Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made another trip back to the site of the old Prince George’s Hospital Center, a long shuttered hospital in the Cheverly area that looks over the rest of the D.C. area from the highest vantage point in Prince George’s County.
While the old building still stands there today, it’s in the process of demolition leading to what promises to be a massive redevelopment project. Some day, this future city center on a hill will have a huge impact on the town of Cheverly, and the governor stopped by to announce the state of Maryland was increasing its investment to make that happen.
“We’re absolutely thrilled about this project,” Moore told a gathering of local, county and state leaders from the Cheverly area. So thrilled, in fact, that the original $5 million investment coming from the state was bumped up to about $7.5 million.
“We did get a little more than we expected,” said Caroline Kenney, managing director of public-private partnerships with Urban Atlantic, which is leading the redevelopment. “This actually allows us now to go to the private finance markets and say, ‘Hey, there’s clearly the level of public support for this project that’s needed.'”
By the end of the decade, the dream is that thousands of people will be living in the new townhomes and apartments that are in the works, nearly doubling the size of Cheverly’s population.
“Infrastructure is not inexpensive. Demolition is not inexpensive. The state and the county have really risen to the occasion to say, ‘We support this project.’ And it allows us now to go to private finance markets and raise the private side. So this project could not be advancing the way that it is without the support,” Kenney added.
Residents and businesses that invest in the redevelopment will also be able to earn equity in the long run.
“This was a time when we had to invest in the big ideas, and the things that could have not just lasting impact, but truly generational, intangible impact in communities,” Moore said. “This is one of these projects. It’s not just about economic development. This is community building.”
Kenney said the influx of cash will help the building aspect continue seamlessly in the years ahead.
“It allows us to not miss a beat from the time that we stop the demolition,” she explained. “We can roll right into starting the first vertical buildings on the site. It couldn’t have happened otherwise.”
Eventually, the plan is to improve connections to not just the Cheverly Metro station, which isn’t nearly as accessible to the site now as it will be, but also to the various bike trails that run along the Anacostia River into D.C. — allowing the governor, a noted Baltimore Orioles fan, to ride his way back to Nationals Park to see the Os play, joked a member of the Urban Atlantic team.
Kenney then added jokingly, “That was off the record,” before Moore could smile and say, “No, that’s on the record!”
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