Politics & Government
Melford Village Concept Plans Include 2,500 Residential Units
A substantial retail and office component are also included in the proposed mixed-use community.
Ready for some new neighbors?
A mixed-use development, featuring 2,500 residential units and well as thousands of square feet of office and retail space could be headed to the Melford office park, if the city approves plans submitted by the developer in mid-December.
Based on the financial analysis performed by the city staff, the proposed mixed-use development would net the city $1,591,756 in new tax revenue per year at full build out.
Back in March, the Bowie City Council voted 6-0-1 to approve an amendment to the covenants on the Melford property that would allow developers to propose residential units on the property. Councilman Dennis Brady (at-large) voted "present" on the amendment. Currently, the roughly 90-acre property, located at routes 50 and 301, is home to hundreds of thousands of feet of mostly office space.
The amendment also increased the city's zoning authority over the property, requiring the developers—St. John's Property Inc.—to submit all plans for the city council's approval before submitting them to the Prince George's County Planning Board.
"Because of the covenants, we have the last word, we are in the drivers seat," Bowie City Planning Director Joe Meinert said in an interview.
The covenants also require that at least 20 percent of any residential build be reserved for senior-restricted housing, meaning at least 500 new units of senior housing will be added under the current proposal.
Overall, Meinert said there were no surprises in the submitted plans for Melford Village, as named by developers. Meinert said the plans were similar to what was shown to council in March, but more refined.
"It's a real helpful iteration of what they’ve shown us previously," Meinert said. "They are adding the necessary development standards, photographs and working drawings showing how things will work on the site."
The submitted concept plans call for 2,500 residential units, 260,000 square feet of office space, and 100,000 square feet of retails space, to include a small grocery store and service retail, a traffic design plan and a tree conservation plan, along with the conceptual site plan and the Melford Village Design Guidelines. All of the documents can be viewed on the city's website.
The city is holding a stakeholders meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15. St. John's will present their proposed development and residents will have the opportunity to ask questions about the design.
There could be several next steps following the stakeholder meeting, but eventually St. John's will submit its plans to the city planning department and the Bowie Advisory Planning Board for review. City staff and the advisory board will each make recommendations to council.
The council will also review the plans and decide to support them at the county level with our without conditions, or even suggesting substantive changes to the documents.
St. John's will presenting at the Jan. 15 meeting.
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