Mixed-Use Development Proposed For Prime Corner In College Park
A retail strip on one of the prime corners in College Park is being eyed for a major redevelopment.
Affiliates of Greenhill Cos. filed plans with the Prince George's County Planning Board to rezone a property at the intersection of Route 1 and Hartwick Road for a six-story development with up to 175 units and 15K SF of retail.
The 7313 Baltimore Ave. property, two blocks from the University of Maryland campus, sits on the same block as iconic College Park bars RJ Bentley's and Cornerstone Grill & Loft, but the development site doesn't include those businesses.
The site does appear to include several Route 1 retailers: Northwest Chinese Food, Kung Fu Tea, Ivy Noodles, Pho Thom, Mr. Smoke College Park and The Rail Sports Grill, which was previously called Backyard Sports Grill and Big Play Sports Grill. It also includes residential properties to the east of the retailers, along Hartwick Road and Yale Avenue.
The application doesn't say whether the existing retailers would be brought back into the redevelopment. Greenhill didn't respond to requests for comment.
The six-story project, first reported by Route 1 Reporter, is branded as Terrapin House. It has a hearing scheduled on Thursday with the planning commission.
The plans call for between 160 and 175 multifamily units, and between 10K and 15K of retail. The development plans also include internal parking and open space areas along Yale Avenue.
The building is designed to be taller along Route 1 and to step down in height along Yale Avenue to provide a transition between the commercial and residential areas.
Bethesda-based Greenhill Cos. owns more than three dozen properties across the D.C. area, and it has holdings in Massachusetts, Charlotte, Pittsburgh and New Orleans. It has other developments planned in Beltsville, Alexandria, Annapolis and Odenton, Maryland.
The project is the latest in a series of multifamily and mixed-use developments planned along College Park's Route 1 corridor, also known as Baltimore Avenue.
Near the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Knox Road, Greystar is planning to build a 343-unit project with retail. The development would require the demolition of several long-standing retailers.
Last year, Gilbane Development Co. broke ground on a 296-unit project at 8430 Baltimore Ave., on a site that formerly housed a Burger King directly north of student housing buildings The Varsity and University View.
At 7150 Baltimore Ave. Bozzuto Development Co., in partnership with Terrapin Development Co., JPMorgan Asset Management and Willard Retail, broke ground last year on a 393-unit project with 61K SF of retail. The site, two blocks from the Greenhill Cos. project, was previously occupied by Quality Inn and Plato's Diner.
