Ambitious Project Is Planned in Laurel

Konterra Fits 'New Urbanism' Trend

Kwasi Holman sees Konterra as a spur for Prince George's development. (Rafael Crisostomo/ftwp - Rafael Crisostomo/ftwp)

In six months, Prince George's County will preside over the opening of National Harbor, one of the biggest and most luxurious hotel and convention centers on the East Coast: a $2 billion marvel of work and play space on the banks of the Potomac River.

Lurking in the wings is another project that could trump National Harbor, this one planned for the northern end of the county near the Montgomery County line.

Konterra, as it is known, will be even bigger and more expensive than National Harbor. Planners envision the $3 billion development occupying 2,200 acres in Laurel and featuring luxury single-family houses, townhomes and condominiums, hotels, a business park and swanky retail, office and entertainment space.

Developers hope to have their plans approved next year and break ground in 2009.

The project is being planned in phases: Konterra and Konterra Town Center.

When the first phase is completed in 2011, it will resemble Reston and Bethesda, with sidewalks and outdoor cafes. "It is seen as a more lively kind of environment," said Steven Adams, supervisor of urban design for the county's planning department. "Sometimes suburban living is characterized as sterile. This provides a neo-urban kind of place."

Like National Harbor, Konterra exemplifies a growing tendency in Prince George's to retool land-use plans in an effort to get developments to group office and retail space, housing and restaurants into single communities.

The concept, sometimes referred to as "new urbanism," has been around since the early 1980s but has just started to take hold in Prince George's. At least six such developments are in the works in the county, and others are on the drawing board.

"These projects offer county residents an opportunity to have an urban experience within a suburban context," said Kwasi Holman, executive director of Prince George's County Economic Development Corp.

New urbanism projects that are planned or proposed include one near the Greenbelt Metro station. Another is the Woodmore Towne Center, a proposed 245-acre project at the Capital Beltway and Route 202 in Glenarden that would house the county's first upscale grocery store.

A third, University Town Center in Hyattsville, is under construction. Planners say it will offer students who already live there a vibrant town center with outdoor cafes, stores and a children's museum.

And at a 362-acre former industrial site in Bowie, plans are underway for Karington, which county officials describe as a classic example of new urbanism. When completed, the development will have a private school and an annex to Prince George's Community College. The development also will have a conference center, two hotels, a lake and estate homes.