When Prince George's Plaza Was Topless

Historic photographs bring back the days when Prince George's Plaza was an open air mall.

If you've walked through a the Mall at Prince George's, you've probably had to deal with one particular architectural annoyance unique to the shopping center: the vertical support columns which line the main hall.  For an unaware shopper, the columns can become an unwelcome surprise if you happen to walk into one while distracted by conversation or an idle glance at your smartphone.  But it wasn't always this way. When the mall first opened in 1959 as Prince George's Plaza, shoppers had a lot more room to maneuver because the mall didn't have a roof.  For the first 18 years the mall was in existence, it operated as an open-air shopping center. It wasn't until 1977 that the mall was enclosed. With the roof, came the support columns, …

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Hyattsville Asks for New Pr. George's Plaza Plans

Current plan showing age, needs to be updated.

The Hyattsville City Council unanimously approved a measure to lobby the Prince George's County Council and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to update the Prince George's Plaza Transit District Development Plan (TDDP for short).  The plan lays out development guidelines in an area around the Prince George's Plaza Metro Station, including the Mall at Prince George's, University Town Center, Post Park and the Toledo Terrace apartment complexes. The guidelines are geared towards creating a walkable, mass-transit oriented hub of mixed-use development.  When adopted in the late 1990s, it was one of the first transit oriented development plans implemented in Prince George's County. But the original plan will turn 15 next …

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Metropolitan Shops Secures $20m in Financing

More than 37,000 square feet of retail and office space still available to be developed at shops near Prince George's Plaza Metro Station.

The Metropolitan Shops at Prince George's Station now has a cool $20 million in financing for continued development at the Metropolitan Shops at Prince George's Station, according to Citybizlist.com  The firm, an affiliate of the New York based Westrbook Partners bought the Metropolitan Shops Back in February 2011. The shops, located across East West Highway from the Mall at Prince George's, are also right next to the Prince George's Plaza Metro Station. They are the commercial focus of a 160,000 square foot mixed use development.  There is still more than 37,000 square feet of available pad space left to develop for offices or retail, according to a 2011 investor offering produced by CBRE.

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Going on Green: How Hyattsville Uses the Metro

What travel on the Green Line looks like for the weekend of May 13-15.

Red, Blue, Orange, and, yes, Green Lines will single track it in places this weekend from 10 p.m. Friday, May 20, to closing on Sunday, May 22. Looks like the Green Line's sunny construction-free days finally ended. But only a small portion of the line will be single tracking it -- between the Navy Yard and Anacostia stations, while personnel install new track. If you're planning on transferring to other lines, keep a lookout for construction zones. Red Line trains will share one track between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor-Strathmore for tunnel leak repairs and rail fastener replacements. Red Line trains also will share one track between the Takoma and Forest Glen stations for train control improvements, rail tie replacements and the …

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Growing Hyattsville

Here's a snapshot of some development around the city.

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