Comments on: What’s New in CP

By: Robert Catlin

Robert Catlin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:21:49 +0000

No meeting yet. Quite a bit is happening, though. The City’s parking garage will have its groundbreaking on June 19th. The Mosaic at Turtle Creek condos should be filing its detailed site plan this summer. The Garden Suites Hotel has filed for its building permits. JPI East apartments, townhouses and retail, has applied for its building permits, Mazza GrandMarc Graduate Apartments hopes to begin construction late this year, Northgate condos (owned by Monument Realty) has had some success in appealing an FAA decision that limited its height from the approved 18 stories to only 12 stories. The FAA now says that 15 stories can be built at the site. It may become student housing. Starview student housing is proceeding with a Leed Silver student housing project. Mark Vogel has been able to put Merchant’s Tire under contract to go with other adjoining properties he purchased earlier, to build student housing. Finally, East Campus is working hard to file its preliminary detailed site plan in early July with Park and Planning. Work is proceeding with the County/City on a $180 million bond issue to be financed with a TIF. Other projects are in the early discussion stage, too.

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By: Kevin Fallon

Kevin Fallon — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:46:28 +0000

Did the May meeting ever happen? Really hate to see a great site like this fall by the wayside

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By: Brandon Barletta

Brandon Barletta — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:44:26 +0000

The recent housing crisis has caused quite a dilemma in College Park. Living off campus was once an option, but recently upper classmen have had no choice. With so many students being forced out of the campus residence buildings, many students have found themselves struggling to get situated for the upcoming school year. I believe the situating of the Starview Plaza is to be considered a blessing for College Park, and the students at the University of Maryland. I believe this because I long for a stronger sense of identity in our town. I feel that a growing population of students off campus, along Route One, will help expand our college town and spread the college feeling further down the road. This long for identity came to me during a recent trip, where I visited my younger brother at Penn State, University Park. Upon my arrival I noted that the campus was in the middle of nowhere. I was a little disappointed at first, but after visiting the town, I realized that the town was nearly 100% made up of Penn State students. It appeared almost as if there were no boundaries. No side of the town, that wasn’t theirs’. That this sense of identity, for a resident of University Park, was everywhere. I would like to see the population of students of College Park united along Route One.

In addition to establishing identity, the concentrated population of students will allow for greater social capital. Social capital is an essential part of being a student. Whether it be your bonding with friends and extracurricular activities, or your bridging through majors or student organizations, the social networks you build in college can be very helpful in your life after graduation. Student life and opportunities will improve when they no longer have to resort to living in a house off in the neighborhood behind Dunkin Donuts. As the population density of students grows, our influence in the town, and our ability to network amongst fellow students will improve. A well-networked society is beneficial to all.

After reading the entry about Starview Plaza, and thinking about my opinion on the town’s identity, I found myself stuck over my views toward the material options that would be used in the construction of the building. The film “Blue Vinyl” left me with the impression that it is wrong to support the usage of actions that pollute our planet or use up our limited resources (especially when you know that they are harmful). Also, being a strong advocate of College Park’s sense of identity, I believe the Route One Sector Plan has meaningful intentions. It is important that tradition be carried out throughout the town. By conforming to the megastore hype for modern buildings, College Park’s sense of identity would surely deteriorate. In conclusion, I believe the suggestion of using brick only on the façade of the building is a fair compromise. This possibility allows tradition to be carried out, and still reduces the amount energy used to make the bricks. I feel it is important that the county do what it can to reduce environmental damage, along with the idea the city refrains from conforming to the megastore. Though modern buildings are really cool, it just wouldn’t be the same College Park.

And thats MY 2 cents =)

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By: Shannon Whitehead

Shannon Whitehead — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:04:09 +0000

