New Vision for a Troubled Place

$36 Million 'Village' Would Rise on Site Of Public Housing

Kareem Abdus-Salaam, one of the developers of a $36 million residential project in Capitol Heights, waited patiently one evening last week to address the Pepper Mill Village Civic Association.

"Good evening, everyone," he began when it was his turn to take the floor. "It was a boy!"

Abdus-Salaam told the civic association that his new son -- 6 pounds, 9 ounces -- was fine, as was his wife. He joked that he'd been awake a lot at night since the birth, and he thanked members of the association for their kind wishes.

Oh, and he talked about his project, the Villages at Pepper Mill.

Relationships between developers and residents in whose communities they wish to build can be tension-filled affairs, rife with hostility and suspicion. In some respects, that is even more the case for communities inside the Capital Beltway, such as Capitol Heights, where developers until several years ago saw little opportunity -- or, worse, saw opportunity only to turn a quick buck.

But Abdus-Salaam, president and chief executive of the District-based Structures Unlimited, has built a far more comfortable relationship with members of the Pepper Mill Village Civic Association. He has attended meetings, answered questions, eased fears and made concessions. Based on input from residents, his residential project has been revised to include a hiking and biking trail and other features.

"They've basically kept the community in the loop every step of the way," said Crystal Scott, president of the civic organization. "They've allowed us to monitor the process and make sure everything's going the way we want it to . . . that they don't get out of line and construct something we don't want in our community."

The Villages at Pepper Mill -- 96 townhouses and a community center on 20 acres -- would occupy the site of what was once Baber Village, a failed public housing project built in 1968. By the time the last part of it was razed in 1980, Baber Village had become synonymous with the failure of concentrated housing for low-income families in the county.

Memories of Baber Village cast a long shadow in Pepper Mill Village, where many residents have lived for decades. Residents remember Central Avenue, a main thoroughfare through the community, when it was just a dark, two-lane road. They remember when the land where FedEx Field stands was farmland. And they certainly remember Baber Village.

"Everybody was concerned about what was going to happen to that place," said Joe Holmes, whose house is adjacent to the new development.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Villages at Pepper Mill was held late last year. This week, the Prince George's County Planning Board will address the final stages of the project, which is the second-largest development announced in recent months for the Addison Road area.

In August, developers broke ground for the ICON condominiums, a $70 million project with 400,000 square feet of residential, retail and commercial space, including 170 luxury condominiums and a rooftop swimming pool.