Rethinking College Park: From Parking Lot to College Town

David Daddio MCRP Candidate, 2012 DCRP Speaks 2011

Outline •  College Park Background •  Beginnings of the project •  Influence

•  Purple Line •  Student Housing

•  Impact & Accolades •  Takeaways

UMD Campus – A Resoundingly Pedestrian Place

A Great College Town? Ann Arbor, Michigan

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Madison, Wisconsin

Ithica, New York

Charlottesville, Virginia

… College Park, Maryland?

•  Derelict downtown

•  Not pedestrian friendly

•  Auto-oriented design

•  Housing Shortage

•  Unsatisfactory retail and dining

“The charm of a highway rest-stop” -- Washington City Paper

Billions in investment over the next 10-15 years: •  East Campus Development Initiative (expected well in excess of $500 million) •  Purple Line •  M-Square Research Park (extensive office) •  Other Investments in the pipeline/recently completed

•  Mosaic at Turtle Creek (8 stories 300 condos behind Hillel) •  City Hall project (9 stories, 165 condos, 350 space downtown garage, retail) •  Domain (17 stories 204 condos, retail) •  Starview Plaza (6 stories, 110 units) •  University View Overlook (, retail) •  Berwyn House Apartments (additional 72 units) •  CP Metro Station (400 condos) •  Hillcrest Height (140-160 condos, retail) •  Mazza Grandmarc Apartments (211 unit student housing – North CP) •  Camden at College Park (500 condos, retail) •  Greenbelt Station (2,000 townhomes, office, retail) •  Connector Road

What’s Coming?

“form a user-friendly website - an ongoing public participation venue where students and city residents can be educated, debate the merits of projects, and voice opinions.”

Beginnings

What is it? Like a blog …

–  Updated several times a week –  Staff has an independent, 3rd party perspective –  Able to synthesize information in ways traditional journalism

cannot

… but also:

–  Reliable, up-to-date “library” pages on with basic information –  Venue for public debate –  Crosses conventional boundaries between journalism,

community deliberation and politics

•  Website has received over 2,441 community comments since July 2006

• Commenters have included university students, alumni, staff, city residents, university administrators, local elected officials, and others

Commenting

•  City decided to pursue rezoning of commercial corridor to allow residential and mix-use mid and high-rise buildings (early 90s)

•  Eventually the county adopted the Route 1 Sector Plan in 2002 (refined in 2010)

Support? Resources? • Metrorail station

• Stable neighborhoods

• Low unemployment

• High property values

• Well-educated

• Home to one of the state’s largest employers

• High demand for housing

Planning?

• MD - epicenter of Smart Growth movement

• Zoning encourages mixed-use, urban, pedestrian friendly design

• Resources on campus

• Several consulting reports

Developers?

•  Many examples of excellent private building in Washington region

•  One of the country’s most dynamic real estate markets

• Near consensus on desire for walkable, mixed-use, transit-friendly redevelopment

If Not Here, Where? What’s the Hold Up?

Problem #1 - Property Consolidation and Leaseholder Holdouts

Problem #2 - Political Meddling From Afar

UMD Admin (Has their own agenda: East Campus, Connector Road)

City of College Park

(Loud voice in development, Mistrust of UMD/Students. Not

Well informed - at Times NIMBY)

Study Body (Overwhelming % of city Residents, ill-informed,

Not engaged although we Live here!)

Prince George’s County Council

& MNCPPC (Has final say on new

Buildings, other powers. Has other priorities and

goals)

State of Maryland (Controls new dorms,

Purple Line funding, other Housing laws.)

?

Problem #3 - Disparate Stakeholders – Beyond Town-Gown

UMD Admin (Has their own agenda: East Campus, Connector Road)

City of College Park

(Loud voice in development, No students involved. Mistrust

Of UMD/Students - at Times NIMBY)

Student Body (Overwhelming % of city Residents, ill-informed,

not engaged)

Prince George’s County Council

& MNCPPC (Has final say on new

Buildings, other powers. Has other priorities and

goals)

State of Maryland (Route 1 reconstruction, Purple Line funding, new

dorm funding, other Housing laws.)

Rethink College Park (Independent, student + community involvement)

Our mission is to help transform College Park into a great college town. We believe in full access to information, public dialogue, and the power of creative ideas

Key Issue #1 - Purple Line Light Rail

Key Issue #1 - Purple Line Light Rail, cont.

Key Issue #2 - Student Housing

Who’s Reading? (Based on 2007 reader survey, 52 responses) Residency •  59% live in College Park or immediately adjacent

community •  25% have contacted a College Park official and 20%

have contacted a University official after learning about an issue on the website

Press Impacts – triggered countless articles

Impact & Accolades

Site Usage •  Over 260K unique visitors since July 2006 •  Average of 1100 unique visitors per week •  586 posts in 60 categories by ~30 authors •  2,441 reader comments

Awards •  Planetizen 2008 Top Ten Planning, Design, and

Development Website •  Student government articles

Impact & Accolades

“It is a way for me to keep in touch with the city and university development and express my opinions when I feel motivated by a particular interest.”

“Invaluable resource. Use it often. Living in University Park we are surrounded by potential

development. … I'm sick of this area lagging in terms of quality development. I'm embracing much of this proposed development and try to keep up with the issues. Consulting Rethink CP is one way to do it.”

“It got me engaged in community-related issues, which had not happened before. Part of my job

involves marketing the university and the area to prospective students - it's a great help for that. It provides hope (sometimes) that things will get better here. It is a great piece of student activism/journalism at a campus that is known for apathy (rightly or wrongly).”

“This site is great in multiple ways, including its organization and content. The perspective of the

creators regarding development is balanced and knowledgeable”. “Timely, relevant information regarding all things development in the UM-CP area, including

objective information linking to original sources, restrained commentary (in the posts) that I nearly always agree with, and amicable dialogue (in the comments).”

“An excellent forum on the ways College Park is changing. Usually there is a bias toward

good urban planning and smarth growth practices.”

Community Feedback

Takeaways •  The ideal planning framework •  There is no such thing as a benevolent dictator •  Love NIMBYs •  There is always a better project •  Don’t be afraid of incremental steps

Planners (Adhere to plans but

remain flexible)

Politicians (In tune with community desires and pragmatic

on how to achieve them)

Public (Educated and thoughtfully

engaged)

The Ideal Planning Framework

RTCP got College Park ever so slightly towards this ideal.

… just don’t confuse the neighbors for the neighborhood.

Love NIMBYism…

“… I do not believe that student housing that is too far from campus to walk is a significant environmental nor traffic improvement, nor should it qualify for an almost $2 million waiver of school construction surcharge fees. Mazza is too far to walk, and the residents will be permitted to obtain campus parking permits. …”

-- County Councilmember Thomas Dernoga to The Gazette

“ … Mr. Dernoga prides himself on vanquishing developers by painstakingly exacting heavy concessions. In the case of Mazza, he voluntarily ‘‘called up” the project for review by the County Council in May 2006 after the county’s planning board had approved it. It was not until June 2007, fully a year after the city, the North College Park Citizen’s Association and the University of Maryland indicated their desire for Mazza, that Dernoga was finally ready to weigh in on the project. Positioning himself as the judge, jury and the prosecution, the councilman single-handedly, and in the 11th hour, added millions of dollars to the project’s costs…”

-- David Daddio to The Gazette

….absolute power corrupts absolutely. Favor process over politics. Example: Mazza Student Housing Project (private housing for 660 graduate student beds)

There is No Such Thing as a Benevolent Dictator…

….concentrate on what matters, not just how much the developer is making.

!$

There is Always a Better Project…

….reach for low hanging fruit.

Don’t be Afraid of Incremental Steps…

David Daddio

dwdaddio@gmail.com

www.rethinkcollegepark.net

“Imagining a Great Town for a Great University”