Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Waldorf Urban Redevelopment Corridor

You may have heard a little about redeveloping some of Waldorf into a more walkable area when light rail ever comes here if it ever does.  We keep hearing it will be here in 15 years or so.  Whenever it does come the county has created a concept plan for the land along where it will it will make a couple of the proposed stops.
So here is the concept for Downtown Waldorf.  Apartments, hotels, office, retail and a civic center.  Just so you can get your bearings the top is Route 301 and Leonardtown Road (Business Rt. 5) runs along the left side of the picture.  The current CSX rail and the light rail would run parallel to each other thru the county as shown at the bottom.

However none of this is going to happen until there are some major upgrades done to the infrastructure in the area.  Water and sewer upgrades, getting all the power lines run under ground, road improvements, etc.  The design for those should be complete in October.

Please understand that this is only a concept and is not going to be built by the county.  The current land owners can build what they want as long as it complies with the new zoning for the area.  Some things that are now not permitted to be built in the area are automotive related businesses, fast food, gas stations and mini storage.  We will see how this turns out over time.  It will take someone with a lot of time and money to develop the land and turn it into something nice.

UPDATE 8-3-16:  According to this article: http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0716/plans-to-revitalize-town-threatened-by-recent-decision.html

Some of the commissioners decided to throw in a change to the recent comprehensive plan about how many of each type of residence would be allowed in the county in the future.  This would change the concept a lot since much of the plan was based on apartments and town homes.  It makes no sense to create a proposal for future transit oriented development and then destroy that with this recent change.  We will have to see how this plays out.
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10 comments:

  1. tagrynApril 21, 2016 at 9:48 PM

    Given how the massive developments around the stadium and southern Waldorf have turned out, with large swaths of townhomes built well out of walking distance from shopping and jobs, I'm expecting any downtown will end up as mostly condos and apartments, no light rail, no civic center, and little in the way of infrastructure improvements. I'd like to have faith, but the ground reality of how development in CC has been done to date gives me little reason to think this'll be any different once building actually starts.

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  2. JGApril 22, 2016 at 2:17 PM

    Whats the plan for Charlotte Hall Station? Saw new sign today. Any word on whats going thete? It was at one time slated for a new MCKays which isnt happening. This mew building site is on Leonardtown Rd, right by Golden Beach Road on southbound side.

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  3. Deidra SorrellApril 27, 2016 at 8:42 AM

    I agree with Tagryn's opinion on this. However, how do residents get a say in this plan so it does not fall flat? We pay taxes here and we want a nice downtown shopping and restaurant area like Montgomery County or Northern Virginia communities. We shouldn't have to settle for less. Chris, what can we do to make sure the urban redevelopment actually happens in the future?

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  4. AnonymousApril 27, 2016 at 4:38 PM

    I would just like to point people to the following links for more info on this project:

    WURC Ph. I Report
    http://www.charlescountymd.gov/pgm/planning/waldorf-urban-redevelopment-corridor

    Planning Division website (with contact info)
    http://www.charlescountymd.gov/pgm/planning/planning

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  5. Chris ShashoApril 27, 2016 at 5:09 PM

    Thanks for the links.

    The major part of the project is getting the rail down here. We need to keep on the state and local government to make it happen. Go to any of the planning meetings and be heard. There is usually a schedule posted on the county site when they happen.

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  6. jamwen66May 3, 2016 at 12:20 PM

    Chris, I live in the Pinefield Development and our Facebook group said that Walmart was calling residents to get them to do a survey on if they are for or against the Walmart going in. My question is have you heard anything on what the status is for them to get final approval?

    Jim

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  7. UnknownMay 3, 2016 at 1:44 PM

    By light rail is that like Metro?

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  8. Chris ShashoMay 3, 2016 at 2:52 PM

    I have not seen any recent information on where they are with approving the super walmart. The unions are trying to keep it away like the did with la plata. As soon as I hear something I will post it immediately.


    Maurice the light rail is all above ground. There would be two railroad type tracks all the way to the metro stop at Branch Avenue. It is usually powered by a cable that runs above it.

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  9. AnonymousMay 17, 2016 at 7:27 AM

    Chris,

    Thanks for the downtown Waldorf Post this will be great if they ever fix the traffic situation ( Never Going to Happen). But i want to know if you heard anything in regards to a Downtown Saint Charles, is this the same thing as downtown Waldorf ?

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  10. Chris ShashoMay 17, 2016 at 1:47 PM

    The area of St. Charles I think you are referring to is at the corner of Billingsley and St. Charles Parkway. If St. Charles can secure a higher class grocery chain then they will be allowed to do a mixed project with apartments. They need a higher density of people around the grocer in order to get them to come. So far there have been no takers.

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