Zoning Approved for Cafritz Project at Riverdale Park

• February 6, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Rendering of proposed development. Calvert Tract, LLC.

Late last week, the Prince George’s County Planning Board approved a zoning change for the 37-acre mixed-use project from Cafritz in Riverdale Park, Md.. Riverdale Patch reported on the hearing and has a very detailed account of the proceedings. Developer Calvert Tract, LLC must now go to the District Council for final approval.

If approved, the $226 million development will bring a town center to the area along Route 1. The plan includes 200,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by Whole Foods, and 995 residential units, including townhomes, multi-family and senior housing.

Discussion between board members, community members and the developers, which lasted for 15 hours, centered around making the town center vibrant, walkable, and integrating it into the larger community. Topics discussed ranged from adding as many balconies as possible to residential units to creating more bicycle parking to planning roadways that would connect the town center to the rest of the area. Some residents are worried about the traffic that will result from such an increase in density, and to help mitigate the traffic, developers agreed to build a bridge over the nearby CSX tracks.

Calvert Tract still has a number of approvals to get before construction begins, and the timeline for completion of the project is still several years out.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/zoning_approved_for_cafritz_project_at_riverdale_park/5069