Of the seven active construction projects (listed on our area projects by number page) in College Park right now, five of them are student housing. The other two are University-led office buildings in M-Square. Indeed, there is an unprecedented amount of dirt moving on Route 1 right now; proving that while the national economy may still be floundering, CP student housing fundamentals are still strong. If you include South Campus Commons #7 (which was just completed near Van Munching Hall) we’re witnessing the completion of about 3,600 public, private, and public-private (partnership) student beds over the course of about 3-4 years. That’s an incredible number when you consider that the first six Commons buildings and the first phase of University View only amounted to 2,925 beds.

This surge in construction has led some to speculate that perhaps we’ll witness a student housing bubble since all of these units are dedicated student housing and totally separate from the larger area rental market. These developers who are breaking ground don’t seem to think so. We think it’s too early to tell, but a bubble wouldn’t be such a bad thing for student rents. Otis Warren’s planned University View phase III (8350-8400 Baltimore Ave. in image above) which will house about 1000 beds is apparently stalled because of market conditions (they leased out their 8400 Baltimore Ave office building for another year). UMD is also holding tight on Commons #8. If either of these projects get moving again in 2011 or soon thereafter, it will be a clear indication that developers and financiers still see profit potential in student high rises.

Here is a construction rundown:

University View Phase II:

Mazza Grandmarc Graduate Student Housing Complex:

Starview Plaza:

Oakland Hall – North Campus Dorm:

The Varsity:

Apparently, the city’s patience with #1 Liquors is wearing thin. After nearly a decade of begging, prodding, and cajoling tactics, councilmembers are starting to contemplate eminent domain proceedings on College Park’s most infamous homestead holdout. According to the Diamondback the city would like to acquire the parcel in order to create “a park”:

The council voted last night to try to buy the property or to try to get it condemned if its owner refuses to sell. Some View residents said they would miss the store’s convenient location and were skeptical of plans to create such a tiny park.

The lot is a questionable location for a new park seeing as the City-University partnership is creating the 5-acre North Gate Park just south of the liquor store where Paint Branch Stream passes under Route 1. But the plan may be the city’s only real means to get rid of the squat one-story building in the emerging North Gate Development District. The store would be surrounded on three sides by major development in the area that includes the University View’s nearly complete complex and Mark Vogel’s planned 700-bed Varsity Student Housing project. The area is but one small glimmer of hope in College Park’s otherwise grim real estate environment. Perhaps the store owner would have been wise to take an offer for a ground floor retail spot in the University View’s new building. They would have had a captive audience of literally thousands of students in complexes either planned, approved, or already built.

Incidentally I just did a lengthy post at TheCityFix.com about eminent domain and a recent New York State court case that has catapulted the controversial issue back into the public spotlight. As I explain in the post, the tool can benefit communities, but it has several pitfalls. Councilwoman-elect Christine Nagle put it well in her quote in the Diamondback article where she expressed her disagreement with the city’s plan to remove businesses it “just doesn’t like”:

“We’re just starting Route 1 redevelopment,” Nagle said. “How many little parks are we going to have? Every time someone doesn’t make a deal?”

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.

Md. approves $80M for new dorm

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the $80 million for Oakland Hall on Wednesday. Construction is scheduled to start August 2009 and be completed by April 2011.  Some of us at RTCP have wondered why Foulger-Pratt/Argo Investments (the developer of East Campus)  is not paying for this new dorm since it is slated to replace the beds lost from Leonardtown.

University View expansion passed with condition

On Tuesday the College Park City Council approved a preliminary plan for expanding University View to include the 13-story building called the Freshman Connection. On the bright side this expansion will cover the hideous parking garage currently fronting University View.

As we reported Sunday, the University View plans an absolutely massive phased expansion – 434 units (1,416 student beds) and a whopping 30,000+ S.F. of retail. The 1st phase is planned to take place by 2010 (directly in front of the University View) with the other phases (including a parking garage) materializing by 2012.

Special thanks to Councilmember Stephanie Stullich for getting ahold of these for the general public. Looks like we’re finally getting somewhere around here…

Elevations:

Site Plan:

Ground floor retail and amenity plan:

Existing locational charm: