College Park’s newest apartment building, Fuse 47, will open sometime in July 2017 and contain a number of high-tech features — distinguishing it from neighboring residences.
The apartment community is located on 4700 Berwyn House Road, and 19 out 275 units have filled since the early leasing period began on Jan. 25, said property director Randy Johnson said, adding that he’s excited for future residents.
“It’s going to be a really awesome place to be,” Johnson said. “We’re very, very different.”
This market-rate apartment complex should be completed this summer — only a year after tenants moved into the newly built Monument Village, located on Route 1. However, Johnson said Fuse 47 is more “high-end” than the nearby apartment buildings.
“It doesn’t compare; we’re totally different,” Johnson said. “We’re more high-end than other communities [and] it’s extremely new-age.”
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The community will boast number of high-tech features, Johnson said, including an option for residents to go keyless and open their apartments via cell phone. Moreover the building will also have a “transit room,” where residents can lounge and see where the closest bus or Uber is.
Interested tenants can also take a virtual tour of Fuse 47 using Oculus virtual reality goggles, Johnson said, which will “put you in the middle of everything.”
Although Johnson said other buildings don’t compare, they do share similar price points. Monthly rent at Fuse 47 ranges from $1,545 for a one-bedroom apartment to $2,830 for a larger two-bedroom apartment, according to the property’s website. Similarly, the rent at Monument Village starts at $1,449 for a one-bedroom and $2,850 for a two-bedroom apartment, according to the property’s website.
And while the building is tailored to “anyone that applies,” Fuse 47 is hopes to bring young professionals back into College Park, Johnson said.
Attracting more young professionals, alumni and individuals working at the University of Maryland is something the city and the university are both working toward, said Eric Olson, executive director of the College Park City-University Partnership.
“As College Park is gaining more employment and the whole new Discovery District with innovation and more science and technology jobs that are coming, we’re going to need more housing like this,” Olson said.
Although this housing isn’t geared toward students, Olson said he suspects some undergraduates will choose this location.
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“People, millennials and others want to live close to work,” he said. “[They] want a thriving environment where we’re getting more restaurants, more coffee shops, more performing spaces and that all creates that sort of environment that’s specially sought after by young professionals.”
It’s also important to have housing in the community that isn’t designated for students, said Ken Ulman, chief strategy officer for economic development for the university’s College Park Foundation.
This midtown area of College Park is undergoing major redevelopment, Ulman said. Next door to Fuse 47 construction is taking place for the Cambria Hotel, which will harbor adjoining retail spaces. A new CVS will also open nearby at the corner of Route 1 and Berwyn House Road, he added.
These developments, along with the upcoming Lidl grocery store, which will be located just two blocks away, make these apartments a great location, Ulman said.
“We’re really focused on this section of Baltimore Avenue becoming much more vibrant and seeing this positive redevelopment,” he said.