Could College Park Become a Good College Town After All?
College Park’s reputation as a bad college town could change if the College Park City University Partnership has any say, reports Washingtonian. In 2011, the partnership released Vision 2020 with the goal of capitalizing on College Park’s small town vibe to create a university community that rivals its peers. The plan calls for tons of smart growth with more types of housing, mass transportation and new retail (MV+A Architects rendering above). So far it has started a charter middle and high school to encourage faculty to live in the area. And the area is starting to shift. A $250M mixed-use development that will bring Prince George its first Whole Foods is under construction, and an “innovation district” has broken ground on the east campus with Ken Ulman helping foster a startup hub. However, an essential piece of the puzzle will be the 16-mile, $2.4B Purple Line, which still has an uncertain future.
