Getting ‘Greater’ in Fall 2021
More Development Projects Reshaping Greater College Park
By Liam Farrell
Construction has continued apace this year in continuing to transform Greater College Park, including the Southern Gateway project (left) bringing new housing and retail, including a grocery store.
Photo by John T. Consoli
The sounds and sights of construction surrounding campus this semester are heralding what’s new and what’s to come in College Park, from a reimagined main thoroughfare alongside campus to luxury housing, in-demand retail and cutting-edge business opportunities.
While many students, staff and faculty were away from campus for more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greater College Park initiative, a more than $2 billion public-private partnership, has continued its efforts to create one of the best college towns in the country. Since it began seven years ago, the project has led to projects such as the Hotel at the University of Maryland, the Landmark apartments and Target store, and Vigilante Coffee.
Check out the map below to see what is going on in the UMD neighborhood:
1. Tempo
Gilbane Development Co. is transforming two acres once occupied by a Burger King and an abandoned retail site into an eight-story, 299-unit student housing complex with retail space and a parking structure. Expected to be completed in August 2022, it will offer amenities including a clubroom, fitness center, swimming pool, makerspace and podcast/video studio.
2. Baltimore Avenue Renovation
A three-year, $29 million project is reimagining the main thoroughfare through College Park from College Avenue and Regents Drive to University Boulevard. When completed, the 1.4 mile-project by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will have two lanes for travel in each direction with a raised median and auxiliary lanes that transition into turn lanes; 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes on each side; improved sidewalks and crosswalk ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and improved infrastructure, signage and lighting. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
3. Campus Drive Project
The Terrapin Development Company—a partnership between the university and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation—and Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust are planning a $300 million development at the southeast corner of Campus Drive and Baltimore Avenue. Located in the Discovery District between The Hotel at the University of Maryland and Paint Branch Stream Valley Park and near the future light-rail Purple Line, the project will eventually have 650,000 square feet of research, office and retail space; 200 to 250 multifamily residential units; and a parking garage.
4. The Hall CP Backyard
Open since January 2020, the Hall CP restaurant and entertainment space is expanding the outdoor amenities it introduced during last year’s pandemic. Its new “Backyard” area will feature live music every Friday and host regular and special university events such as “Science on Tap” and NextNOW Fest performances. (Courtesy of the Hall CP)
5. Union on Knox
TDC and Greystar Real Estate Partners are partnering to build apartments for nearly 800 students and more than 21,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, turning Sterling Place into a pedestrian-friendly street that can bring a festival atmosphere to College Park. Construction is anticipated to begin this fall.
6. Western Gateway
Gilbane Development Co. is planning 300 units of graduate student housing and 81 townhouses off Mowatt Lane near Maryland Hillel, the Robert H. Smith School of Business and School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. The project will address a long-standing university goal of providing below market rent housing to graduate students in a location walkable to campus and transit. Completion is expected in August 2023.
7. City Hall
The city of College Park will have a state-of-the-art municipal building and public plaza open this fall through a partnership with the University of Maryland and TDC. UMD will occupy two floors of the building and retail space will be available on the first floor at the end of this year. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
8. Southern Gateway
TDC and Bozzuto are building 400 residential units and 62,000 square feet of retail, including a grocery store, outdoor dining and gathering spaces, enhanced by extensive greenery. Improvements include an extension of Calvert Road with a pedestrian bridge linking two buildings. The first residential units are on track to open in summer 2022. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
9. Atworth
Gilbane is constructing a 431-unit mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly project on a former five-acre parking lot near the College Park Metro Station. It will include about 12,000 square feet of retail, 23 two-story townhome units and 27 live-work loft units.
10. Discovery District
A hub of technology research and entrepreneurship, the Discovery District has seen many tenants double down on their commitment to College Park. In the past year, quantum computing startup IonQ expanded by 23,000 square feet; cybersecurity trainer Cybrary by 14,000 square feet; email security firm Inky by 14,000 square feet; and data company Loccioni by 2,000 square feet. Several other companies are also in the process of expanding operations. (Photo by Emma Howells)
11. The Standard
Landmark Properties and Dwell Design Studio have partnered to bring The Standard at College Park, a 282-unit student housing development that includes five-bedroom options. On track to be completed by Summer 2023, The Standard will feature study rooms on each floor, three courtyards, a rooftop amenity and retail at ground level.
Topics:
Schools & Departments: