Hyattsville CDC Looks to Restore Crumbling Cable Building

A deteriorating building which was once the home of one of the earliest cable television services in Prince George's County could get a facelift if grants for renovations are approved. 

The Hyattsville Community Development Corporation is asking the Hyattsville City Council for a letter supporting a Community Impact Grant request before the Prince George's County Redevelopment Authority to restore the Comcast Building at 4314 Farragut Street. The plan is to turn the crumbling building into the new offices of the Hyattsville CDC, which currently occupies a space at 4312 Hamilton Street. 

The building is familiar to anyone who frequents Farragut Street. The property enclosed by a barb wire fence, the house is clad in stone, which is deteriorating in some areas. The roof, already patched more than a few times, has large holes in it. 

According to a letter from Hyattsville CDC Director Stuart Eisenberg, the organization has been negotiating with Comcast, the company which now owns the building, for two years seeking to stabilize, restore and occupy the building. Comcast had originally sought to demolish the building after it received numerous citations for building code violatons. 

"We are now literally days away from executing a long term and perpeturally renewable lease on the premises," reads Eisenberg's letter. "We have secured funding to initiate the project and are seeking to leverage these funds with additional dollars to improve the site."

Total funding for the Community Impact Grant program is capped at $250,000. Individual grants may not exceed $50,000. 

The Hyattsville City Council will vote on the letter of recommendation at its meeting tonight at 8 p.m. in the Hyattsville Municipal Building.