Prince George’s County Receives $2.5 Million Investment for Improvements to Suitland Road
Dear Prince Georgians,
Today, I held a press conference with Senator Chris Van Hollen to announce that the County has secured $2.5 million in funding from the FY 2022 Federal Appropriations process. These funds will support improvements on Suitland Road between Silver Hill Road and Towne Park Road.
This revitalized road is symbolic of our forward progress as a County, and we greatly appreciate the work Senator Van Hollen has done to secure this funding. Our County continues to grow, and our population is expected to increase over the coming decade. We have been preparing for this future by taking the path of an economic development strategy that anticipates our population growth and creates opportunities for our residents. We are working to build walkable, bikeable, amenity-rich and transit-oriented neighborhoods across the County, especially near our metro stations.
As many of you know, the County has secured an historic $2.5 billion in State aid during this legislative session, the most ever for the County during a single session. This funding includes $400 million in bonding authority to help us realize our vision for the Blue Line Corridor. In addition, our comprehensive economic development strategy also includes our vision for Suitland. As home to several federal agencies, Suitland has been a major priority for our Administration, and we are very excited about how the Suitland Revitalization Project is coming along.
We have been working in collaboration with our Redevelopment Authority (RDA), which has done an incredible job working to improve the quality of life for our residents. Through our collective vision, the Towne Square at Suitland Federal Center is currently transforming what was once the Suitland Manor subdivision into a new, mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood. This new neighborhood will not only bring in new residents and businesses, but also provide longtime Suitland residents and employees of the Suitland Federal Center with convenient new amenities.
We are excited to share that Phase 1 of the project was recently completed, consisting of 219 townhomes and a 137-unit affordable housing senior building. The work on the park located on Towne Park Road is also now complete and is set up for recreational use by the townhome residents. Developers are presently working on a central park on Towne Square Boulevard that will be available for the larger community to use and is on track to be completed later this spring.
The future of Suitland also includes constructing more multi-family buildings. There are two more buildings that will provide about 600 units and space for a new neighborhood grocery store that are currently in the financing stages, with plans to start construction in 2023. The RDA is also renovating the old laundromat building at the corner of Suitland Road and Towne Park Road in preparation for two new restaurant tenants, and the central park on Towne Square Boulevard will also contain a kiosk that will have a few small restaurant tenants. In addition, the road to Suitland’s future also includes plans for a hotel on the corner of Suitland Road and Silver Hill Road.
We also recognize that our County cannot thrive economically without affordable housing options for our residents. That is why we built The Lewis, an affordable senior housing building in the Suitland community. Our Department of Housing and Community Development invested $1.5 million in Home Investment Partnerships funds and a Payment in Lieu of Taxes to the developers of this project, allowing them the ability to offer affordable units to seniors with restricted incomes. In addition, we also recently allocated $16 million for affordable housing in our FY 2023 proposed budget and secured $20 million through the State during the recent legislative session. The Lewis serves as an example of how we are working to further preserve, protect, and expand affordable housing options for Prince Georgians.
It is evident that our plans for revitalizing Suitland will lead to even more exciting opportunities for our current residents, our business community, and for others who will consider making Prince George’s County their new home. The funding that we received today gets us closer to that goal and will help us unlock further potential for new amenities and resources for the residents of Suitland.
Yours in service,
Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Executive
|
