Residents, Developer Reach Deal on Historic Site

Residents and a Washington-area developer who clashed over a proposal to bring an outlet mall to a historic site near National Harbor in Oxon Hill have reached a deal to move the project forward.

According to The Washington Post, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers has signed a deal with the Peterson Cos., developer of National Harbor, to bring its high-end outlets to the complex. The $100 million development would cover about 40 acres, across the street from the entrance of National Harbor along Oxon Hill Road. The project is expected to be one of the few of its kind in development in the nation.

The battle to develop the area, known as Salubria, has been contentious since the Peterson Cos. planned to install commercial space on the location in 2006. Residents argued that an outlet mall was inappropriate because of the area's concentration of historic sites.

Dating back to the 1830s, the site is where a 14-year old slave girl poisoned three of her master’s children. She was subsequently tried in a county court and hanged in Upper Marlboro. Local historians believe she was one of the first, if not youngest, woman to be sentenced to death in the nation at the time.

During a Prince George’s County Historic Preservation Commission last week, residents battled with the developer, urging the commission, which weighs in on developments near historic sites, to veto the developer's request to move forward with removing historic artifacts from the area. The commission approved the developer to conduct an archeological excavation on the site to determine what artifacts may still be there.

County Executive Rushern L. Baker (D) told the developer and representatives from the African American Heritage Preservation Group, which opposed the development, that he wanted to meet with them to discuss alternatives.

Currently, only the foundation of what is believed to be the plantation’s slave quarters sits on the site.

Still, local activists said they plan to fight the developer, insisting that the project be moved one mile north to downtown Oxon Hill, which they say badly needs redevelopment.

“Of course we want high-end retail, but it should be used to reinvest and revitalize downtown Oxon Hill, not pave over a historic African-American site that is of great value to the citizens of Prince George’s County,” said Bonnie Bick, an Oxon Hill resident and community activity. “It’s not over. This is too important to lose.”

Zeno St. Cyr, a civic leader who lives near the site, said Salubria is currently inaccessible to the general public—an alternative to what is currently there is better than not doing anything at all, he said. Options for preserving the history on the site include moving artifacts to another location in the area.

“We’re all in agreement that we will come together to determine what will be an appropriate reinterpretation of the area,” he said. “Throughout history in terms of historic preservation, we have maintained the historic significance of something that may not be in its original site.”