College Park - News, Events, Updates, Questions and Developments Etc. (Baltimore: donated, build)

[lookingbutnotlost]

Nm

[terplandlord]

The city is stupid

The most important project is to bury the jumbled rats nest of crooked telephone poles and wires cluttering and uglifying rt 1 all the way to the beltway.

Hardly any decent road in the dc area has that disorganized and retarded appearance . It would instantly make the not so nice entrance to the city look much much better

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by lookingbutnotlost

Yup.

I thought so too but they are building 1300 affordable units in National Landing as well. So, we're not alone.

In partnership with Amazon, we have completed a transaction that will lead to the preservation and creation of 1,300 affordable homes at the 16-acre “Crystal House” site in Arlington, Virginia—a groundbreaking purchase announced today as part of Amazon’s establishment of a $2 billion Housing Equity Fund. WHC’s acquisition of Crystal House will preserve affordable housing for individuals and families in Arlington for 99 years.

https://www.federalcitycouncil.org/resource/1406/

That's a whole lot more units that the 400+ in College Park.

[hikerMD]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

At face value, this is good news. However, I find it interesting that in Prince George's County we have to build projects that are "affordable" even though rents are already lower than a lot of other areas inside the Beltway.

"At or below" 80%. How far below? 60%? 50%?

Here is a good read on AMI in the region.

https://ggwash.org/view/42671/the-ar...-ami-explained

People are already flowing into Prince George's and Montgomery Counties who are getting priced out of DC and other high price areas. We can all agree that though all area prices are rising, it is cheaper to live in PG than in most other places. So, do we really need this program for this particular property?

I find it hard to believe that people being priced out of DC wouldn't find the Atworth attractable being right next to the metro station, Purple Line, 495, and 95. I think the opportunity to find market rate tenants was lost on this particular property being within a 5 minute walk to Metro.

I believe that a mix of higher and lower income citizens adds vibrancy to cities, so if this is handled well, I think it will be very good for College Park, which is simply unaffordable for many people working worthy professions. That said, they need to have good management keeps high levels of maintenance and safety. I think a mix of high and lower income tenants in a building like that tends to increase the odds of the site being well kept up, but hopefully it will still work with the model they seem to have chosen.

[hikerMD]

Originally Posted by terplandlord

The city is stupid

The most important project is to bury the jumbled rats nest of crooked telephone poles and wires cluttering and uglifying rt 1 all the way to the beltway.

Hardly any decent road in the dc area has that disorganized and retarded appearance . It would instantly make the not so nice entrance to the city look much much better

I think most people agree with burying the lines, but alas, College Park simply can't afford it. The remaking of Rt 1 was a golden opportunity, and CP tried to get the funding to take advantage of the utilities being moved to try to bury them. But they couldn't get the money, so I don't think it'll happen any time soon https://streetcarsuburbs.news/a-new-baltimore-avenue/

We pursued a $17 million federal grant in 2016 for undergrounding utility lines. Unfortunately, we did not receive the grant. Rather than holding up the project over undergrounding utilities, it was agreed to move forward. While utility lines will not be buried, there will be fewer utility poles along the road than in the past.

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by hikerMD

I believe that a mix of higher and lower income citizens adds vibrancy to cities, so if this is handled well, I think it will be very good for College Park, which is simply unaffordable for many people working worthy professions. That said, they need to have good management keeps high levels of maintenance and safety. I think a mix of high and lower income tenants in a building like that tends to increase the odds of the site being well kept up, but hopefully it will still work with the model they seem to have chosen.

PG County has more than its fair share of low-income residents as well as affordable housing. For example, the school system provides free and reduced cost meals to approximately 67% of its students. What the County needs is a greater share of educated millennials priced out of DC.

[lookingbutnotlost]

Originally Posted by hikerMD

I believe that a mix of higher and lower income citizens adds vibrancy to cities, so if this is handled well, I think it will be very good for College Park, which is simply unaffordable for many people working worthy professions. That said, they need to have good management keeps high levels of maintenance and safety. I think a mix of high and lower income tenants in a building like that tends to increase the odds of the site being well kept up, but hopefully it will still work with the model they seem to have chosen.

College Park isn’t that unaffordable for most working professionals. DC is. You can find cheap apartments all up and down route 1. PGC has the lowest median rent in The DC suburbs.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

PG County has more than its fair share of low-income residents as well as affordable housing. For example, the school system provides free and reduced cost meals to approximately 67% of its students. What the County needs is a greater share of educated millennials priced out of DC.

Don't look now, but...https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...of-cities.html

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Don't look now, but...https://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...of-cities.html

Riverdale Park and Hyattsville have become popular destinations for millennials.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

Riverdale Park and Hyattsville have become popular destinations for millennials.

Wish we could grow into a Downtown Silver Spring type vibe with great sit-down restaurants and bars. All those millennials will get a big nothing burger when they get to Hyattsville and College Park.