Prince George's County, Maryland, USA
Interior Nat Harbor

Blue Line Corridor & TOD Guidance

Blue Line Corridor Communications Vision

The Administration is engaging residents and community leaders by providing a public update on progress made in executing on our shared development vison along the Blue Line Corridor and other targeted transit-oriented development hubs based on facts.   

As we progress, the community will begin to see and feel change happening in their communities and this may create natural friction within and across these communities. To ensure project success, it is critical that conversations are purposefully tailored, productive and remain respectful of diverse interest at the table.   

Ultimately, the Blue Line Corridor project presents a unique opportunity for real, transformative growth in our neighborhoods. The administration will seek to include the many voices who will transform this corridor with their hopes, determination, and actions.  

Our Shared Vision & Who Is Included (Everyone)    

  • The Blue Line Corridor represents an opportunity to create a dense, multi-modal, amenity-rich, active commercial corridor. 
  • The vision is also an opportunity to craft a replicable model for place-based economic development throughout the County. 

Utilization of State Bonding Authority (400 million plus dollars obtained by the Delegation)  

  • Project Locations 
    • Apart from the stadium demolition at FedEx Field, Prince George’s County anticipates that all other proposed facilities would be constructed on land owned by the county and/or of public and quasi-public partners, all of whom were partners in creating the Blue Line Corridor vision. 
  • Anchor Projects 
    • Amphitheater- Prince George’s County seeks to establish a destination amphitheater to support live music events, sporting events and community programming. 
    • Central Avenue Market Hall- The County proposes an adaptive reuse of one of its properties along the BLC as a market hall providing space for food and beverage vendors and small retailers 
    • Youth Sports Fieldhouse- Our youth sports fieldhouse project will build an indoor fieldhouse along the Blue Line Corridor that can accommodate multiple indoor sports, including (but not limited to) basketball, volleyball, soccer, pickleball, indoor track, field hockey, and gymnastics. The facility will help our County become an international youth sports destination. 
    • Central Library & Cultural Center- A first of its kind community hub along the BLC and a model for joint use, the new Central Library and Cultural Center will be a regional destination of international distinction with iconic, sustainable design, and a community economic development engine. The Central Library & Cultural Center will be a place for connecting, celebrating, and activating experiences that celebrate culture, inclusion and community. 
    • Wayne K. Curry Civic Plaza- The County proposes to incrementally transform a portion of the parking lot of the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building into a public plaza that can serve as a programmable and flexible gathering space. 

Partnership with Stadium Authority - Timeline and Project Updates 

  • In April 2022, the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) Board of Directors approved a request by the County Executive Angela Alsobrooks for MSA’s assistance with respect to the feasibility, design, development, and construction of proposed sports and entertainment facilities in Central Prince George’s County along the Blue Line Corridor.  
  • In December 2022, the MSA’s Board of Directors approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will dictate roles and responsibilities of both parties.   
  • In January 2023, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved the MOU that formally begins the process to issue up to $400 million in bonds for economic development along the Prince George's County Blue Line Corridor.   
  • Between February and March 2023, County Executive Alsobrooks hosted and recorded three public meetings to update community members on progress made at the State level to secure funds and share the overall vision for future development along the corridor.    
  • On April 20, 2023, a public meeting was held to include the public in planning for the newly announced Wayne K. Curry Civic Plaza design RFP.   
  • During the Summer of 2023, the administration announced a request for proposal (RFP) for a team to perform preliminary design services has been released, with submissions due by October 4. Businesses can respond to the RFP at: https://mdstad.com.

Protecting Established Communities & Infrastructure Investments – Avoiding Displacement Through Lessons Learned    

  • Gentrification takes place when we as a community fail to act to keep our communities livable for our families.  
  • Our communities should be livable at all ages and made safer for every subsequent generation. We want our children to do great things, build successful careers, and seek a professional future right here, at home in Prince George’s County.  
  • Our objective is to build a vibrant and diverse housing market in the County. With intelligent strategies and sustainable policy goals in place, Prince George’s County has room to grow without displacing our friends and neighbors who already call this place “home”.  
  • We seek diverse communities, diverse assets, and environmentally sustainable development that serves the needs of a wide range of households. This is our measure of success. 

Is this a new plan? 

The current BLC vision is a consolidation of over 15 different community planning processes dating back to 2010. Thanks to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the County Council, and the County’s administration, public engagement has remained at the center of each iterative steps of planning.   

