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Business & Tech

What's Going On Here?

A past and present look at College Park's vacant properties

Every two weeks, Patch will feature one of College Park's vacant properties. We'll provide some background info, assess its present status and try to figure out what its future holds. In short, we'll strive to answer the question, "What's going on here?"

This week's vacant property is the white box-like structure in the 8400-8500 block of Baltimore Avenue, between Taco Bell and Burger King. Longtime College Park resident and unofficial historian Jerry Anzukovich remembers that current eye sore was once an Arby's fast food restaurant, way back in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

"It was built to Arby's specifications and was the major competition for other fast food restaurants in the area like 'Little Tavern at Lehigh' and 'The Pike,'" he said.

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Eventually, Arby's closed and a Chinese carry out took its place.

"You could eat sitting on benches on the Baltimore Avenue side," said Anzukovich.

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That too closed, and the property remained unused until a local developer, Mark Vogel Companies, bought the land in 2005. He planned to develop Northgate Condominium, a 17-story highrise complex. But plans were interrupted when the Federal Aviation Administration determined that the building, which was projected to be 180 feet tall, would be a hazard to planes taking off and landing at the College Park Airport.

Soon after the FAA ruling, Vogel sold the property for $4.2 million to Monument Realty, a real estate development firm with offices in Washington, D.C. Monument appealed the FAA ruling and soon received approval for the development of a highrise building that would be 30 feet lower than the original project. The company also changed the project from luxury condominiums to residential student housing that would have included 154 units and 11,600 square feet of retail space. The city planning board approved the project in April 2008 and it was expected that the new building would be ready for students at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. 

Things seemed to hum along until the recession hit at the end of 2008. One of the first casualties of the economic trauma was Lehman Brothers, who planned to finance the construction. When Lehman went bankrupt, the project was terminated.

Monument Realty declined to comment on whether they still own the property.

 

 

 

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