The university’s planned East Campus project is faced with the twin hurdles of a lagging economy and the abrupt resignation of one of its key proponents, but its developers said they remain confident it will succeed.
East Campus is planned as a redevelopment of the parking lots and warehouses that front Route 1 from Fraternity Row to Paint Branch Parkway, converting the area into 38 acres of residential and commercial buildings and public open space.
University Vice President for Administrative Affairs Doug Duncan and developer Foulger Pratt-Argo had overseen the new downtown Silver Spring when Duncan was the Montgomery County executive and they hope to take East Campus in a similar direction with a wide selection of popular restaurants and shops.
But while Silver Spring is widely considered a success, it rolled during the economic boom. East Campus could emerge amid one of the greatest downturns in the country’s economy. Plus, two weeks ago Duncan announced he would leave the university early next month.
Despite these two worrisome setbacks, Principal of Foulger Prat-Argo Richard Perlmutter is not concerned.
Perlmutter counted on the current economic crisis to be over by the time the first phase of East Campus opens in 2012.
“We’re not economists, but these are cycles we are looking at,” Perlmutter said.
Perlmutter also said he thought Duncan’s interim replacement – Ann Wylie, university President Dan Mote’s chief of staff – will be able to follow in his footsteps.
“We build for the long term; we don’t look at the market on a day-to-day basis,” Perlmutter said.
While his firm conducted its market analyses before the economic downturn, he said he remained confident that a remaining interest in transit-oriented development would keep the project strong. He also said that retail stores were still very interested in the space.
“Needless to say, there will be bankruptcies in the retail world next year, but there’s currently a lot of enthusiasm,” Perlmutter told the College Park City Council last week.
Developers plan to include a six- to eight-screen movie theater, a Birchmere music hall, a Harris Teeter or similar supermarket and an upscale hotel, along with extensive additional retail space, graduate student housing and market-rate apartments.
Kwasi Holman, president and chief executive officer of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, agreed with Perlmutter’s optimistic outlook for East Campus.
“I’d say this: The university area in general is a very strong market,” Holman said. “I think the prospects are good for a successful development.”
On the changes to the university’s administration, Perlmutter said Duncan had done a “great job” working on East Campus, and will leave a legacy that includes a “strong bridge” between the university and the city that Wylie will have available when she takes over.
Wylie also said that she is not completely unfamiliar with the East Campus project, even if she doesn’t have Duncan’s background in Silver Spring.
“I’m very familiar with this project. I’ve been working with [Duncan] the entire time, and I’ve learned a lot from him,” Wylie said. “I hope I was a good student.”
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