City Council discusses development space

Developers for a property situated in Riverdale Park and this city spoke at a College Park City Council worksession last night about their plans to bring mixed retail development to the area.

Several residents and council members brought up concerns during the meeting that development of the Cafritz property — a 35.8-acre tract adjacent to Route 1 and just south of College Park that would feature a Whole Foods Market, as well as about 1,000 units of multi-family housing and retail and office buildings — would bring congestion to the area. The input was the first of a two-part work session that will help the city council decide what course of action it will advise the county planning board to take.

The project's construction may disturb some surrounding neighborhoods, and the MARC train station and Metro station are both more than half a mile away — too far to walk while carrying groceries, several residents said.

Nancy Randall, a traffic engineer at Wells and Associates who presented the results of traffic studies relating to the development, said during the first phase of development, the afternoon traffic peak will add about 500 cars on the road system, and about 900 during the second phase.

However, the development includes plans for about 1,000 units of housing — and council members expressed concerns that the traffic numbers may bank too much on people choosing to use public transportation, which they said would be ideal but may not actually happen.

"I'm worried that it's wishful thinking … and we'll see more traffic than you're projecting," said District 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich.

Although much of the details about the buildings have not been hammered out yet, presenters at the meeting said the development would include a focus on green space.

"That's really what makes a project like this sing, what makes it come to life," said Jim Voelzke, an architect with MV+A Architects who is working on the project.

"We haven't started designing the buildings," he added. "The style of the buildings is yet to be put down yet. We'll definitely be looking toward some of the architecture in the area to complement it. There will be a diversity of style in the project."

Student Government Association City Liaison Marcella Morris questioned the developer about consideration of student concerns, such as working with this university's Department of Transportation Services to provide a shuttle to the shopping center and including student housing in the plan.

Student housing is not currently factored into the plan, but the developer would be open to looking into increased options for students, according to Chip Reed, the attorney for the Cafritz property. He added the Cafritz development would most likely not be in competition with East Campus development, which would attract far more student interest.

"As a student, we don't normally go south on Route 1 as often," Morris said. "But I feel like Whole Foods would be a large draw for the student population. … I would caution you to not weigh it as lightly as you have."

Several residents, such as Beverly Silverberg, said they were excited about the prospect of a Whole Foods in the area.

"Whole Foods is absolutely committed to coming," Reed said, adding that they are hoping for an opening day for the grocery store in late 2014. "If the community supports it, that helps a lot."

kirkwood@umdbk.com