Metro News Release
For immediate release: January 3, 2013
Metro board approves joint development agreement for New Carrollton transit-oriented development team
Forest City & Urban Atlantic lead development team
On December 20, 2012 the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) approved the Joint Development Agreement critical to advancing the development process for creating a major, mixed-use, transit-oriented development (TOD) in the area surrounding the New Carrollton Metrorail station in Prince George’s County, Md.
The agreement with New Carrollton JV, LLC allows the development team, led by Forest City Washington and Urban Atlantic, to move forward with the largest development project in Prince George’s County since National Harbor. To make the project possible, WMATA partnered with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and assembled parcels owned by both agencies to create a larger developable site.
Plans for the 39-acre New Carrollton site call for the creation of a multi-modal, transit-oriented, mixed-use destination with residential, office, retail and hotel uses that reduces dependency on automobiles and enhances and promotes the use of mass transit systems. At full build out, the new development will include two to four million square feet of mixed uses valued at $1 billion in new investment, and is expected to catalyze up to 10 million additional square feet of development in the surrounding area.
Designated a Smart Growth Initiative site by the State of Maryland, New Carrollton is considered a top East Coast transit location. In addition to being the eastern terminus of Metro’s busy Orange Line, a major rail line running from Northern Virginia through the heart of the District of Columbia and into Maryland, the site is served by an impressive array of multi-modal components including Amtrak’s Northeast Regional trains serving the entire East Coast and MARC (regional commuter) rail service connecting D.C. and Baltimore, including BWI airport. The site also features both regional and intercity bus service and direct vehicle access to Interstate 495, the Capital Beltway and U.S. Route 50.
The Maryland Transit Administration’s plans for the Purple Line will provide light rail service from New Carrollton to Bethesda, providing an even greater degree of connectivity for this TOD project. Finally, extensive bicycle and pedestrian paths are planned for the site to connect into larger regional networks.
“The unanimous approval of the New Carrollton project’s Joint Development Agreement by the WMATA Board is strong evidence of the highly productive public-private partnership that has been forged for this project between WMATA, MDOT, Forest City and Urban Atlantic. Working in partnership with the development team as well as the County and State officials, we believe this agreement will help greatly to move this project onto a fast track toward construction,” said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Richard Sarles. “The project will also help WMATA advance two of the goals in WMATA’s Strategic Plan by improving mobility and connecting communities at New Carrollton, and also by increasing financial stability through better utilization of our assets,” he added.
“This is an important step forward for this project and we thank WMATA for moving so quickly. I have always said that the New Carrollton site represents the type of transit-oriented development my administration has been pushing for in Prince George’s County. As a hub for Amtrak, MARC, and METRO, New Carrollton is a prime location and it is just one of many development opportunities that Prince George’s County has to offer,” said County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. “This project clearly shows that developers are taking notice that Prince George’s County is a great place to live, invest, work and visit. I remain committed to more development around our metro stations. Prince George’s County is the perfect location for projects like this, which is why I am confident we are going to attract more transit-oriented development projects in the future. These projects spur economic growth that will create jobs and opportunity for our County, the State of Maryland and the Washington region.”
“In 2008 we passed legislation to help facilitate the creation of transit oriented development in Maryland,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “Under this legislation, New Carrollton became a designated TOD site allowing us to use a variety of tools, including the use of state land, to assist its development. This action by the WMATA Board is an important step toward realizing the collective vision of state and local government for the New Carrollton Metro Station. Bringing together office, retail and housing in walking distance to the station will increase transit ridership, and spur economic vitality in a sustainable way. We appreciate WMATA’s efforts to move the project forward quickly.”
The New Carrollton TOD project will unleash further economic revitalization in Prince George’s County by generating thousands of jobs and expanding the tax base by over $2 million in annual revenues.
WMATA and the development team have been working closely with community stakeholders from Prince George’s County and the State of Maryland in the master planning of the site. Approval of the Joint Development Agreement now moves the project into active pre-development.
The Forest City/Urban Atlantic team was selected to lead development of the New Carrolton project in April 2011 as a result of a joint competitive solicitation issued by WMATA and MDOT.
Forest City Washington is the Mid-Atlantic hub of Forest City Enterprises, a national real estate development and management company with residential, retail, office and mixed-use properties in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The company specializes in urban mixed-use projects often involving sustainable and adaptive reuse components. Publicly-traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Forest City currently has over $10.7 billion in total assets. Notable area development projects include The Yards and Waterfront Station in the District of Columbia, as well as redevelopment of Ballston Common Mall in Arlington. For more information online, visit www.forestcity.net.
Maryland-based Urban Atlantic provides additional expertise in real estate development in urban growth markets. In 2012, in partnership with WMATA, the company completed the highly successful redevelopment of the Rhode Island Ave Metro Station in Washington, D.C. into a mixed-use community of 274 apartments above 70,000 square feet of retail. The company has established a strong track record of successfully transforming urban communities while delivering strong returns to investors and development partners. To date, Urban Atlantic has completed over $2.4 billion in real estate developments up and down the East Coast. For more information online, visit www.urban-atlantic.com.
Forest City and Urban Atlantic have successfully partnered on other D.C.-area redevelopment projects such as the ongoing Capper/Carrollsburg mixed-use redevelopment, which includes the popular Capitol Quarter townhouses in the District of Columbia. Urban Atlantic and Forest City are also both developing residential components at the Waterfront Station redevelopment project which has become the centerpiece of Southwest D.C.
For the New Carrollton TOD project, Urban Atlantic has taken the lead on master planning the site, as well as development of its residential components. Forest City will be responsible for the project’s commercial components, which will likely include office and retail uses.
Both development firms are highly experienced in forging and working within successful public-private partnerships to create significant and well-received urban mixed-use destinations.
MEDIA CONTACTS FOR THIS RELEASE
Developer
Vicki Davis, Principal in Charge
Urban Atlantic and Forest City
(301) 252-0152
vdavis@urban-atlantic.com
WMATA Media Relations
(202) 962-1051
Prince George’s County
Scott Peterson, Press Secretary
Prince Georges County, Office of the County Executive
(240) 619-9400
blhudson@co.pg.md.us
State of Maryland
Jack Callahan, Office of Public Affairs
Maryland Department of Transportation
(410) 865-1025
jcahalan@mdot.state.md.us
News release issued at 12:23 pm, January 3, 2013.