By Jackie Spinner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 29, 2007

Four architectural firms envision upscale housing and dining on the banks of the Anacostia River in a historic nook of northwestern Prince George's County that in recent years has had few significant renovations to its landscape of warehouses, liquor stores and brick bungalows.

The project aims to create a focal point for what are known as the Port Towns -- Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Bladensburg and Edmonston. This week, the 11,100 residents have an unusual chance to weigh in on what it would look like.

The Port Towns Community Development Corp. (CDC) invited the firms to create plans for People's Harbor on a two-acre industrial site on Bladensburg Road occupied by the National News company. The media distribution business is looking for a new home.

The development in Colmar Manor, just west of the Peace Cross monument, would add to other projects designed to improve the long-neglected Anacostia waterfront, including a ballpark for the Washington Nationals and redevelopment of some surrounding D.C. neighborhoods. The Port Towns project would stand out in an area of Prince George's inside the Capital Beltway where new commercial ventures often amount to a face-lift of a strip mall or the addition of a fast-food restaurant or storage facility.

"We're really hoping this is going to be a catalyst to bring attention to the area," said Sadara Barrow, executive director of the CDC, which is funded primarily by the county and the four towns.

The Port Towns area is rich in Maryland history. Cottage City dates to Colonial days and hosted Ulysses S. Grant at a summer retreat after the Civil War. Bladensburg was an important Colonial port, and according to some accounts, Samuel F.B. Morse received the world's first telegraph message there in 1844. An early mayor of Edmonston was Kinjori Matsudairi, grandson of a Japanese feudal lord. Colmar Manor, like the other three towns, had a role in the War of 1812; it was also a backdrop to a fight early in the Civil War.

Looking at the Port Towns' future, the CDC has posted the design plans on its Web site ( http://porttowns.org) and is soliciting input online through Saturday. Residents can also choose their favorite plan that day at Colmar Manor Bible Church. The CDC canvassed 400 homes Sunday in Colmar Manor to let residents know about the proposal and their opportunity to participate in decision-making.

Rashad Ali, 52, a building engineer in Colmar Manor, said this week that he intends to seek more information and choose the design he likes the best. He applauded the idea of new restaurants and commercial ventures, saying that residents shouldn't have to go elsewhere to find them.

"We don't have to go so far anymore," said Ali, carrying bags of groceries from a Shoppers Food Warehouse near the project site.

The public input will not necessarily determine the design but will be a factor in the CDC's decision, Barrow said.

The competitors are: Devrouax and Purnell of the District, CSD Architects of Baltimore, Arel Architects of Clinton, and Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, which is based in Minnesota and has a Hyattsville office. The CDC paid each firm $10,000 for the initial designs, and the winner will receive an additional $5,000.

The winner will be chosen Wednesday. The CDC then will solicit proposals from developers, Barrow said, in what will be the organization's first real estate development undertaking.

Barrow said some areas that need redevelopment find it hard to attract private builders. "It almost takes this kind of work from a CDC to make this happen," she said.

Kevin Williams, real estate director for the CDC, said the project will unfold in three phases. The first includes 175 residential units, one or two sit-down restaurants and a health and wellness center. That is the portion the architectural firms designed.

The second phase would include a retail and entertainment district in Bladensburg. "We're having preliminary conversations with [property] owners across from People's Harbor on how to develop" that phase, Williams said.

The third phase calls for an Anacostia River Education Center on the border of Bladensburg and Cottage City along alternate Route 1.

Aileen D. McChesney, chairwoman of the five-member Cottage City Commission, said that although she supports the project, she worries about its financial impact on her community.

"It could potentially raise tax assessments, and there needs to be some caution," she said. "We already have an aging community, who are struggling to pay taxes on houses they bought for $20,000."

But Karen Jennings-Crooms, executive director of the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area, said the project will be helpful.

"The goal is to revitalize the economy, but we lack infrastructure to do that," she said. "It's going to be a dynamic area again very soon."