Route 1 Renaissance: Development Projects in College Park and Beyond

The busy corridor is quickly maturing into a vibrant, urban hub

#1 Liquor is the lone holdout on this block of US Route 1 in College Park after being surrounded by high-density residential development
Photo credit: Google StreetView

[Sorry for the long hiatus. I have been very busy with work, and with my posts being so long and detailed they require a lot of time and effort. I hope to post more frequently this year]

College Park, Maryland is home to the flagship campus of the University of Maryland (UMD), but has frequently been criticized as a middling college town, especially compared to other well-known college towns around the country such as Berkeley, CA and Ann Arbor, MI. Critics have given a number of reasons as to why College Park is considered to be a mediocre college town: 

• the lack of quality retail establishments 
• a heavily congested main road artery lined with not-so-attractive businesses
• poor access to the existing rail transit station
• a relatively high crime rate. 

Fortunately, over the past decade or so the city has seen a steady stream of substantial improvements in all the areas noted above, and with development interest in the city at an all time high, College Park is on the verge of becoming a far more livable and attractive college town.

The major transportation corridor for College Park and its neighbors is US Route 1 (Baltimore Ave./Rhode Island Ave.)--the national highway famous for connecting Maine and Florida. In addition to being the area's busiest vehicular artery, it has also been its primary commercial strip for nearly 100 years. Although there has been a steady stream of new development projects going up around College Park in recent years, many obsolete buildings, and the street itself seem to be stuck in a time warp. 

Fortunately, the recently funded reconstruction of US Route 1, which will include widening, the addition of bike lanes, and a much improved  environment for pedestrians which will do a lot to alleviate congestion and improve mobility. 

Just as important, as far as transportation infrastructure is concerned, is the Purple Line light rail line, which will be built through the heart of the UMD campus to connect the school to the existing College Park Metro/MARC rail station, as well as the commercial hubs of downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring. 

Notably, the high-quality projects coming to the Route 1 Corridor are attracting nationally recognized names such as: CVS, Hyatt, Choice Hotel's premium Cambria Suites brand, Whole Foods (opening its first store in the county), and Target (which is opening one of its first urban-format TargetExpress stores in the country). 

Continue reading for a list of all the mixed-use development projects recently completed (past 10 years), planned, or under construction in the Route 1 Corridor in College Park and beyond:

*Remember to check my comprehensive Urban Development Map for more details on these development projects and others in the area. 

Libraries: Setting a new standard for avant-garde urban design?

Part I

Seattle Central Library, Seattle, WA
Photo Credit: Wikipedia/Steven Pavlov

This article is one part of a multi-segment series titled The Urban Transformation, which takes a look at how certain public institutions and private businesses are adapting to nascent urban environments

In many cities across the United States some of the most architecturally distinctive and impressive buildings are libraries. In the Mid-Atlantic the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress and the main branch building of the New York Public Library are two of the most iconic buildings and are part of the second and third largest libraries in the world respectively. Both buildings feature neoclassical architecture and were constructed around the same time in the 1890's. In a number of urban communities in the Mid-Atlantic, as well as around the country, there is a growing trend to build architecturally striking libraries, if not quite at the same enormous scale as the grand libraries of the late 19th century.

Libraries as Architectural Icons
The main purpose of libraries has always been to serve as physical (and now virtual) repositories of society's collective knowledge, history, and achievements in all fields from religion to science to culture. Therefore it is fitting that libraries visually reflect the content they contain and provide inspiration to visitors and passers-by.

Urban Maryland Development Map

Last summer I created a custom Google map of new high-density development projects (residential, retail, and commercial) in the Maryland side of the Washington Metropolitan Area. I used a smaller map, created by the Bethesda/Chevy Chase Regional Services Center for tracking development in Bethesda, as a template. The map is still incomplete, but after investing a ton of time in it I've managed to add locations/info on over 150 projects.

Included in the map are high-density developments (ranging from large scale multiple building mixed-use projects to single residential buildings) including mid-/high-rise buildings (5+ stories) completed since 2005,  under construction, or in planning stages. For each project there is a photo and description of the project. I'm a stickler for accuracy so to my knowledge all of the info is up-to-date and correct. 

My original plan was to cover all of the urban areas in Central MD from the DC suburbs to Baltimore (and maybe DC and Arlington Co./Alexandria), but with the rapid growth this area is experiencing (although it's currently threatened by a looming sequester) that quickly proved to be impractical. Currently the map includes all high-density projects in the following areas:

- Silver Spring (downtown)
- Bethesda (downtown)
- Friendship Heights/Village
- North Bethesda/White Flint
- Wheaton (downtown)
- Rockville (Twinbrook Area)
- Rockville (downtown)
- Rockville (office parks near Shady Grove Rd)
- other random projects

As I mentioned before, I probably won't be adding many more areas in the foreseeable future due to the amount of work involved (adding what I have currently took far longer than I expected it would). I would like to add certain projects in Gaithersburg and Germantown in Montgomery County, as well as College Park/Hyattsville/Riverdale Park, New Carrollton, and National Harbor in Prince George's County though. I will continue to constantly update projects already marked.



View Urban Maryland Development in a larger map