WASHINGTON INFORMER: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks on Tuesday highlighted the minority developers who will play in the development of the Blue Line Corridor.
Minority developers are leading the $769 million investment in the five-mile stretch of the Blue Line Metro line that goes eastward from the Capitol Heights Station next to the D.C. border to Largo Town Center Station. In addition to new amenities and infrastructure improvements, county leaders said there will be priority investments in affordable housing to ensure longtime residents aren’t priced out.
“The Blue Line Corridor Project represents our vision for smart growth, creating bikeable, walkable, amenity-rich communities centered around transit hubs with access to workforce housing for our residents,” Alsobrooks said at a news conference Tuesday. “We are proud that many of the developers working on this project are not only minority developers, but they are also Prince Georgians who understand the needs of our residents. As our economy grows, we will continue to make generational investments like this that will build generational wealth for our communities and local businesses, helping us close the wealth gap in Prince George’s.”
The five major projects along the Blue Line are the Pavilion at Lottsford and Park Place at Addison (aided by $20 million from Amazon) led by Omar Karim of Banneker Ventures; Hampton Park led by Brandon Bellamy of The Velocity Companies; 210 on the Park led by Anthony Wash of A Wash and Associates; and The Epiphany at 6500 Central Avenue led by Jacqueline Alexander of The Community Builders and Lloyd Blackwell of Harambee Development Group.
The Blue Line Project, according to county leaders, will ultimately include an amphitheater, youth sports fieldhouse, market hall, library/cultural center and civic plaza. With the bonding authority through the Maryland Stadium Authority, the project could reach $1 billion in investment.
“We are proud to be a part of this historic development along the Blue Line Corridor,” Karim said. “We are excited to bring Park Place at Addison Road, a mixed-use development that will offer 193 affordable housing units and 11,000 square feet of retail space, to this community. We want to thank Amazon for the $20 million investment to the Blue Line Corridor and County Executive Alsobrooks and the entire economic development team for their hard work and commitment to this project.”
Blackwell said he is pleased to work on the project.
“I am a Prince Georgian, and my desire is to use this project as a catalyst for inclusive real estate development with native residents having a seat at the table,” he said. “It is no secret that the inner Beltway has been underserved for decades. I am elated to work with other minority developers and transform these areas to reach their full potential.”
