How College Park Is Getting Greater This Fall

Signs of development and progress are hard to miss this fall at the University of Maryland, from the overhead wires for the state’s light-rail Purple Line to the sleek new Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center to the graduate student housing rising from the Old Leonardtown site.

That trend stretches beyond the campus’ boundaries, with new businesses and housing opening up and down Baltimore Avenue.

Fresh Thai and Venezuelan flavors, popular dining franchises and affordable housing are among the latest additions to Greater College Park, the $2 billion initiative to reinvigorate the community around the University of Maryland campus.

Take a tour of what’s new and what’s next in the community:

Arepa Zone
This Venezuelan eatery at Aster College Park, the development that also features Trader Joe’s, invites the community to stop by during its current soft launch; a grand opening is set for Sept. 27. The restaurant, which has additional locations in D.C. and Virginia, offers bowls, empanadas and, of course, arepas, which are flatbreads stuffed with ingredients like beef, chicken, cheese and sweet plantains.

“It’s a very cool location. It kind of pulls people through the site,” said Ken Ulman, UMD’s chief strategy officer for economic development and president of the Terrapin Development Co. “It’s a great addition to the diverse food offerings in our town.”

Flats at College Park
At the former location of the Days Inn, Howard Johnson and Red Roof Inn now sits a new 317-unit apartment community. The first wing of the Flats at College Park opened in May, with income qualifications for residents. Constructed by RST Development in partnership with Main Street Connect, a nonprofit dedicated to providing inclusive housing for people of all abilities, the building features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, an outdoor pool, dog park, fitness center and more.

PrimeTime
A retro sports theme meets upscale American eats at PrimeTime, which opened in the Cambria Hotel College Park last spring. The menu features steak, seafood and sandwiches, plus weekend brunch.

“For the Cambria to have a really dynamic restaurant on the first floor is really important for activating that stretch of midtown,” Ulman said.

Raising Cane’s
The chicken finger favorite, featuring combos with crinkle-cut fries and Texas toast, is in the permitting phase as it prepares to replace Nando’s Peri-Peri. The business hopes to open in time for the holiday season, said Michael Williams, economic development director for the city of College Park.

Rambler College Park
Towering cranes and reinforced concrete now dominate the view where the Campus Village strip mall used to be, as redevelopment by LV Collective and Harrison Street is underway. The Rambler College Park project, scheduled for completion in Fall 2027, will feature 288 units of multifamily, student-oriented housing, with amenities like a coffee shop, co-working mezzanine, yoga studio and hot tub with a jumbotron. Its 13,000-plus square feet of retail will include some previous Campus Village tenants, and a community center will honor the history of the neighboring Lakeland community.

Union on Knox
Retail leasing is nearly complete at the mixed-use development where 7-Eleven and the former Marathon Deli location used to be. Chopt Creative Salad Co. joined Shake Shack and the relocated Insomnia Cookies last March, and Thai and Vietnamese restaurant Pho Thom, previously at the corner of Hartwick Road and Baltimore Avenue, moved there in July. Duck Donuts will add another sweet treat option next month, and smoothie and acai bowl restaurant Berries and Bowls and nail salon Boho Nails are in the permitting stage. And just this week, family-owned coffee shop and bakery Black Lion Café, which specializes in Ethiopian coffee, signed a lease.

“It was really important for us to do two things with Union on Knox: have the retail be a mix of national, regional and local, with some sit-down restaurant options,” Ulman said. “The other big goal of ours was, when possible, to offer locations in partnership with the city to local retailers who were being displaced by redevelopment.”

Wonder
Terps missing the Bagel Place will have a plethora of new lunch and dinner options in November, when a rapidly expanding food hall chain opens in the same location. Multiple famous chefs and restaurants partner with Wonder, so customers can order pickup, delivery or dine-in from the menus of Detroit Brick Pizza Co., Tejas Barbecue, Streetbird and more, with Wonder staff preparing the dishes in their tech-enabled kitchens.

“It’s a fascinating concept,” Ulman said. “It’ll be really interesting to see how it takes off in College Park.”