Councils, Developers Could Be Nearing CSX Crossing Agreement for Cafritz, Archer Says

With Thursday's before the Prince George's County Planning Board looming, area councils and Cafritz developers could be approaching an agreement on one of the most contentious issues of the project, according to Riverdale Park's mayor.

Elected officials in College Park and neighboring municipalities have been pushing the developers to  on the east side of the property in the early stages of the project. Developers have pushed back, saying they simply can't afford it until the second phase.

But the developers and elected officials have been trying to work through this concern, and several others. They've been holding for weeks, developing a list of conditions and side agreements.

"We seem to have an agreement to get a crossing (presumably a bridge) of the CSX tracks early in the project," Riverdale Park Mayor Vernon Archer wrote in a Sunday evening listserv message.

Developers have been working with Prince George's County on funding options for the bridge, including , according to an email from College Park's Planning Director, Terry Schum.

Officials from the county executives office and state legislation will join the developers and municipality representatives on Monday evening to review the conditions.

The Cafritz team hopes to get a plot of land just south of College Park re-zoned from R-55 for residential use to Mixed-Use Town Center, which would pave the way for the construction of a Whole Foods Market, hotel, fitness center, office space and residential units.

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