Representatives of Konterra, a long-planned mini-city south of Laurel, have slated initial construction of East Konterra, the town center, for this fall. The first phase will bring 219 town houses and 500 apartments to Fashion Place, a road leading into the town center from Konterra Drive, near routes 1 and 200.
The representatives spoke at a June 28 standing-room-only town hall meeting held by Prince George’s County Councilmember Tom Dernoga (District 1) at the Laurel Beltsville Senior Activity Center. Dernoga convened the meeting to also discuss the county’s process for reviewing and amending its 2010 master growth plan for a portion of northern Prince George’s County, including Konterra and other land west of Route 1 outside the city of Laurel. After the meeting, Dernoga said in an interview that the Spicknall property, 86 acres on Old Gunpowder Road south of Briggs Chaney Road, is the next-largest undeveloped property in that area, second only to Konterra. The Spicknall family had farmed the land and operated a produce market there until 2023.
Caleb Gould, a North Laurel resident whose family is developing Konterra, said that the project began in 1982, when his father, Kingdon Gould, bought 2,300 acres on both sides of Interstate 95 with the vision for a huge mixed-use development. He said the family came up with the name by combining Contee, the name of the company that had previously mined the land, with terra, the Latin word for land. The K is for Kingdon.
Gould noted that some of the property surrounding the proposed town center had already been developed, pointing to the Konterra Business Campus, on Route 1, and the Villages at Wellington, Wilshire and Bentley Park, all residential communities.
About 1,200 acres — or close to a third of the size of the city of Laurel — remains undeveloped.
In response to dozens of questions from the audience, Gould said that the town center would include a quality grocery store, restaurants, hotels, night-life and performing arts venues, and what he called “experiential retail.” (Konterra Realty Executive Vice President Rich McCoy explained after the meeting that experiential retail includes businesses that are largely for entertainment, such as cinemas, golf facilities, video game centers,rope-climbing venues and the like.)
Chris Hatcher, a land use attorney for the Goulds, said that the town center consists of about 400 acres. He said that the long-term plan is to build 5,000 mostly multi-family or attached homes on half of this acreage. The other half will be dedicated to some 6 million square feet of commercial space.
Hatcher said that South Konterra, a 320-acre parcel south of Route 200 and the town center, is slated for commercial use similar to the nearby Konterra Business Campus.
Hatcher also said that West Konterra, a 220-acre parcel across I-95 from the town center, will be largely residential, with mostly single-family homes. Current zoning permits about 2,500 homes on the parcel, he said.
According to Hatcher, there is not currently a plan for the 200-acre parcel called North Konterra, which is west of I-95 and north of Konterra Drive.
In May 2022, Konterra representatives announced at a town hall meeting that they would break ground on the town center townhouses and apartments by the end of that year. The Laurel Independent asked Konterra Realty’s Rich McCoy why that construction has been postponed for three years. In an interview, McCoy said, “With a big project like this, things always take longer than you think.” He noted that securing building permits from the county has been particularly slow.
In response to a question from the audience about construction of the town center, Gould said, “Build-out will take 15-plus years.”
Tony Felts, chief of community planning for the Prince George’s County Planning Department, said in an interview that citizens will be asked for input on the master plan amendment at two community meetings, one this fall and the second in winter. Felts added that citizens will also have an opportunity to comment on a draft of the amended plan, likely next spring, before the county planning board and county council approve it.