This is the final section of a three part report

University Town Center is an interesting mix of uses. This is a dream project of Herschel W. Blumberg the President and owner of Prince George’s Metro Center, Inc. They got the right idea by mingling the office, retail and residential use. But why call it University Town Center when it’s more than a mile from University of Maryland, College Park?

What sets it apart is most definitely in the name. They don’t call it University Town Center for nothing. A 16 story high-rise nearly 200 feet can be seen from miles away, letting you know that something big is happening in Prince George’s County.

Nine different colleges and universities occupy this high-rise apartment complex, the first of it’s kind in the nation. 910 beds are set aside for students from D.C. areas surrounding schools, including University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland University College, Catholic University, Trinity College, Galluadet, and Howard University, George Washington University, American University and Georgetown University. Urban college districts like in D.C. and Boston are some of the most vibrant areas in the Country. I almost envy the idea and it’s certainly to UTC’s advantage. I wonder what the impact would be if more places had such a living space, what if Silver Spring had such a living space?

The building is topped off with a convex atrium glass roof. Those “in the know” should conjure images of a similar structure in the same County, about 30 minutes south. The Gaylord National Convention Center Hotel at National Harbor shares a resemblance with the UTC tower. This isn’t surprising since they were both designed by WDG architects. Luckily the building has prescence but the firm is notorious for duplicating designs elements. In Silver Spring, Cameron House and Midtown Silver Spring are good examples of his.

Everybody seems to be taking a page from the Downtown Silver Spring project these days, from UTC to the East Campus Development in College Park.

Most emulated is the use of a central gathering place in a circular design including an interactive art piece like a fountain. So coveted, even the Rockville Town Center in Montgomery County’s seat dabbled with the thought of literally making a carbon copy of the Silver Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring.

UTC’s central gathering place has landscaping that also behaves as stepped seating, good for holding concerts, keeping an eye on children and skateboarding (whether unintended or not). The 16 story tower doesn’t detract from central plaza, it’s pushed back far enough so it doesn’t bother the people who like to complain about tall buildings and shadows.

UTC isn’t all good news though. There is an abundant mix of all uses that should keep it vibrant all day but approaching from north of East-West Highway onto the street retail portion fronting American Boulevard, my first impression is “economical”. An otherwise great project is hindered by some cheap architecture and materials. It would have really made a difference and worth the effort to invest in a variety of colors.

Signage on Movie theaters are supposed to get you excited…in anticipation of the movie you will embark on. They are supposed to be adventuresome and entertaining. The Royal 14 Cinema façade has a tacked on sign that in itself is lame. You feel like your being forced to watch a power point slide at the suburban corporate office instead of a blockbuster hit.

The Royal 14 Theater is part of the Consolidated Chain, the parent company that also operates the Majestic 20 in Downtown Silver Spring. It’s unfortunate that the Royal 14 theatre will be charging for parking soon after the grand opening phase is over. This has been an advantage at Downtown Silver Spring whether we like the car or not; economics is at play. Tickets are also more than $10 a piece, this rivals what I thought were the most expensive at the Rockville Theater.

Downtown Silver Spring isn’t the epitome of stellar design either but it gets too much of a bad wrap for the way it looks while atrocious places like D.C. USA roll quietly along with out so much as a critique. The façade of the Majestic theatre is “full of life”. Many places lack any historic implementation like the Silver Theater/Shopping center and City Place Mall. Those structures alone add character that’s ten times greater. I can confidently say that Downtown Silver Spring is better eye candy than University Town Center and D.C. USA.

But unlike Downtown Silver Spring, University Town Center utilizes space above its ground floor retail and that can be just as important as the architecture. Downtown Silver Spring only does this over the Whole Foods section. It has office and residential use above. This would make a lot more sense for Downtown Silver Spring. I really don’t understand the logic behind taking more precious land and making the Ellsworth condos a seperate building far removed from the main strip. It lacks any ubran planning sense.

The lamp posts also scream economical, not on the same level as the Washington Globe lights dispersed through out Silver Spring, neither do they look as sturdy. Although the lamp posts in the central plaza leading up to the tower (first photo above) redeem some lost qualities.

Most concerning about the UTC design is that overall it is not so much the architecture (certainly not the eco-friendly, LEED certified Lofts) but rather that it’s bland, dry, just plain boring looking. It really would have made a world of a difference if they varied the masonry; everything is limited to three material types and colors. Even the central Plaza/fountain that’s supposed to be the most colorful and vibrant looks the same as everything else, save for the turtle sculptures, but they aren’t up to the task of changing the vibe of a 56 acre mixed-use project.

Some redeeming qualities come out at night, where you can’t see the dullness of the structures but an appealing light show and at least their not afraid of grass.

UTC has added up to 1.4 million square feet of office space over the years, with the most recent additions being the 180,000 square foot Metro Four building occupied by the National Center for Health Statistics and a 54,000 square foot space (Metro Five) above the movie theater; both are 100% leased.

Over 100,000 square feet of retail is spread through out the center of the development.

Carolina Kitchen, Five Guys, Kudo Beans, Mongolian Grill, Old Dominion Brew House, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Salad Creations, Smoothie King, Soup Man, Stonefish Grill, Three Brothers Italian Restaurant, Tokyo Sushi Bar, Wild Onion, and WOW Cafe & Wingery are suppose to open by the end of 2007 (don’t hold your breath).

Later additions will be a 56,000 square foot “lifestyle” Safeway. Not exactly upscale as a Whole foods but better than the “worst Safeway ever”. The Safeway and planned hotel will straddle East-West Highway, complimenting the retail on the other side at the Metropolitan shops. Another mixed use project that includes a Circuit City, Balley’s, staples a hotel and a 300,000 square foot 10 story office building.

On side not it’s funny to point out that Old Dominion Brew House was supposed to open at the Downtown Silver Spring development but never materalized. Old Dominion of Ashburn, Va was bought out by William Muehlhauser, Baltimore, Rams head owner and Anheuser-Busch. So I wonder if anything will happen at all and if it does what will it be like?

The retail seems like a unique selection, some of those places I’ve never heard of but please feel free to comment if you find it too “chainy”.

This area of Hyattsville is getting it’s share of development, if things don’t stand stagnate for another 50 years, it has what it takes to be a great downtown. Making this a vibrant center can only helps as it stems the blight west of it and east of Silver Spring, trying to right the mistakes of urban planners and developers. University Town Center is a bigger project than I would have imagined seeing in area in my life time, they tried. The garages are well hidden from the main strip. It definitely has a considerable amount of everything that matters, office, retail, residential and hotel. The UTC Tower in particular is probably the most unique asset that sets it apart from its sisters. Because of its abundant uses a vibrant 18-24 hour atmosphere should be almost guaranteed.