From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia New Town Center (Maryland)
New Town Center (Maryland)
open spaces by the use of sunken reflecting pools, foun-
tains, 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). Transporta-
tion plans in 1964 called for a spur from I-95 to be built
Metro One office building designed by Edward Durell Stone just west of the tract (not built) and for underground
(built 1963, renovated 1996) and located at University Town rapid transit service to serve the Federal Building. Parks,
Center, Hyattsville, Maryland. schools, churches, and recreational facilities (some built)
were expected to form a transitional buffer between the
The New Town Center now known as University
Center, new developments and the surrounding single-family
Town Center, is located in Hyattsville, Prince George’s homes, in University Park, Maryland.
County, Maryland, United States. It was a planned urban New Town Center did not develop as fully or rapidly
center designed by Edward Durell Stone and located on as originally envisioned. The expected I-95 extension
a 105-acre (0.42 km2) parcel at the intersection of Bel- through Northeast Washington and Maryland suburbs
crest Road and East-West Highway in Hyattsville, Mary- never occurred, effectively isolating the area. Develop-
land and across from the then new Prince George’s Plaza. ment of the Washington Metro did not occur until the
The initial construction on this development took place 1970s and the Green Line was the last segment developed
in 1963-64. A second phase commenced after the opening in the main system. Finally, the changing demographic
of the Prince George’s Plaza, Washington Metro rapid characteristics of Prince George’s County to majority-mi-
transit station in 1993. nority during the 1980s and 1990s soured the area to
many developers.
First Phase of Development
The $78 million project was developed by Bancroft Con-
Second Phase of Development
struction, headed by Herschel and Marvin Blumberg who However, interest in this area revived following the
had originally purchased the site in 1954. The Blumberg opening of the Prince George’s Plaza Metro station in
brothers also developed the area of nearby Silver Spring, 1993. Still owned and controlled by Herschel Blumberg
Maryland now known as the Rock Creek Woods Historic and renamed Prince George’s Metro Center, the develop-
District.[1] The original $5.5 million, 300,000-square-foot ment was later renamed University Town Center when
(28,000 m2) Federal office building (now known as Metro the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in 2000
One) was occupied in 1963 by the U.S. Department of decided to lease new headquarters space at the site.[3]
Agriculture. Architect Stone referred to the development NCHS had previously been a tenant in one of the original
as a "Rockefeller Center in the countryside."[2] Other office buildings and moved to its new headquarters in
original buildings were the highrise apartments Plaza 2002 in the building named Metro Four. In August 2006, a
Towers West and Plaza Towers East, located at Toledo 16-story student apartment with 910 beds opened at the
Terrace and Belcrest Road. site providing housing for students from 11 local colleg-
The original concept for the New Town Center was es and universities. In 2007, a new main street dubbed
for it to be "a planned residential, commercial, employ- America Boulevard opened, as did a 14-screen Regal
ment and social complex which, as yet (1963) has no movie theater complex, a variety of dining options, and
equal in the Baltimore-Washington area." The Blumberg two condominium buildings.[4] Also located at University
brothers’ plans included interlocking residential and Town Center is a satellite campus of Prince George’s
commercial facilities including the separation of pedes- Community College.
trian and automobile traffic and the enhancement of
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia New Town Center (Maryland)
References [4] "A Place for Students To Study in Style; Luxury
High-Rise Caters to Collegians," by Ruben
[1] "Rock Creek Woods Historic District". Maryland Castaneda, The Washington Post, Jul 19, 2008, p. T-5.
Historical Trust. http://mht.maryland.gov/nr/
NRDetail.aspx?HDID=1461&COUNTY=Montgomery&FROM=NRCountyList.aspx?COUNTY=Montgomery.
Retrieved 2008-10-29.
External links
[2] "Urban Center Under Way in Prince George’s • University Town Center
County," by John B. Willmann, Real Estate Editor, • Hyattsville, MD - Official Website - University Town
The Washington Post, Times Herald, June 6, 1964, p. E1. Center
[3] "Back to the Future," by Douglas Fruehling, On Site, Coordinates: 38°58′3.7″N 76°57′10.5″W / 38.967694°N
Summer 2007, pp. 25-27. 76.952917°W / 38.967694; -76.952917
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Town_Center_(Maryland)&oldid=423345224"
Categories:
• Planned communities in the United States
• Transit-oriented developments
• Edward Durell Stone buildings
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