City Council Says Oui to University View Part Trois
May 14th, 2009 | by Clay Gump | Published in University View, University View Overlook | 6 Comments
The building at the far right is University View III
The Diamondback reports that the City Council gave a thumbs up to View III. The completion of the University View trifecta will begin at the end of next summer. This will bring an additional 992 beds and 19,000 square feet of retail space. By my estimate all three building provide in the neighborhood of 2600 beds for students just steps away from the main entrance to campus.
- University View : 1100 beds (COMPLETE)
- The View Part Two : 516 beds (Under Construction)
- The View Village: 992 beds (Construction begins next summer)
Approval would have come sooner but there were some disagreements over parking.
Last week, city staff and council members told the project’s developers they didn’t offer enough parking. Their plan relied on using on-campus lots as overflow from their own garages even as the university refused to guarantee such an arrangement in the long run.
Council members said they would have preferred to see the developers add a level to the project’s parking garage, but were told the $1.6 million cost of such a change could jeopardize the entire development.
After a private discussion between two city officials and representatives from developer Clark Enterprises, the sides agreed Clark would have to find a way to provide extra parking for the project’s residents if the university stopped allowing on-campus parking. In exchange, the city would not immediately force the developers to expand the 462-space parking garage.
Say what you will about the design of the building, or the monstrocity of such a beast on Route 1, but it is this authors opinioin that 2600 students in the View mostly walking to class is better than 2600 students spread out over the area looking for parking every day.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:03 am (#)
Cool, this is good news!
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May 15th, 2009 at 8:06 am (#)
I definitely get the sense that the pace of construction of student housing is far increasing the pace of demand. all these addition beds here, Starview plaza, Mazza, the project that Mark Vogel is doing on top of Jerry Sub. That’s before even considering the impact of East Campus. There may very well be a glut in housing and concurrent price declines in the next 4-5 years if this keeps up. The single family home student rental market may very well dry up in the less desirable parts of the city as non-student renters start to creep in.
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May 18th, 2009 at 11:20 am (#)
I just don’t see a glut happening. Though UMD’s tuition is up there with other high tuition state schools, students are now opting to stay in-state for college now that the costs of tuition for private institutions are still more than state run institutions. When and if the economy starts going again, there should be a demand once these projects are completed. I think it’s a great response though to the needs of the student population. It’s nice to see some action although a bit on the late side. Also, Rt. 1 needs a serious overhaul. ANY new development will be a breath of fresh air.
As far as single-family home students renters drying up, I think a home is best owned rather than rented. You get more stability in neighbors that way. Also, you get owners who will hopefully invest in their purchase by making improvements, etc.
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May 20th, 2009 at 12:26 am (#)
The projects could be useful in another way, too. Let’s say sometime down the road (such as 15 years from now) the University finally performs major renovations on many of the dorms around campus. This housing (including new Commons buildings) could house students for a year or two who would be affected by such renovations.
And, the projects could encourage a redevelopment of the area across Route 1 (including a much-needed demolition of the auto shop next to the liquor store — no offense, owner(s) of the autoshop).
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May 20th, 2009 at 11:09 am (#)
Where are the traffic lights? Dedicated turn lanes?
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May 21st, 2009 at 2:02 pm (#)
Aaron,
I think that is addressed in the route 1 section plan.
http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/category/general-college-park-and-vicinity/route-1/
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