The first issue that caught my attention and the attention of some others who commented is the loss of Knox Towers and Hartwick Towers. Here’s the thing:
• There are now two high rise buildings
• Each has 8 floors
• Each floor has 21 rooms
• And on average, each room house 3-4 people (we’ll say 3.5 for the math)
• That’s 2 X 8 X 21X 3.5 = 1,176 students displaced. That’s about 300 more students than Elkton Hall holds. In order to make up these figures with duplex and flat apartments, there better be some pretty cramped places.
Honestly though, for a school with such an important issue, you’d think the problem would be obvious. Now, as for the rest of the area, these buildings just don’t fly up when Mote and the City of College Park sit down to have coffee and agree that they are a good idea.

Another concern of mine is efficient Land Use in the area. I do believe its being used for the right reasons, but is it being used to it’s fullest capacity. With the building’s place right up to the street, which may violate multiple zoning laws but and other issue’s regarding existing underground water works, the central garden will be maximized. How lovely, but once again are we fully engaging the issue of the housing crisis. Could one more set of apartments be bumped out or added to maximize efficiency and still allow a common yard?

Construction of such a vast plan would take years to complete and the store fronts would take time to fill and to prep for the lucky new owners. In my current course ENCE 320 (I’m a civil engineering major) we take the entire semester to look at what goes into just planning a project. Many of us have witnessed the “lightning speed” with which simple re-facing projects are completed on campus. Even the Engineering building has untied ends and it was supposed to be completed years ago. As I have learned in class, there is much more that goes into the management of an issue than pretty drawings. They include initial bidding, proposals, initiation, quality control, zoning issues, quality control, safety issues, resource management ( not just money) but how will effect the rest of us if they tear apart a water main our knock out power to the local grid.

My favorite part of this plan has to be the parking solution and that statement is honest from start to finish. It is a brilliant, difficult but brilliant nonetheless idea to hide parking all together behind buildings and underground. What is the difference to you if you go down or up when you park, its still just and elevator ride or a few steps from your destination and it will provide a safer less hectic method of parking. Great idea Brian. Over all, this plan is very appealing, and I think it could raise the student’s standard of living, but I think it needs a reality check as well.

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It’s really a question of political will. The critiques are right that there are obstacles but that does not mean that we need to abandon your vision.

Personally, I would love to see a town square. Something as simple as shutting down the parking lot of the College Park shopping centers and put out some chairs for outside restaurant, the quality of life in College Park would double.

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This is Kevin Fallon – the alum that you met after that incredible day long SGA session in April. Sorry we never connected – bummer.

I dont think the high level concept of Brian’s work is as unrealistic as you think. The only limits are the ones we place on ourselves.

1. Temporary relocation of businesses:

- If you look comprehensively at Downtown CP or even the US 1 corridor from Beltsville south to Hyattsville (beyond just the Knox Box Area) and form a joint redevelopment corporation (cooperation btwn City – State – Univ and MNCPPC) – complete with an “IPO” – give priority shares to owners of Knox Boxes and CPT condos as well as give them first dibs at purchasing new properties “pre-market” (make it so that “everybody wins”)

The Univ has several influential leaders up in NYC with Wall Street firms – as an investment vehicle this is very attractive given the risk-reward tradeoff (the U of Md is not going to fold up and go out of business – hence the market will always be there) PLUS look at our prominent alums in Construction and Real Estate (James A Clark and Robert H Smith just to name a few)

This will provide the massive amount of capital to pursue such a bold plan.

Next, develop retail space on the lot behind the MBX (US 1 and College Av – NE corner) – put the CP SC retail outlets there while the area is redeveloped then relocate them back (relo costs funded by the CP Redevelopment Corporation……which BTW has heavy participation from the Md B-School Faculty, MBAs and Undergrads as well as Schools of Arch and Engineering

THIS CAN BE DONE. I HAVE SPENT 10 YEARS UP HERE ON WALL STREET SOWING THE SEEDS FOR THIS. The interest is here. We just need to get it going. Big time potential to create not only the college town of our dreams but to also create an academic program for students that would be the envy of all of our peers. WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? I have “floated” this idea to Dean Frank (B-school) and have his Ear. It also has the attention of the President’s office. I have been working on Mayor Brayman and Terry Schum.

Anyone on this site should always feel free to contact me. OUR DREAMS WILL BECOME REALITY. LET NOTHING STAND IN OUR WAY.

973. 367. 2151
kevin.fallon@prudential.com

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I searched for you at the DRUM website but didn’t find you as an author. Is the document posted yet?

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I see the City’s likely construction of a parking garage and retail behind the Cornerstone/Bentley’s in summer 2008 as providing the catalyst for the addition of more retail or even the redevelopment of existing retail properties on the other side of Route 1. Lack of parking is the largest obstacle to retail redevelopment, but with a reasonable fee-in-lieu for parking in place and 250 additional parking spaces available, some additional retail development can occur which would reduce existing surface parking.

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