An overhaul of a Greenbelt apartment complex, aimed at improving safety measures and providing graduate students with affordable housing , is underway, according to the apartment building’s representatives.
Franklin Park at Greenbelt Station, a 153-acre complex with nearly 3,000 individual housing units, is targeting university graduate students to fill its refurbished rooms, said Sharon Thames, a representative for Fieldstone Properties, the company that bought the complex in October. According to the Prince George’s Gazette, there is a history of crime in the area, but Thames said her team is committed to changing that perception.
“We are serious about changing our profile,” she said.
In 2009, nearly 40 percent of the city’s reported crimes took place close to the complex — which was previously called Empirian Village — and 41 percent of crimes last year as of August, The Gazette reported in November.
The Prince George’s Police Department did not return calls for comment last night.
By requiring residents to have better credit and excluding any applicants with a criminal background, the complex has cut down on crime significantly, Thames said.
The building’s owners are seeking to continue this trend by requesting $15 million in tax-increment financing — public funding for community improvement projects — to construct a bridge and walkway to Greenbelt Metro Station equipped with bluelight call boxes; this would make the area much safer for pedestrians, Thames said.
These improvements, along with existing measures such as security cameras and an onsite Greenbelt police officer, should make the apartments more attractive to students, Thames said.
In addition, Thames said Franklin Park, which has been renovating at a rate of 80 to 100 units per month since October, is aiming to “improve the demographics” of its residents as it aims to attract more students to the property.
“We’re really focused on the University of Maryland because most of the student population that lives here comes from UMD,” Thames said. “We really want to emphasize that we are new — we are changing.”
Graduate Student Government President Anna Bedford said she talked with Fieldstone Properties about housing characteristics graduate students prefer — with affordability topping the list. She said high housing costs have become a problem and that prices at Graduate Hills and Graduate Gardens — the two all-graduate student housing options closest to campus — continue to rise.
As safety is another high-priority, Bedford said the complex’s work on the security front will likely pull students in as well.
“It takes a lot of work to change an area and turn around the crime levels and reputation,” she said.
One more reasonably-priced housing option for these students is a step in the right direction, said Dennis Passarella-George, the university’s assistant director for housing partnerships.
“I often hear from graduate students that there aren’t lots of options that meet all of graduate students’ needs,” he said. “Affordable, convenient housing is sometimes difficult to find. I think what Franklin Park offers is another option in the mix.”
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