The Blue Line includes communities nearing the following WMATA stations: 

  • Addison Road-Seat Pleasant: Planning envisions a transit-friendly community town center. 
  • Capitol Heights: The General Plan designates this station area as a Community Center. 
  • Largo Town Center: With over a half-million square feet, this beautifully landscaped outdoor center includes more than 70 national and local stores and a multi-screen movie theater in a "Main Street" setting. 
  • Morgan Boulevard: The 2004 Morgan Boulevard-Largo Town Center sector plan encourages an attractive, quality mixed-use transit center with mid-rise multifamily, townhouses, office and local retail uses. 

We Worked Through The Pandemic  

At the start of the Administration, we worked with our partners to conduct a public land study for the County to take a deep dive into our economic development strategy, with the goal of identifying where the County could best create real returns for existing residents by improving available amenities.   

We took our efforts to Annapolis beginning in 2021 and met with our Delegation to stress the need to be really focused on improving infrastructure along the Blue Line Corridor. We advocated for the need to concentrate development inside the beltway to preserve our rural and suburban resources, control stormwater and limit stream erosion.   

Thanks to our partners in Annapolis, we successfully secured funds to complete this project in both 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions.  

Private Partners Willing to Invest 

We took our efforts to Annapolis beginning in 2021 and met with our Delegation to stress the need to be really focused on improving infrastructure along the Blue Line Corridor. We advocated for the need to concentrate development inside the beltway in order activate underutilized transit assets, to preserve our rural and suburban resources, control stormwater and limit stream erosion.   

Thanks to our partners in Annapolis, we have successfully secured funds to catalyze this initiative in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions.  

Private projects are already planned or underway along the Blue Line Corridor These projects and associated developers include:   

  • Pavilion at Lottsford: led by Omar Karim of Banneker Ventures, this mixed-use development will feature 800 residential units and 72,000 square feet of retail.  
  • Park Place at Addison: also led by Omar Karim of Banneker Ventures, this mixed-use development will feature 193 residential units, 11,000 square feet of retail, and 10,000 square feet of community space. This project received $20 million in funding from Amazon.  
  • Hampton Park: led by Brandon Bellamy of The Velocity Companies, this mixed-use development will feature 400 residential units, a hotel, 100,000 square feet of retail, and over 100,000 square feet of office space.  
  • 210 on the Park: led by Anthony Wash of A Wash and Associates, this development will feature 173 total residential units. This project received funding from Amazon.  
  • The Epiphany at 6500 Central: led by Jacqueline Alexander of The Community Builders and Lloyd Blackwell of Harambee Development Group, this mixed-use development will feature 112 residential units and 4,300 square feet of retail.  

Ongoing and Upcoming Opportunities For Community Participation. 

We look to the Purple Line Corridor Coalition as a premier example of how to move community engagement in a direction which enhances the quality of development down the road. Our goal is to bring those lessons learned to the benefit of the Blue Line Corridor community.   

  • Successfully complete the Central Avenue-Blue/Silver Line Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment to refine the vision, goals and priorities for the sector plan and create the required environment for lawful zoning of proposed development #BlueLinePlan.  
  • Support County-Based Small and Local Businesses. 
  • A Small Business Support Action Plan will guide the activities tailored to the needs of the established business community within the Blue Line Corridor with a goal of improving services aimed at supporting local business capacity improvement. Seeding funds from private (philanthropic) sector that can be leveraged with County/State funds for small/minority business support will be necessary.  
  • Promote home ownership and supporting first-time homebuyers. 
  • Improve supply and quality of affordable housing within the corridor by pursuing innovative financial partnerships by leveraging our Housing Investment Trust Fund and other instruments. We will continue to invest in our first-time homebuyer assistance programs.  
  • Developing a housing inventory catalogue in the area that can help us keep track of housing needs and where investments are needed. 
  • Employment and skills training services. Employment and rapid re-employment are key to keeping our communities safe and developing while avoiding displacement. Encouraging the use of local labor is key to ensuring that investments made in our communities supports the local economy. 

Placemaking and coordination: https://www.mncppc.org/4674/Placemaking-Section 

  • Protecting community character by engaging members of our established communities throughout the process and beyond. Placemaking involves intentional activation of strategic centers along the Blue Line Corridors to create catalytic conditions for further private investment in local infrastructure improvement. The successful completion of the Blue Line Corridor project will create new centers of activities, or “third places”, designed to complement established community activity centers, filling the “activities gap” which currently leaves our metro stations isolated. Work performed will also include research studies, like the one spearheaded on the Montgomery County side that provided recommendations for how to improve bi-ped access at each station node.  
  • Additional Community Involvement: 
    • Equity investment opportunities 
    • Construction contracting 
    • Operations contracting 
    • Concessions contracting 
    • Structured parking investments  

How Long Will It Take?  

In surveying the current landscape, we anticipate roughly 18 months if plans move forward harmoniously. Further communication is required of the Maryland State Authority Board and the Board of Public Works.