Casey’s Coffee offers breakfast, sandwiches, salads, and various coffee drinks, like this Caramel Frappe.

With new restaurants and construction plans for a hotel and a mixed-use housing complex, Route 1 is rapidly transforming College Park into what university officials aim to make a top-20 college town.

Domain at College Park, a luxury apartment complex that opened in June 2013, stands at the corner of Mowatt Lane and Campus Drive. The Knox Box apartments will be torn down in coming weeks to make way for Terrapin Row, a mix of apartments and townhomes. With city staple Maryland Book Exchange as its anchor tenant, Landmark College Park will open in fall 2015, just off the campus on Route 1. 

Across from the university’s main entrance at Route 1 and Paint Branch Parkway, plans are in place for a four-star hotel. And down the road, about 1.5 miles from the campus, construction for the county’s first Whole Foods Market is underway.

But while new buildings keep popping up along the Route 1 corridor, some complexes have had difficulty maintaining tenants. Over the past few months, restaurants such as Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, Garbanzo and Yogiberry have shuttered their doors.

Still, Michael Stiefvater, the city’s economic development coordinator, said this summer was relatively quiet for business openings and closings. He looks to the city’s future, envisioning a

Route 1 densely packed with housing complexes and more restaurants and shops to support a permanent resident base.

Here’s a look at what’s changed in the city over the past few months and what’s coming soon. 

NEW IN COLLEGE PARK

The Board and Brew

Stop in for a cappuccino or stay a few hours to play Battleship. Located under the Varsity, the university alumni-owned cafe opened in June. Customers can choose from a collection of more than 600 board games, unwind with a blueberry muffin latte and try a grilled Nutella sandwich. The cafe has live music and open mic nights on Tuesdays. 

Casey’s Coffee

After a few months of delays, the coffee shop opened under the Domain in May. The shop serves waffles and paninis in addition to gourmet coffee and specialty drinks. Casey’s Coffee also has locations in Washington, Baltimore, Columbia and Ellicott City. 

Tutti Frutti

The debut shop under the Domain complex, Tutti Frutti opened in November 2013. The frozen yogurt shop has a rotating selection of about 50 flavors ranging from standard vanilla to salted caramel and soy peanut butter — and all are gluten-free. The store also offers at least one dairy-free option daily. 

Subway

Because one Subway apparently isn’t enough, College Park now has three: on Route 1, in Stamp Student Union and now under the Domain. The sub shop has the chain’s usual made-to-order sandwich offerings.

COMING TO COLLEGE PARK

Blaze Pizza

Pizza in just 180 seconds? Customers at Blaze Pizza, opening within the next few months, will be able to select a pizza from the menu or create their own thin-crust dish, which will cook in an open-flame oven in three minutes. Blaze will replace Lime, which closed in September 2013.

Though the restaurant chain brags about its speedy service, Stiefvater said plans for opening the College Park location are moving slowly.  

Riverdale Park Station

After two years of delay, construction for a retail and restaurant complex that will include Whole Foods grocery store is advancing. A second phase of the project will include a hotel and residential units. 

Kangnam BBQ Sports Bar and Grill

The Korean barbecue restaurant and bar, set to open in the next few weeks, will be open 24 hours a day, Stiefvater said. Kangnam BBQ will serve traditional Korean cuisine with some American twists. The restaurant takes the place of Chinese and Japanese restaurant Seven Seas, located about a half-mile north of the campus.

Hotels

Construction for a Marriott Courtyard hotel, which will also include a CVS Pharmacy and nearly 24,000 square feet of retail, will begin toward the end of this year, Stiefvater said.

A developer in August unveiled plans for a $115 million four-star hotel and conference center across from the university’s main entrance. Stiefvater said construction on the university-backed hotel will likely start in the spring.

Housing complexes

Located across from the Bagel Place, Landmark College Park is still under construction, but preleasing for fall 2015 has already begun. Stiefvater said construction is expected to be completed in summer 2015, and some units will be available to tour starting early next year.

Earlier this summer, Knox Box tenants learned they would be displaced after the management company sold the property to development company Toll Brothers.

The addition of Terrapin Row and Landmark will bring about 2,400 students downtown, Stiefvater said.

A few housing complexes developing north of the campus are geared toward “an older crowd,” Stiefvater said. 

“We need people to live here 12 months out of the year. We could use more higher-end retail and sit-down restaurants,” Stiefvater said. “If in 10 years more of College Park is developed, we’ll see fewer vacant properties and broken-down buildings.”