Personally, I am a freshman student here at the University of Maryland at College Park and of all the issues presented here on the ‘Rethink College Park’ blog, I think the most pertinent issue to date is not the actual ongoing and proposed developments in the city, but rather, their effects. As a newcomer to the College Park area, I have found that the citizens, residents, students, and councils are more concerned with the overall ‘development’ of the city and UMD’s campus rather than the consequences of such immense projects. In the present time, College Park is in a period of transition. Nowadays, when people here the name ‘College Park’, the first thing that comes to mind is the university, and the second is probably a combination of nightly fun that includes bar-hopping among Cornerstone, R.J. Bentleys, and Thirsty Turtle, with a late dinner or early breakfast at Ratsies. In its presence existence, the city is limited: limited in retail, limited in eateries, limited in community-university connections, simply put, limited. It isn’t family friendly at all. In fact, I can’t even think of one place in College Park within the vicinity of the campus where I could possibly take my family for a day of enjoyment. Yes, it is shameful to say, that despite all the money that is delved into the area, the results are not seen. Take a look at our city as it is: route one is filthy, trash-ridden, and fairly dangerous, the neighborhoods within the vicinity of UMD are pitiful, barely worthy of human inhabitance, and the students and faculty of UMD are severely unaware of the citizens of the city. However, with the proposed development and beautification projects, College Park will be transformed into a city where people no longer simply come to “bar-hop”, but it will serve as a place where families can actually spend a day shopping and eating together, and students can find sources of retail without relying on public transportation to reach out of way areas, i.e. Washington, D.C. With the proposed ideas and developments in College Park existing, it will become a center of retail and social interaction accompanied by nationally recognized world-class public university. As a student, I am undoubtedly in support of the all the proposals that I am currently aware of. From the East Campus construction to the Knox Box redevelopment, I see all of these endeavors as positive aspects, but the whole problem with Rethink College Park is that few people are looking at the ‘big’ picture with the issue at hand. With so much coming along, we need to recognize that parking, traffic congestion, and gentrification will be pertinent aspects that will need addressing when the ‘new’ College Park has finally emerged. Currently, parking is already an issue: UMD doesn’t even have enough parking to accommodate the cars of campus residents and Comcast patrons simultaneously. Congestion is also an issue already that will be further agitated by the new sources of retail in the city. Is Route One and 193 to responsible for the unbelievable amount of traffic that exists already and the traffic that is yet to come? Finally, can someone tell me how we are finally going to solve the problem of the lack of personal connection between College Park the ‘city’, and College Park the “institution”? This is a pressing situation. How are we to finally bring together our student body and our citizens? All in all, I simply think that “rethink” should include “think” about current problems, as well as, future problems: that is the only way to ensure the efficiency and success of such a project.

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By: cmizell

cmizell — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:49:08 +0000

I would like to comment on the “comings” of the East Campus Development as I believe it ties the whole Rethink College Park together as one main entity in that its an attempt to better the University and the Community.
While the entire East Campus idea was simply a replica from a Univesity located on the side of a highway that didn’t have accessible retail, grocery, etc, College Park is a bit different from that University. While we are already somewhat equipped with the necessary shops and mostly what college students “want” to have, I don’t see why we need to develop an area that really causes more congestion, more traffic, more issues in an already expensive and busy location. Yes, I understand that students want more, but they are in college, they need to be worried about their studies and not shopping at the latest, most expensive, yet quite popular retail stores. Oh, but we must not forget, those that wear the most up-to-date and most popular brand names are the only ones that matter. We often don’t take into consideration those students who are on their own paying for school and it doesn’t matter what the tag on the back of their shirt says. East Campus is all a money making buisness outlook, as if the University itself isn’t already expensive enough in its entirety.
Maybe the East Campus development will make the campus look better, soley because it will be located directly across from the campus and maybe it will be slightly more inviting when high school seniors visit. But what draws a future student to a school to begin with? Is it the retail and business surrounding the school, or is it the actual academic data and resources that are available for a quality education? I, myself, am a commuter and a on-my-own student who works a lot to pay for school. I have no desire to shop in the College Park area, that is why I go home and go to malls or wherever else I see fit. I don’t have mommy and daddy giving me every pretty penny they have in their pocket helping me out which is why I believe I’m set aside from others and don’t actually desire the new East Campus developments. What’s in College Park is there for college students to get by, they don’t need a specific Abercrombie and Fitch store and all that jazz when they need to worry about studies.
Who knows? Maybe it will be completely different from my opinion. However, I hope it doesn’t actually happen until I am long gone out of there. The traffic is bad enough, the parking issues just suck. They need to worry more about building parking lots than more resturants. People complaining about having “nice” resturants closeby, go check out the brand new Varsity Grill or the Applebees right down the street. If you want somewhere really nice, go to Adele’s and quit complaining.

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