the same way you do. I am speaking in general. In general, most people who research real estate aren't going to ignore are schools. If you look at most real estate sites, you will see the neighborhood schools listed and on some school ranking sites you will see real estate value. The two go hand in hand. Again I can come up with more reason to have schools as a consideration of whether to buy real estate or not, whether a person has kids or not.
• Ashburn is difficult to compare to any place in PG because a lot our infrastructure is set, we just don't have the amenities to go with them. Ashburn also has never had the issues of crime, political corruptness and struggling to have an identity. Ashburn has had a clear vision and has stuck to it, which is being a family friendly outer suburb that would give people basic suburban amenities within driving distance of them, not to mention it's not that far from Dulles. PG doesn't have that luxury. If we were starting from scratch so to speak, then yes it would be easy to see the potential but as UrbanScholar said, there are issues that will take years to overcome.
• One thing that would benefit this county would not only be jobs, but higher salary jobs. Say what you want about being snobbish, but facts are facts. I'm not saying we can't have lower income jobs, but usually income of families that move in areas dictate quality of schools and also price point for houses. So if you as a jurisdiction are attracting jobs that are low-to-average paying, then it is going to typically reflect the school system, which will dictate demand.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I know gun control laws would be a great addition. They recently had a gun buyback program that was pretty successful. The more guns off the street, the better.

Because guns are the only way people are killed? Sure guns do their damage, but there are crazy people out there that will do just about anything to kill someone if they put their mind to it. A few years ago in Oxon Hill, this crazy man tried to kill his ex-girlfriend by using a hammer. How do gun laws prevent those type of crimes?

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I know gun control laws would be a great addition. They recently had a gun buyback program that was pretty successful. The more guns off the street, the better.

That's true but there also needs to be a focus on improving mental health care too. A lot of the more traumatic incidents occur as a result of individuals not receiving the necessary care than those tied to the use of a gun (remember the woman who had acid thrown in her face). Unfortunately in a tough economy social services go first and those that need help don't get it. Not to mention that mental health as a topic is taboo in our community until something goes wrong.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

Because guns are the only way people are killed?

Where did I say that? Of course people are murdered by other means. But I can count way more homicides by guns in this county than by hammers, knives, spoons, or bad breath.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Where did I say that? Of course people are murdered by other means. But I can count way more homicides by guns in this county than by hammers, knives, spoons, or bad breath.

You are suggesting that having more control on guns is going to stop or at least slow down crime. My point is, controlling guns is not going to stop and may not even slow down crime.