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Council OKs multifamily building on Autoville Drive

Posted on: August 7, 2024

By SAM GAUNTT

The owner of a house on Autoville Drive in north College Park plans to replace it with an eight-unit apartment building, despite objections from some neighbors.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bode Ramsay

The College Park City Council recommended in July that the county approve a four-story, eight-unit apartment building on Autoville Drive. 

The project, which the Prince George’s County Planning Board approved on July 18, will replace a single-family home, at 9621 Autoville Drive, south of Cherry Hill Road, in north College Park. The planned multifamily structure will be built in a two-over-two architectural style, with each two-story apartment sitting on top of another double-level unit.

The owner of the house initially planned to include 10 units in the new building, but later agreed to commit to eight units during discussion with the city council. 

During a meeting on July 9, Councilmember Alan Hew (District 1) praised the property’s owner for being receptive to the city’s suggestions for the project. 

“It’s rare that we have an applicant that’s so cooperative to the conditions put on them,” Hew said during the meeting. “What they’re proposing [10 units] is permitted under the zoning laws. [But] they’ve agreed to reduce the density and provide … more parking than required and utiliz[e] permeable paving in uncovered areas. There’s a number of things.” 

Hew added: “They’ve decided to do the right thing and cooperate with all these conditions.”

Several Autoville Drive residents spoke against the plan at the meeting, citing its potential disruption to their quiet neighborhood. 

Approximately 10 people submitted letters to the city council before the meeting urging the council to oppose the planned redevelopment. 

“I always tell people, ‘Hey, come on up here and live with us; don’t come up and destroy it,’” James Woodhouse, who lives on Autoville Drive, said during the meeting. 

College Park Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell (District 4), who cast the sole vote against the project, raised concerns about its potential disruption to the majority single-family home neighborhood. 

“I will be voting no regarding this project due to the fact that it will change the character of the community, the quality of life of the residents,” Mitchell said. 

Mitchell added the community on Autoville Drive is “not like other areas in [the] City of College Park. It is truly unique and truly different.”

City Councilmember John Rigg (District 3) supported the project, saying it is “the sort of development that we should be embracing in the City of College Park.”

“I can tell you that you can still have a vibrant community, you still have a great community, you still have a peaceful community, even with renters in it, even with people who live in apartments in it,” Rigg said at the meeting. “I would urge us to not get blinded by status quo bias in this particular case.”

According to the property’s lawyer, Edward Gibbs, the owner will rent the apartments to graduate students and College Park residents but will avoid renting to undergraduate students. 

“She’s targeting to lease to the general public,” Gibbs said of the property’s owner, Josiane Alagbe. “She just doesn’t want to ever have any undergraduates there because of the immaturity level. I mean, [I] hate to say that, but that’s it.”

Gibbs added the development will contain two units of affordable housing, with the rest being rented at market rates, He said the owner will work with the city to determine how to price the affordable units. 

“It’s complicated to figure out what constitutes an affordable unit, what the formula is and how you implement it,” Gibbs said. “And so, quite frankly, we don’t feel comfortable doing it on our own, and we would not just welcome, but need the assistance of the city getting through that.”

City councilmembers recommended the project with seven conditions. Among them: The building will contain one unit accessible for tenants with disabilities; it will incorporate protection around a nearby creek to prevent dumping; and the developer will make an effort to preserve or relocate as many trees as possible during construction of the building.

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