Konterra - News, Updates, Questions and Developments Etc. (Baltimore, Columbia: crime rate, townhomes)

[adelphi_sky]

I have the opportunity to drive by the Konterra site almost every week now. I must say that all of the media outlets have disclosed opening dates from 2015 to 2018. Even Konterra's own datasheet touts a first phase completion date of 2018. This first phase would include the retail and residential portion of the core of the project. From what I saw today and where we are now in the Calendar year, 2018 seems pretty ambitious. I'm thinking more like 2019/2020.

I have to keep reminding myself that when developers throw out a date before construction, add 25% of the time on the end to be safe. Almost every project I have tracked has opened well past the original completion date.

Also, when I speak of Konterra, I mean the portion seen below. A lot of media makes it confusing when they say a portion of Konterra is already complete. Specifically in this article:

In terms of sheer size, Konterra is the biggest current development in the region. Covering 2,200 acres, parts of the town center are already built. The biggest component—and the one most relevant to residents of nearby Laurel—is Town Center East, the 1.5M SF retail hub. Offices and residential have already been built on the site, but it’s the retail—which locals hope can one day compete with Tysons—that will cement the legacy of this project.

Huh? Where? I like Bisnow, but sometimes I have caught them in a few errors. So much for journalism you can rely on.

[EducatedBro82]

The rendering is a little off. There are 2 sets of apartments being constructed on the opposite side of Konterra Drive. Modera Westside and Avalon Laurel. Both starting at $1600 for a 1BR. Also NV Homes will be constructing homes as well. Given the range at Bentley Park down the street they THs could be in the 400s and the SFHs upper 500s. Especially with Wilshire Estates next door ranging in the 600s when first constructed and are probably higher in value now.

[CBMD]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I have the opportunity to drive by the Konterra site almost every week now. I must say that all of the media outlets have disclosed opening dates from 2015 to 2018. Even Konterra's own datasheet touts a first phase completion date of 2018. This first phase would include the retail and residential portion of the core of the project. From what I saw today and where we are now in the Calendar year, 2018 seems pretty ambitious. I'm thinking more like 2019/2020.

I have to keep reminding myself that when developers throw out a date before construction, add 25% of the time on the end to be safe. Almost every project I have tracked has opened well past the original completion date.

Also, when I speak of Konterra, I mean the portion seen below. A lot of media makes it confusing when they say a portion of Konterra is already complete. Specifically in this article:



Huh? Where? I like Bisnow, but sometimes I have caught them in a few errors. So much for journalism you can rely on.

Not for the first time, I think you completely misunderstand. The site you identify is just one component of a larger piece. Bisnow is correct. You don't own it, you're not investing in it, so you're not allowed to define it.

Lots of the 2,200acres of Konterra is already built out, and identified by signage. There has been Konterra signage on commercial developments with entrances on R.1, and Muirkirk for years. The office building next to the WSSC HQ on Sweitzer Lane west of, and facing I 95, also has had a big Konterra sign on it for years. Both Willshire and the Villages at Wellington 300 acres+ and long built are part of Konterra.

Konterra Realty - Premier Residential Neighborhoods

What remains to be built are the proposed Town Center East, and Town Center West, combined less than 800 acres.

From the old Konterra website......

Konterra Town Center at a glance:

Konterra Town Center East
Acreage: 488 Acres
Zoning:
M-X-T (Mixed Use, Transportation Oriented)

Proposed:
1,500,00 square feet of Fashion-Forward Retail
3,800,000 square feet of Class-A office space
4,500 Residential Units, including townhomes, condos and apartments
600 Hotel Rooms
Park, Trails, Greenspace
Konterra Town Center West
Acreage: 253 Acres
Zoning: Planning underway for proposed mix of retail, residential and office uses.

[CBMD]

Originally Posted by EducatedBro82

The rendering is a little off. There are 2 sets of apartments being constructed on the opposite side of Konterra Drive. Modera Westside and Avalon Laurel. Both starting at $1600 for a 1BR. Also NV Homes will be constructing homes as well. Given the range at Bentley Park down the street they THs could be in the 400s and the SFHs upper 500s. Especially with Wilshire Estates next door ranging in the 600s when first constructed and are probably higher in value now.

Those are next to Konterra, but not part of it. A different developer owned and shepherded that land through the planning process. The 2nd of the two developments is "senior living" I believe. Both are managed by Avalon.

[CBMD]

I see that a 2nd parallel set of power lines has been installed on the section of Contee Rd between R.1 and Van Dusen, about 40 ft south of existing lines, presumably in preparation for the widening and extending of Contee. IIRC, this is the last piece of the road puzzle in the Konterra plan. Most of the previous related roadworks were State projects.

[stealthfox94]

What's the latest? Haven't been up there in a while, last I saw it looked like they where making progress.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by stealthfox94

What's the latest? Haven't been up there in a while, last I saw it looked like they where making progress.

Nothing. I'd wait until next year to hear anything. Their website has been "COMING SOON" for over a year now and still has not changed. Perhaps by next summer there will be some announcements.

Currently the construction is just underground infrastructure and water management. I wouldn't expect buildings to rise until summer of next year.

[Turnerbro]

Any current news?

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Any current news?

Nope. a lot of construction news websites still mention it as an active project. KLNB has it on their website for commercial and retail leasing. It's just slow going.

Laurel MD: Konterra Town Center - Retail Space - KLNB Retail

[mikeyo321]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Nope. a lot of construction news websites still mention it as an active project. KLNB has it on their website for commercial and retail leasing. It's just slow going.

Laurel MD: Konterra Town Center - Retail Space - KLNB Retail

Drove by there a few days ago. Nothing really seemed new. Looks like that project is dying on the vine. The whole "Tysons" comparison fails to take into account several of Tysons' built-in advantages: (1) location: less than 10 miles from DC approximately halfway between DC and its major international airport, Dulles, on the intersection of the Beltway and the Dulles Toll Road and fed by two major arterial roads, Route 7 and 123. (2.) business climate: Virginia has lower income and business taxes and a wider business base to draw from. (3.) better quality of life: Fairfax County (and the adjacent jurisdictions of Arlington County, City of Falls Church and Loudoun County) has some of the highest ranked public schools in the country as well as the lowest crime rate for a jurisdiction of its size (https://fcpdnews.wordpress.com/2018/...now-available/). PG County is making strides but a non TOD along I-95 is an old development model whose time has come and gone. Unless the Green Line makes its way up there sometime in the foreseeable future it's difficult to see where the spark for this development is going to come from. For the last generation at least Northern Virginia has really been where most of the economic action has been in the burbs.