Developer asked to bond with community

Early plans for project near Cheverly Metro OK'd by Planning Board

The Addison Row at Cheverly Metro will be built on 34 acres between Fairmount Heights and Cheverly and will include 121,000 square feet of retail space, a 178,000-square-foot hotel and a 25,000-square-foot recreation center.

Project Manager Sean Bruce of Washington, D.C.-based Douglas Development Corp., said the amount of residential and office space is still being considered and the configuration may be 940 condominiums with 650,000 square feet of office space, or 2,000 condominiums with 14,300 square feet of office space. Bruce said he had no estimated cost for the project.

Bruce said the project calls for improvements like additional lanes and traffic signals to the intersections of Addison Road and Eastern Avenue by the Washington line, and Sherriff and Addison road.

Bruce said the location was ideal because of its proximity to the Cheverly Metro and downtown Washington, I-295 and Route 50. Douglas Development was able to rezone land from industrial zoning to mixed-use zoning in December. Bruce said no retailers or hotels have signed on to become a part of the project and that it was too early to get commitments from interested businesses.

Agnes Allen, president of the Fairmont Park-North Englewood Civic Association, said it has been about a year since developers contacted her community about progress on the conceptual site plan but was told Douglas Development came to the Chapel Oaks-Beaver Heights Community Unity Day on July 19. Allen, a 45-year resident, said the event was "not the appropriate place" to bring information since it was meant as a way to socialize with neighbors.

"The only dialogue I know they had recently was the Chapel Oaks Day," Allen said. "The people who would come and voice their opinions about the project were not there."

Allen said she welcomes new development to the area but wants increased communication among her community, Chapel Oaks and Douglas Development. Allen said within the next few weeks she will meet with representatives to address concerns about the increased traffic a new development will bring to her neighborhood.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Sylvester Vaughns said he is "optimistic but at the same time cautious" about the project. He was hopeful the final plan would still feature proposed elements such as the recreation center and hotel in the final product.

"The Planning Board has a responsibility to make sure nobody comes in and takes the good stuff off the top like build all those houses and leave nothing else," Vaughns said.

It was important that developers did not give residents "false hopes" and that the plan continues to be guided by the board, Vaughns said.

The developers now have to continue to meet with the community and begin work on a preliminary site plan for approval by the Planning Board.

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net