Mundo Latino Market in North College Park
The Route 1 Retail Market Study has been completed recently and is now available on the City’s economic development website here. The City supported with other neighboring cities.
The study examines the existing and potential future demand for retail development along the Route 1 corridor. The study includes information on the entire corridor, as well as specific analysis regarding College Park which can be found in pages 49 to 56.
Here are the major findings of the study, in relation to College Park.
- The College Park submarket area ranks at the top of the consolidated Route One corridor for retail potential, not only because of its positive demographic and income characteristics.
- The location has the widest economic base that is all important to food service, encompassing major employment centers and the immense presence of the University of Maryland.
- College Park benefits from proximity to the 1-495 Beltway, plus existing and planned metrorail service.
- A variety of lodging options bear witness to these attributes, though themselves due for some degree of updating.
- The development traction gained over the last decade, much admittedly in terms of playing catch up with UMD driven demand for student housing, has helped transform the Route
- One corridor in College Park from a seemingly dormant environment into a leading, self generating focal point for both Prince George’s County and beyond. The retail development challenges going forward now have as much to do with managing the scale and direction of new retail additions in concert with existing retailing strengths as they do with reaching to serve unmet demand.
- College Park needs to help focus additional retail demand in the established downtown and midtown locations, allowing the highway commercial area of Route One between Route 193 and Cheery Hill Road to infill with less dense retail components that are a part of new development serving other land uses, and continuing to support pockets of more limited neighborhood demand in areas such as Hollywood and M Square.
- Longer term, the planned opening of multiple metro Purple Line stations will command attention to the fine grained planning for possible new development, including selected components of modest new neighborhood serving retail.
The consultant, Bolan Smart Associates, is expected to present their findings at an upcoming worksession.
Aaron Marcavitch
Of course we love ALL of our communities. I have been telling our communities that each brings a different value to the heritage area. Since Greenbelt wasn’t part of this study, I am at a bit of a loss to be able to bring them into the mix, but my GUESS would be that Greenbelt and College Park (as I have told others) have the best opportunity to be a great retail location, while others (as this report notes) have strong ability to be a niche market bringing high quality community ammenties – Riversdale Mansion coupled with the Farmers Market coupled with a walkable community (for example). Hyattsville’s Arts District combined with its historic district is another example.
There is quite a bit here – but it looks like a GREAT document for all of the communities in the region.