The number of Metro stations with “remaining development potential” has been culled to 20, and four of those — spanning three jurisdictions — will be the subject of solicitations this year.
Metro’s Planning, Program Development and Real Estate committee voted March 13 to adopt the proposed 2014 joint development work program, which will include requests for proposals for developable parcels at the Forest Glen station in Montgomery County, the West Hyattsville and Largo Town Center stations in Prince George’s County, and the Braddock Road station in Alexandria.
The four were selected on the basis of market strength, developer offers and interest, adjacent projects and consultation with local economic development officials, said Stan Wall, Metro’s director of real estate and station planning.
“We have a lot of high expectations about success in all four of these areas,” said Metro Board Chairman Tom Downs.
Downs said he is pleased with the work Wall and his team have accomplished to “begin to clear the decks” of Metro-owned, developable property. Of the system’s 86 stations, 31 have limited development potential, 21 are fully developed or under development, and 14 are the subject of active solicitations or negotiations. That leaves 20 with good prospects.
The 2013 development program included nine stations. Bids for the first five — Morgan Boulevard, Grosvenor, Fort Totten, Brookland and the Navy Yard Chiller site — were due by March 7. Solicitations for the remaining four (Capitol Heights, College Park, Branch Avenue and Huntington) are scheduled to be released this month.
College Park was a late addition.
Last June, the Metro board approved a term sheet with a pair of developers, after nearly a decade of talks, for the redevelopment of a 15-acre parcel surrounding the College Park station’s eastern entrance. Metro, San Diego-based Fairfield Residential and Columbia-based Manekin had 120 days to sign a joint development agreement, but “material disagreements as to timing emerged” and “no negotiations ensued,” according to Metro staff.
The partnership was terminated Oct. 28, as were plans for 350,000 square feet of office space, 290 residential units and 34,000 square feet of retail. In December, the Metro board opted to rebid the parcel as part of the 2013 joint development work program.
(The Metro/Manekin parcel is across the tracks from another Metro-owned property that is part of a redevelopment solicitation jointly issued last week by Prince George’s County, Castle Properties and Metro. Read about that here.)
As for the 2014 program, here’s what Metro sees in its four stations:
- A 36-acre parcel at Largo Town Center, developed as mixed-use, will seize on the proposed regional medical center there. According to a staff report, Metro has “already received inquiries from firms seeking to pursue medical-related development uses on our property.”
- A 28-acre site at West Hyattsville will leverage development momentum at Fort Totten to the west and Prince George’s Plaza to the east. Any development here will “maximize the site’s development potential while also creating a sustainable community” given its close proximity to Sligo Creek and the Anacostia trail system.
- An 8-acre parcel at Forest Glen is already the subject of developer inquires. The redevelopment effort will include enhanced pedestrian access across Georgia Avenue.
- A 3.5-acre parcel at Braddock Road Is “at the center of a significant number of redevelopment projects,” Wall said. The focus for this project will be mixed-use development that includes neighborhood-serving retail and restaurants.
