Housing Proposed for Property Adjacent Lot 1
July 17th, 2008 | by Rob Goodspeed | Published in Housing, Poole Property | 7 Comments
After months of rumors, some information has turned up regarding a project on the so-called Poole Property, a tract of vacant land across Mowatt Lane from the Architecture Building, across from Lot 1. A source at the University United Methodist church reports the church is considering a land swap to “straighten out the property line,” and we found this tidbit from a College Heights Estate Association meeting:
HANOVER CONSTRUCTION CO: Aaron Adler and Adam Harbin, representatives of the Hanover Company of Houston, Texas, briefed the Board on their plans to construct luxury apartments in College Park. The development will be on the Poole Property which is located on the southwest corner of Campus and Mowat Drives. The developers propose 5-10,000 sq. ft. of retail space, a roof top pool, and a 5-7,000 sq. ft. club house. There will be 1.4 to 1.5 parking spaced per residential unit. The company will construct approximately 250 unit, each 850 sq. ft. 70% will be 1 bedroom, and 30% will be 2 bedrooms with rents proposed at $1,200. Projections are not set in stone for any of these numbers. The projected tenants are graduate students, young
professions, visiting professors, and empty nesters. Aaron and Adam showed the board members samples of their prior apartment projects across the country. Hanover has received favorable comments from Doug Duncan of UMCP. The property will need to be re-zoned. Fall 2012 is the projected date for construction completion. Hanover will keep CHEA apprised of progress.
The Hanover Company‘s portfolio includes projects in Baltimore and Towson, Maryland. Does anyone know more about this project?
July 18th, 2008 at 2:48 pm (#)
This project definitely seems like a good idea. More housing close to campus is almost always a good thing, given the current housing crunch for both undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, it might be located close enough a future Purple Line station to have convenient access. I wouldn’t think there would be too many environmental impacts, given that Guilford Run is located a considerable distance away from the site. In addition, any environmental impact made by this site would surely be canceled out by the destruction of Lot 1 (as is planned in the University Master Plan).
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July 19th, 2008 at 9:37 am (#)
I’m pretty surprised it will be mixed use with retail. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of tenant they get.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 9:03 am (#)
could you imagine if they put a food/drink establishment on the ground floor with a large outdoor dining area right on the corner by the traffic circle….imagine what a place that would be before and after a football game?!!?!!
the b-school and the school of arch need this project. the b-school/school of pub affirs in particular …their front door faces a road that is in really bad shape (Mowatt) that loooks unfinishes with the big rocks piled up down the center……hope infrastructure improvements come with it and I hope Doug Duncan, Councilman Caitlin and others make sure that “the bigger picture” is taken into account beyond this parcel, specifically Mosaic @ Turtle Creek and anything else that is going to happen along the banks of the Guilford Run to the east ….if you catch my drift
need to look at the entire Southwest District as a whole and come up with a unified plan so the resulting development and infrastructure do not look piece-meal
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July 24th, 2008 at 5:06 pm (#)
Touche, Kevin. The University needs to have distinctive borders, as stated in its master plan. (The master plan did like the University’s eastern boarder on Route 1 — the bricked wall, that is.) And I completely agree that we need more development that builds with respect to the 2 streams around the University — Guilford Run and Paint Branch. There are a significant number of students who sadly (but understandably) do not even know where those streams are located, or that they even exist! This must change.
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July 24th, 2008 at 11:35 pm (#)
Paint Branch stream poses a problem for Park & Planning. Given that the land adjacent to the stream is largely owned by Park & Planning Commission (except for a portion that is Univ. of Md. property, Park and Planning police are responsible for what happens there. Commission Police do not want to take on the added task of patroling areas which they have seldom ever have had to concern themselves with. Especially since park property is closed to the public after dark.
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July 28th, 2008 at 7:36 am (#)
Hanover Company, doing business as Domain College Park LLC, purchased about 1.3 acres of land on Mowatt Lane from Robert Poole on June 13th.
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August 21st, 2008 at 4:18 pm (#)
Today’s Washington Post’s “What’s Going Where” (Prince George’s Weekly) says:
“Owner Entity Fund II LLC, Burtonsville. A detailed site plan for 300 units on 9.5 acres south of Campus Drive and 300 feet west of Mowatt Lane, College Park.”
I’m not sure how far away Guilford Run is located from the parcel, but the more development around the streams, the harder it gets to clean up the Anacostia.
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