Sister to the east Part II
By Silver Springer • Dec 5th, 2007 • Category: Real Estate
Looking at the site of the University Town Center and this section of Hyattsville, you get a sense that once upon a time, it had bigger aspirations than what we see today; an urban district that would put it on equal footing with Silver Spring and Bethesda. You’d be right.
An artist’s rendering shows what the University Town Center or “New Town Center†then would have looked like originally planned. A mixed use complex with buildings office, residential and retail organized in a symmetrical fashion. The project was ahead of it’s time.
Several residential towers deserving the name would be equally dispersed through the site standing 33 stories, so tall that even today, 50 years later they would be unmatched in the entire D.C. area.
Of course the project had its flaws, being built as what would look like a sea of sameness, every building sharing the same monotonous architecture in an a “unnaturalâ€, “organized” fashion.
The retail was also planned to be underground a la Crystal City in Virginia, removing the retail and people from the street.
Only three white office buildings from the original plans were built and still stand today framing the University Town Center. If you look attentively, the buildings may invoke images of something familiar.
Edward Durell Stone was hired to design the planned community. At the same time the architect was working on the Kennedy Center and designed other controversial works like the AON Center in Chicago.
Prince George’s Plaza, across from “New Town Center†commenced as an open-air mall in 1959, the three office buildings known today as Metro Plaza 1, 2, and 3 got the go ahead because of commitments from government agencies to lease the space.
Fifty years later the big plans never came to fruition due to many factors; market conditions, financing, white-flight…but perhaps it’s better for it?
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Wow, I had no idea it was planned to be like that. Where did you come across this?
Visit University Town Center now to see what has indeed evolved.
We have over 5,000 day time workers, our residents are moving in (910 students Aug. 06; 112 new home owners in mid rise condominium building Summer 07); and new retail is opening regularly - Royale 14 Theater opened in June; restuarants began opening in August initially with Qdoba Mexican Grill and several new ones this month. Enjoy events on our Plaza at lunch time and then on a regular basis is spring. visit: http://www.universitytowncenter.net
Huh. You just answered a question I had 30+ years ago when I shopped at PG Plaza (open-air) and had meetings at government agencies in those buildings. I wondered why three high rise office buildings would be built in such an “unurbanized” or uncongested area that was difficult to access and far from major roads. Now I know.