New Town Center (Maryland)
Encyclopedia
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
, Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was a planned urban center designed by Edward Durell Stone
Edward Durell Stone
Edward Durell Stone was a twentieth century American architect who worked primarily in the Modernist style.-Early life:...
and located on a 105 acre (0.4249203 km²) parcel at the intersection of Belcrest Road and East-West Highway
Maryland Route 410
Maryland Route 410 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as East–West Highway, the highway runs from MD 355 in Bethesda east to Pennsy Drive in Landover Hills...
in Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
and across from the then new Prince George's Plaza. The initial construction on this development took place in 1963-64. A second phase commenced after the opening of the Prince George's Plaza
Prince George's Plaza (Washington Metro)
Prince George's Plaza is a Washington Metro station in Prince George's County, Maryland on the Green Line.The station is located in a commercial area of Hyattsville near The Mall at Prince Georges, which, prior to receiving its current name in November 2004, was called Prince George's Plaza, at...
, Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
rapid transit station in 1993.
First Phase of Development
The $78 million project was developed by Bancroft Construction, headed by Herschel and Marvin Blumberg who had originally purchased the site in 1954. The Blumberg brothers also developed the area of nearby Silver Spring, MarylandSilver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
now known as the Rock Creek Woods Historic District
Rock Creek Woods Historic District
The Rock Creek Woods Historic District is a national historic district located at Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland. It is a suburban development consisting of 74 Contemporary houses, is nestled in a wooded valley between two creeks...
. The original $5.5 million, 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) Federal office building (now known as Metro One) was occupied in 1963 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Architect Stone referred to the development as a "Rockefeller Center in the countryside." Other original buildings were the highrise apartments Plaza Towers West and Plaza Towers East, located at Toledo Terrace and Belcrest Road.
The original concept for the New Town Center was for it to be "a planned residential, commercial, employment and social complex which, as yet (1963) has no equal in the Baltimore-Washington area." The Blumberg brothers' plans included interlocking residential and commercial facilities including the separation of pedestrian and automobile traffic and the enhancement of open spaces by the use of sunken reflecting pools, fountains, and plantings. Also included in the 1964 plans were two more Stone-designed office buildings (built in 1968 and 1972), another apartment structure (not built), a 1,400 seat motion picture theater (not built), and a huge ice skating rink (not built). Most dramatic were plans for multiple 34-story apartment towers, which would have been among the tallest structures in the Washington, DC area. Plans were also included for a Youth Center (built at Toledo and Adelphi Roads) and a $1.3 million Prince George's County Cultural Center (not built). Transportation plans in 1964 called for a spur from I-95 to be built just west of the tract (not built) and for underground rapid transit service to serve the Federal Building. Parks, schools, churches, and recreational facilities (some built) were expected to form a transitional buffer between the new developments and the surrounding single-family homes, in University Park, Maryland
University Park, Maryland
University Park is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,318 at the 2000 census.-Geography:University Park is located at ....
.
New Town Center did not develop as fully or rapidly as originally envisioned. The expected I-95 extension through Northeast Washington and Maryland suburbs
Northeast Freeway (Washington, D.C.)
The Northeast Freeway was a planned freeway in Prince George's County, Maryland that would have run from the North Central Freeway in the District of Columbia northeast to the College Park Interchange on the Capital Beltway...
never occurred, effectively isolating the area. Development of the Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
did not occur until the 1970s and the Green Line
Green Line (Washington Metro)
The Green Line is one of five heavy rail subway lines that constitute the Washington Metro rapid transit system in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Green Line consists of 21 stations, with termini at Branch Avenue and at Greenbelt. The Green Line runs through Prince George's County,...
was the last segment developed in the main system. Finally, the changing demographic characteristics of Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
to majority-minority during the 1980s and 1990s soured the area to many developers.
Second Phase of Development
However, interest in this area revived following the opening of the Prince George's Plaza Metro station in 1993. Still owned and controlled by Herschel Blumberg and renamed Prince George's Metro Center, the development was later renamed University Town Center when the National Center for Health StatisticsNational Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics is a division of the United States federal agency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . As such, NCHS is under the United States Department of Health and Human Services...
(NCHS) in 2000 decided to lease new headquarters space at the site. NCHS had previously been a tenant in one of the original office buildings and moved to its new headquarters in 2002 in the building named Metro Four. In August 2006, a 16-story student apartment with 910 beds opened at the site providing housing for students from 11 local colleges and universities. In 2007, a new main street dubbed America Boulevard opened, as did a 14-screen Regal
Regal Entertainment Group
Regal Entertainment Group also known as REG is a movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Regal operates the largest and most geographically diverse theater circuit in the United States, consisting of 6,775 screens in 548 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia as of...
movie theater complex, a variety of dining options, and two condominium buildings. Also located at University Town Center is a satellite campus of Prince George's Community College
Prince George's Community College
Prince George's Community College is a community college located in the unincorporated community of Largo in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States...
.