Friday, February 1, 2013
Calvert Tract, LLC files letter of intent to resubmit their preliminary plan for approval by county planners.
Calvert Tract, LLC, developers of the Cafritz Property in Riverdale Park, have announced their intent to re-file their preliminary plan of subdivision before the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The move comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding a last-minute withdrawal of a previous preliminary plan review application after surrounding municipalities raised concerns about the developer's ability to meet key requirements imposed on the project. The developers have to wait until at least Feb. 28 before they can file their preliminary plan again, according to University Park Mayor John Tabori, but it will likely be longer than that before the plan is filed. For example, the recently withdrawn preliminary plan was …
Monday, December 24, 2012
Did you forget an ingredient for your holiday meal? Check our guide before you head to the store.
It's three o’clock on Christmas Day. The ham is cooking, potatoes boiling, cookies baking and the rolls are…OH, NO YOU FORGOT THE ROLLS! Before you send your significant other to the store, check out our handy guide to which grocery stores are open and until what time. Giant Food Locations: Beltway Plaza Hours: Christmas Eve: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Christmas Day: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Safeway Locations: Off Rt. 193 in Greenbelt Hours: Christmas Eve from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Christmas Day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check your local store’s hours here. Trader Joe’s Nearest Location: Colesville Road in Silver Spring Hours: Christmas Eve: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed Christmas Day. MOM’s Organic Market Nearest Location: Rhode Island Avenue in …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Compared to Shoppers, a grocery chain with a store 3 miles north on Route 1, the cost for a basket of products like milk, bread, eggs and chicken breasts, among others, is 35 percent more expensive.
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Friday, December 7, 2012
By Nicholas Duchesne Next year’s slated development of the Cafritz property will prominently feature a Whole Foods Market among the planned residential and retail space. When the grocery store opens, however, it will better serve the larger metropolitan community than the town of Riverdale Park itself. “Whole Foods is a big piece of it,” said Alan Thompson, the councilman for Ward 2 in Riverdale Park. Thompson said that the Cafritz’s previous plan to develop the 37-acres along the eastern side of Route 1 fell apart back in 2007 when Whole Foods wouldn’t commit. The development got back on track once the store teamed up with the developers and “a fully executed lease was signed,” said Chip Reed, the Cafritz’s attorney. Since the first …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The Diamondback interviews residents and students who reflect on the positives and negatives that the mixed-use development in Riverdale Park could bring to the area, if rezoning is finally approved.
Days before what could be the final Prince George’s County District Council hearing devoted to the rezoning of the Cafritz property, students and residents of College Park reflect on the potential positives and negatives of the project, in The Diamondback. The Cafritz family seeks to have its approximately 37-acre parcel on the north end of Riverdale Park rezoned from single-family detached residential (R-55) to mixed-use town center (M-UTC), easing the way for the construction of more than 900 units of housing, a 35,000-square foot Whole Foods, a 120-room hotel, and additional office and retail space. The location of the property is just south of the Calvert Hills neighborhood in College Park. “Traffic is just going to be overwhelming,” …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The granite pillar had stood on the grounds of the old McAlpine Mansion since the mid-19th century.
For over 150 years, the half-ton boundary marker sat lodged in the earth of what is now known as the Cafritz property, situated on the north end of present-day Riverdale Park. Hewn out of granite and inscribed with an "R," the weathered monolith once marked a 203-acre subdivision of the Riversdale Estate. As the site was transformed over the decades—from the private grounds of McAlpine Mansion to the Longfellow School for Boys to housing for ERCO factory workers during World War II and returning GIs in the postwar era—the marker stood fast, dutifully marking a long-forgotten line. On Friday, six men, a metal sled, and a Ford F-350 pickup finally uprooted the stone and transported it to its new—or rather, old—home: Riversdale House Museum…
Monday, March 12, 2012
Residents will have another opportunity to deliver written or in-person testimony.
The proposed rezoning of the Cafritz tract will take the next step in the county's review process when it comes before the District Council just under a month from today. Officials have scheduled a public hearing on the plan for 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 11 in the County Administration Building (14741 Governor Oden Bowie Dr., Upper Marlboro). A carryover hearing, if needed, has been scheduled for Friday, April 13 at the same hour. The District Council, composed of the members of the Prince George's County Council, will weigh the Cafritz application and recommended conditions before holding a final vote. The proposal was conditionally endorsed by the Planning Board in February after 15 hours of hearings. The Cafritz plan calls for the …
Thursday, February 2, 2012
After 15 hours of testimony and discussion, board members voted to back the hotly debated plan.
The Prince George's County Planning Board hearing on the proposed rezoning of the Cafritz property concluded on Thursday. Below is a recap of the discussion and vote. ------ 7:00 p.m.: APPROVED The motion carries, 4-0. The planning board has approved the Cafritz rezoning plan (or in official terms, "recommended approval of the rezoning application with compromise conditions by staff and applicant as modified at the hearing"). The application now heads to the District Council—composed of the members of the Prince George's County Council—for its vote. 6:45 p.m.: 'Exceptional, transparent, cooperative, deliberative' Board member Shuanise Washington calls the process "exceptional, transparent, cooperative, [and] deliberative," saying that the…
Monday, January 30, 2012
Developers recently said they hope to open a grocery store someday in the College Park Shopping Center.
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Monday, January 30, 2012
After developers shared their hope to someday open a grocery store at the College Park Shopping Center, conversation ensued among residents—both online and at a recent citizens association meeting—about which grocery store they wanted most. Out of curiosity, let's put it to a poll. If College Park got another grocery store, what do you hope it would be? And with the Shoppers and Mom's Organic Market already in the city, does College Park need another grocery store? Is it dependent on whether or not the Cafritz project is approved? It would bring a Whole Foods Market just south of College Park.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Some residents see the proposed development as an asset, while others fear it may bring unnecessary traffic into the neighborhood.
Although the Cafritz property, where developers hope to build a Whole Foods Market, residential units and additional retail and office space rests mainly in Riverdale Park, College Park residents have strong opinions about the proposed project. In the Calvert Hills neighborhood, which lines the Cafritz property and even includes a small portion of it, citizens both for and against the development are rallying through letters to the Prince George’s County Planning Board. While some raise concerns about the traffic it could create, others tout its potential to create jobs and attract new residents. "Our neighborhood is really lacking this type of retail," said resident Cynthia Finley, referring to the proposed Whole Foods and other retailers…
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Cafritz Property seeks rezoning so it can build a Whole Foods and housing in Riverdale Park, but some members of council want a proposed railway crossing to be higher up in the to-do list.
Some members of the College Park Mayor and Council want to see a CSX railway crossing built with the first phase of the Cafritz mixed-use development south of College Park, but the Cafritz attorney said there’s no way to pay for it that early. Cafritz Property is currently pursing a rezoning approval so that it can build a Whole Foods Market, additional retail space, along with residential and office units. Although developers said they are discussing with CSX a possible railway crossing on the east side of the development, to mitigate traffic impacts on U.S. Route 1, it would be a part of the second wave of construction. Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3) proposed at Tuesday night’s meeting that council adopt the same approach as …
Michael B. Cron
1:37 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
I have no problem with them refiling as long as they have proof of satisfying all of the covenants and conditions required so that the process goes smoothly. Unless something drastically changes regarding an agreement with Applied Physics or an alternate landing site is secured, it will be a waste of time to refile. No bridge no development. more ›