February 11th, 2012 | by Clay Gump | published in Housing
If you work on campus the University of Maryland wants you to live here. The Gazette is reporting on a study being performed by UMD to determine what folks are looking for in a neighborhood to better market the surrounding area to faculty and staff. We’ve profiled Live Near Your Work programs before which have a marginal success [...]
January 30th, 2012 | by Krystle Okafor | published in Bicycles, Downtown, EYA Arts District Hyattsville, Housing, Route 1
A recent article in The Diamondback commended the rise of mixed-use development on our university’s main street, as it should. After years of housing shortages and blight, College Park is finally being rejuvenated. But in current discussions of College Park’s redevelopment, there is a huge elephant in the room: Route 1 itself. Dangerous and traffic-clogged, [...]
July 31st, 2011 | by David Daddio | published in Book Exchange Site, Housing, Politics
On July 14th, R & J Company, LLC filed a detailed site plan to build a 6-story apartment building on the site of the Maryland Book Exchange at the corner of College Ave. and Route 1 in Downtown College Park (SEE RENDERINGS). From what we can tell, the details of the proposal are basically the same as [...]
December 6th, 2010 | by Colin Phillips | published in East Campus, Housing
We’re happy to report an important error in our post on the Nov. 30 East Campus Forum. Although discussions at the meeting suggested that graduate housing was no longer a priority for East Campus, we have since learned that graduate housing remains a central component of the project. Ann Wylie, UMD’s Vice President for Administrative [...]
October 21st, 2010 | by David Daddio | published in Housing, The Varsity
The Varsity, a student housing project set to open Fall 2011, has just launched its leasing website. They appear to have taken a page from Mazza GrandMarc’s cheesy marketing campaign, but then they took it to a whole new level. They’re selling a lifestyle and experience rather than housing (complete with tanning beds, a game [...]
October 19th, 2010 | by David Daddio | published in Book Exchange Site, Downtown, Housing, Old Town
Local leaders have really put themselves in a quandary over the Book Exchange controversy. An array of officials who are reliably pro-smart growth have teamed up with Old Town Civic Association (OTCA) in an effort to quash the proposed 6-story project that could bring 830 student beds to downtown College Park—along with roughly 170 beds geared towards graduate students [...]
October 13th, 2010 | by Fazlul Kabir | published in Book Exchange Site, Community Events, Downtown, Housing
The proposal to turn the Book Exchange site into a 6-story mid-rise apartment building for students and professionals has stirred quite a bit of discussion among City’s southern inhabitants – University students and Old Town residents. Being so close to the campus, UMD, smart growth proponents and students would love to see this proposal go [...]
October 11th, 2010 | by David Daddio | published in Downtown, Housing
See this letter of support from Smart Growth America for the proposed Book Exchange Redevelopment: –>9/3/2010 Letter from Smart Growth America to College Park Mayor and City Council.
