$1.6M FTA Grant Aims to Support Communities Along Purple Line Route

University of Maryland researchers will work to preserve affordable housing, protect neighborhood assets and create access to green space for the 200,000 residents living along Maryland’s coming light-rail line, supported by $1.6 million award from the Federal Transit Administration.

The two-year project led by the Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC) prioritizes anti-displacement measures to combat the negative effects of transit-oriented development on vulnerable residents and small businesses, particularly around the Purple Line’s 21 transit stations. When completed in 2027, the nearly $10 billion transit investment will connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and provide new transportation options to the campus community, with five of the 21 stops on or near UMD.

“Our research has shown that transit-oriented development without protections and policy in place can be a major agent of displacement,” said Sheila Somashekhar, director of the PLCC, a part of UMD’s National Center for Smart Growth (NCSG). “This grant will allow us to proactively address this need, ensuring the people who already live there can reap the benefits.”

The project will include significant efforts to engage property owners, developers, lenders and tenants to create and preserve affordable housing. A 2023 study by the NCSG found rent was already significantly rising along the Purple Line compared to other parts of Montgomery County. Nearly half of residents along the corridor make below 60% of the area median income.

“Having an equitable anti-displacement plan will ensure that there’s adequate affordable housing for the families living there now,” said NCSG Director Kathryn Howell. “We have seen how transit-oriented development, when done without these measures in place, can really harm the people who rely most on public transportation.”

The PLCC has been working toward a goal of creating or stabilizing 17,000 affordable homes for households making below $72,000; as of 2023, 10,100 affordable homes have either been completed or are underway.

The project will also work with community stakeholders to target the preservation of assets instrumental to neighborhood identity and culture, like public gathering spaces and minority-owned small businesses, as well as develop plans for better access to trails, green spaces and parks. The project will incorporate the Maryland Department of Transportation’s “Complete Streets” policy to ensure safe routes for residents to and around the Purple Line.

The Purple Line will be Maryland’s first transit line to connect the northern spokes of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system (Metro) and represents one of the region’s biggest transit investments of the 21^st century. The PLCC, a public-private-community collaborative formed in 2013, has led the creation of the Purple Line community development agreement, conducted research, and coordinated advocacy efforts around inclusive and racially equitable development.

Awarded to the Maryland Transit Administration and the NCSG and administered by the coalition, the grant is the second-largest of 11 distributed this year through the federal agency’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning to support the development of affordable housing near public transit. It is the third such grant awarded to the coalition: In 2022, a $1.5 million FTA grant supported equitable and sustainable transit-oriented development, and a $2 million FTA grant in 2018 funded the development of private and public partnerships, a feasibility analysis and initial planning work around land use.