Woodmore Project Approved
Council Rejects Opposition; Towne Centre to Get Underway Soon

By Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 27, 2007

The Woodmore Towne Centre at Glenarden will proceed as planned, despite an effort by a Hyattsville man to stop construction of the project.

The Prince George's County Council voted 8 to 0 this week to approve a detailed site plan for digging up roads and laying water and sewer lines. This allows the project's developer to move forward and start construction before the end of the year.

The council also rejected an appeal by Anthony Perez, a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400. The appeal would have delayed plans for the center, which will have a nonunion Wegmans supermarket.

Perez's appeal raised questions about traffic surrounding the development, on 245 acres at Interstate 495 and Route 202.

"We're very pleased," said Terry Richardson of Petrie Ventures, the project's developer. "This removes what could have been an obstacle to our groundbreaking."

Richardson said the company plans to break ground for Woodmore Towne Centre this fall and open in spring 2009. He said he expects both of the center's anchor stores, Wegmans and Costco, to be ready for business by the opening.

Arthur Turner, a community activist, alleged that Perez used traffic "as a ruse" to stop the nonunion Wegmans from being a part of the development. Turner said he was "saddened" that residents and county leaders were fighting to get what other communities already have: upscale retailers.

More than 200 people sent letters to council members in a last-minute attempt to thwart Perez's effort.

Mary Ann White, who attended this week's hearing, said she has looked forward to Woodmore Towne Centre and Wegmans.

"It's going to enhance the county, the Landover area," White said. "We've been without for so long. We've had storefronts. And aside from the Boulevard [at the Capital Centre], we have to go all the way to Bowie for a restaurant."

The council was sitting as the District Council, which hears zoning matters. It not only rejected Perez's appeal but also voted to permit the developer to construct a large temporary sign off the Capital Beltway to advertise the development.

Council member Tony Knotts (D-Temple Hills) raised questions about the aesthetics of a 45-by-17-foot sign sitting 61 feet in the air. He compared it to the Ikea sign that sits 70 feet in the air off the Beltway in northern Prince George's.

The council decided to allow the sign for 12 months.