City Council voices opposition to Rt. 1 apartment complex

The College Park City Council voiced its opposition Tuesday night to a student apartment complex proposed to be built over the Maryland Book Exchange, arguing the building would not complement the surrounding properties and character of the neighborhood.

At Tuesday's meeting, many council members expressed concern that the development — situated on 2.71 acres on the corner of Route 1 and College Avenue — would not mesh with the city's vision for the future of Route 1, as outlined in the Route 1 Sector Plan. Although the proposed five-story building would bring 341 units of student housing — more than 1,000 additional off-campus beds — near the campus, council members said it will not match the Old Town College Park area.

"When you look at this ... building and compare it with the surrounding residences and the surrounding community, to say that this is not in violation — in opposition — to the intent of the sector plan is, quite frankly, ridiculous," District 4 Councilman Marcus Afzali said. "I think there's been an absolute lack of a true attempt to work with the community on this."

This proposal, put forth by local developer and university alumnus Ilya Zusin in July 2010, is the first to come under the new sector plan — a set of guidelines and standards for development along the downtown College Park road — that the Prince George's County Council approved in June 2010.

City Planning Director Terry Schum said this proposal has been a challenge for Zusin under the sector plan's new guidelines.

"We're in a position right now where we've been unable to have a meeting of the minds, to reach agreement on some of the issues of most concern to us," she said. "We find that we can't recommend approval or even approval with conditions."

According to city documents, the plan will go before the Prince George's County Planning Board on Nov. 3. Although the final decision will be left up to the county, the city council's recommendation usually carries weight. The council will formally vote to either support or oppose the proposal at Oct. 11's meeting.

Representatives from Axiom Engineering Design — who presented the plan to the council Tuesday night — made their case nonetheless, saying in addition to complying with the surrounding architecture, the building will also be environmentally friendly.

"For the building overall, we're seeking, at a minimum, LEED Silver, and as it looks like we're close to LEED Gold certification, we'll do our very best to get to that level as well," said Adam Morman, an Axiom senior landscape architect. However, some city council members maintained this is exactly what will set the building apart so drastically.

"I don't see how you can look at a place where people live, be it fraternity buildings, sorority buildings or a building adjacent to a church where only five people live on the entire block, and not call that residential," District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn said.

Senior City Planner Elisa Vitale said during the meeting that Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Old Town Civic Association and the Episcopal Student Center have also voiced their opposition to the proposal.

"The community expressed that they were not in favor of undergraduate housing at that location as the primary use," Schum said.

kirkwood@umdbk.com