The Greenbelt City Council had another opportunity on February 3 to meet with representatives from the proposed Beltway Plaza redevelopment team to discuss their revised Preliminary Plan of Subdivision (PPS). The representatives included Quantum General Counsel “Kap” Kapastin, Michael Lenhart of Lenhart Traffic Consulting (LTC) and Alex Villegas and Matt Leakan from Rodgers Consulting (RC). City Planner Molly Porter was on hand to present the most current response from city staff, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) and the Advisory Planning Board (APB). APB Chair Keith Chernikoff was there to elaborate on the APB’s findings.
The current plan proposes 2,500 multi-family units and 700,000 square feet of retail over the 53.88-acre area. The redevelopment applicant has offered 20,000 square feet of interior recreation space to the city.
Porter laid out city staff concerns about the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) done by LTC. In general, staff believed the TIS did not fully examine how Breezewood Drive and Cherrywood Lane would be impacted by this huge influx of residents and commercial traffic. Staff employed the engineering consultant, Greenman-Pederson Inc., to reassess these outstanding questions.
Transportation was a key element of the discussion. Both council and APB brought up the need for a shuttle service that would provide transportation to and from the Greenbelt Metro Station. Council suggested that it also include Roosevelt Center and Franklin Park, thus uniting the city. Councilmember Edward Putens stressed that a shuttle was no longer an option but a necessity, considering this addition of 6,000 potential residents.
Affordable housing and senior housing was a pressing issue. Staff recommended that 25 percent of the total dwelling units should be for-sale units with that percentage not dropping below 15 percent if diverse housing types are introduced, like senior housing. At present, the PPS does not provide details on housing diversity or renter vs. owner occupancy, which raised concern with council. Resident Konrad Herling stated that part of the Greenbelt ethos is having “a good quality of life that is not contingent on how much someone is paying for housing.”
PRAB recommended that the recreation space offered by the applicant be raised to 25,000 square feet and that they should also provide $1 million to renovate and provide for the existing recreation facilities.
Leakan, the project architect, gave a presentation that included realistic visuals of what is being envisioned, which council found very helpful. The end result will be a lifestyle center with plenty of amenities like parks and green space alongside residential buildings and assorted commercial areas. Safe and effective pedestrian and bike access was included throughout.
Leakan laid out the commercial principle of the development, which is built around retail anchors, Giant grocery, Target and AMC Theatres. The small retail stores will derive support from these anchors by offering their services within their vicinity. He said that the mall owners will be responsible for the future of these smaller businesses; his role is to provide a framework for that to happen. He said that eventual success for the development will come from all elements working together.
Leakan said that this kind of mixed-use development is complex and difficult to undertake and is not the norm nationwide. He said that the goal is to create a plan that is amenable to all parties. He made clear that many of the uncertainties brought up will be addressed in the forthcoming Detailed Site Plan.
Leakan asserted that he would “love” for there to be housing diversity if the market allows and that potential is being built into the design. Councilmember Silke Pope was confident that the market would support that possibility.
These issues were to be added to the agenda of the February 10 council meeting, along with conditions laid out in response to the earlier Conceptual Site Plan. On February 20, the PPS will go before the Prince George’s County Planning Board for review, along with recommendations from council and city staff and organizations.