Westphalia Development Advances Despite Economic Downturn

Despite the economic downturn and the credit crunch, Prince George's County and seven developers are pursuing an ambitious plan to build 15,000 homes and about 6 million square feet of retail and commercial space in a rural area just outside the District.

The project, which also would include a half-dozen schools as well as hotels, restaurants and parks near Andrews Air Force Base, would create a town half the size of Columbia, transforming a quiet swath of farmland into a mini-city.

The county Planning Board approved a conceptual plan last month for the core of the project. It calls for about 4,000 housing units, nearly 4 million square feet of retail and commercial space and 600 hotel rooms to be built in Westphalia, an unincorporated area.

M.H. Jim Estepp, president of the Greater Prince George's Business Roundtable, said the multi-billion dollar project, one of the largest of its kind in the county, is the type the county needs to stimulate economic development.

"In many respects it offers the same opportunity as National Harbor, not in the same industry, but in the potential for the county in terms of scope and in being a signature project," he said.

Estepp said the development would provide amenities such as quality retailers and restaurants to a part of the county that has struggled to lure them.

"The area near Andrews Air Force Base has been underserved," he said. "Folks have to travel distances to get what they want."

But such residents as Lydia A. Goddard say they moved to Westphalia for the serenity of a rural community. In Goddard's neighborhood, home lots range from 2 1/2 to 20 acres.

"I elected to live in the country," she said. "I don't want to look at three- and four-story townhouses."

Goddard said she is concerned about the noise, traffic and exposure to crime a big development can bring. "They keep saying, 'Don't worry,' " she said. "But what should I do? Wait until they break ground and cut down trees?"

She and a dozen neighbors who are accustomed to country roads will have to maneuver on clogged highways if a development of this scale moves to the neighborhood, Goddard said. On top of that, she said, they will be "inundated with [street] lights that we don't have now."

The Planning Board is expected to consider the next step, a preliminary plan for the development, in February. The entire project, which is bounded by Ritchie Marlboro Road to the north and east, the Capital Beltway to the west and Maryland Route 4 to the south, also must be approved by the County Council before construction could begin.

Westphalia's lead developer is Daniel Colton of GB Development. Last year, Colton said, FBI agents came to talk to him about Greenbelt Station, another project he oversees. Greenbelt Metropark, Colton's company offices, were raided during an FBI sweep, and Westphalia Center was one of about a half-dozen developments mentioned in the search warrant.

The focus of the probe is unclear, but documents filed in court by federal authorities suggest that three other men are at the center of the investigation.

The Planning Board action is one of the first steps in moving the town center project forward. It has been compared to Reston and Kentlands, a Montgomery County development that looks like a small town.

The developer, planning staff and board disagreed about which part of the project would be built first. Planners want commercial and residential construction to occur simultaneously. Ultimately, the developer agreed.

Despite the Planning Board's approval, the project has a number of hurdles to overcome.

"We don't have financing for construction," said Norman Rivera, an attorney for GB Development. "But you have to get your approvals in place to attract the users. . . . I would say we're chasing them. But we haven't caught anyone yet."

Rivera said the biggest challenge is getting funds for the new Suitland Parkway interchange, which would lead traffic into the development. The state has indicated that money for the interchange is in jeopardy because of its budget deficit. County officials say they hope that money from the proposed federal economic stimulus package will help pay for the transportation project.

The portion of the project approved by the Planning Board consists of 530 acres off Route 4. Known as Westphalia Town Center, it continues a new development trend in Prince George's: grouping housing, retail, office and restaurant space together. That kind of design provides residents with an urban setting in the suburbs.

National Harbor, the $4 billion waterfront development being built in Oxon Hill, and Konterra, a mixed-used development proposed for Laurel, use the same concept. They are places where people can live, work, shop and play, planners say.

"We have 250,000 people who leave the county every day [to work], and we want to recapture those folks," said David Byrd, Prince George's deputy chief administrative officer for economic development.

"It's on a major corridor with Pennsylvania Avenue, Route 4 and Suitland Parkway," he said. "Just as we have people leave, we want people to come in."