30 Condos Auctioned at University Town Center

Two hours, $5 million moves 30 Hyattsville condominiums during October real estate auction.

It took less than two hours for Resource Real Estate to auction 30 condominiums at the University Town Center development in Hyattsville last month, according to information released by the company earlier this week.  The auction, which took place at the Greenbelt Marriot on Oct. 28, saw buyers spend more than $5 million to snatch up well apportioned condos at One Independence Plaza and Plaza Lofts 22. According to reports in The Washington Post, buyers were able to pick up condos for a bargain, hundreds of thousands of dollars off what they were going for when the buildings were completed in 2007 and 2008, before the economic downturn. "We are pleased with Sunday’s results," Said Stephanie Wilkinson of Impact Real Estate Solutions. "This …

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University Town Center Auctions Condos

Bidders get bargain basement prices on Hyattsville condos near mall, metro station

Buried beneath a wave of hurricane coverage this past weekend was a small story about the ongoing, perhaps slow, transformation of the University Town Center neighborhood near the Prince George's Plaza Metro Station.  On Saturday Oct. 28, New York-based Resource Real Estate put 33 condominium units at One Independent Plaza and Plaza Lofts 22 up for auction. The auction saw bidders walk away with some choice property at a bargain prices, according to a report in The Washington Post.  The condos overlook the expansive, if sometimes deserted, pedestrian square which graces the center of the UTC development. The neighborhood has been beset by both residential and commercial vacancies, as well as a series of massive foreclosures, since it was …

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UTC Seeks Artists for Plaza Window Galleries

Owner of two University Town Center condominium buildings puts out call for artists.

The owners of the retail storefronts at University Town Center are looking to pay local artists to display their work in the windows of some of vacant stores in the center's main plaza.  According to Brad Long with New York-based Resource Real Estate, the company which currently owns two of the condominium buildings at UTC, the Walking Art Tour is designed to highlight local artists and draw pedestrians into the plaza.  "It's a win-win for us and them," said Long in an interview. "The plaza itself, the patio area between the two condominium buildings…is a really beautiful space, but it isn't what I would call activated." "We want to activate this space, engage the local community, and bring them into this plaza," continued Long.  The art …

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Update: UTC Towers Sold Back to Lender

High rise complex, assessed at $65 million, to be sold on courthouse steps today.

Update - 2:30 p.m. - The Towers at University Town Center will likely be bought back by the mortgage lender, Delaware based ML-CFC Commercial Mortgage Trust 2007-8 LLC, following a quick auction outside of the Prince George's County Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro earlier this afternoon.  The complex was purchased for $39.15 million, the opening bid. Though a small group of potential buyers had gathered for the auction, none placed any bids higher than the opener.  Though ML-CFC owns the winning bid, the purchase still has to be finalized by the circuit court before it becomes official.  Original article:  If you're looking for a bargain on a high-rise housing complex, then today might be your lucky day.  The massive, 244-unit, 910 bed …

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Neighbor

5:06 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

And, I don't know where you think this development is, but there are no liquor stores or yoga studios, pet stores, or bakeries in PG plaza. I don't know if you've been paying attention to local news regarding development, but TOD is hot, and walkable communities are the future. Cafritz? Belcrest Development? Arts District? Landy Property? Any of that ring a bell?   more ›

Wild Onion Tamed By Recession

Hyattsville restaurant closes after three years in business at University Town Center.

The closing of the Wild Onion restaurant this past week in University Town Center has left about a dozen people without a job and scores of customers searching for a new place to catch a mid-day bite to eat. At 5 p.m. on Friday, the restaurant closed for good after three and a half years in business. Owner Rasheed Abdurrahman said the Great Recession doomed the Wild Onion almost from the get-go. "In short, we opened in 2008, two months before the recession hit," said Abdurrahman in an email to Patch. "Our bills were based on pre-recession high rent, big bank loan, and the mall has not seen its full potential…we tried to work through the tough times, but low sales, no money is a bad combination." Abdurrahman, a 1994 graduate of the Culinary…

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Danny

7:20 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

i agree with almost everything michael cron wrote, except for one point: i was told by a city employee that it was UTC that instructed the city to install 24/7 meters for the on-street parking and the "safeway" parking lot. i presume this was to force people into UTC's paid garages (giving UTC a couple bucks of revenue if the person stayed for more than 2 hours, for example to see a movie or to …   more ›

Hyattsville's UTC Makes Headlines in New York Times

University Town Center got traction from the Times in an article about new uses for office complexes.

Poll: Parking in Hyattsville's Commercial Areas Has Some Scratching Heads

There have been a number of comments on Hyattsville Patch recently about parking at Streetsense's development at Baltimore Avenue and Jefferson Street. Let us know what you think about city parking with this poll.

How do you feel about parking in Hyattsville?  Some of you have mentioned that you don't think there's enough parking at the Streetsense shops (think, Busboys and Poets) on Baltimore Avenue and Jefferson Street.  With construction ongoing there, it's hard to tell if more parking is coming behind the shops—inquiries to Streetsense have not been returned—but in the evenings, the current parking spaces are generally occupied. At University Town Center, there are parking garages and one parking lot for patrons, but after a two hours you have to pay: If you’re going to the Royale 14 movie theater you can get your parking ticket validated at a rate of 4 hours for $1. There is also temporary parking along America Boulevard.   The Hyattsville City…

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PHOTO GALLERY: Patterned Hyattsville

These photos were taken at Hyattsville's University Town Center.

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UTC Opens Doors and Candy Wrappers for Hyattsville Spooky Fest

Despite rough weather all day, a large gathering of Hyattsville families went out to University Town Center for a community Halloween festival.

A vacant warehouse at University Town Center rolled the doldrums out of a cold, rainy day as moving masks and costumes flocked to its doors for a kids party on Oct. 29. Situated next to the Towers residential complex, the facility was host to Hyattsville’s Spooky Festival, an annual family celebration. More than 60 Hyattsville residents—including youth, their parents, and a few city officials—donned costumes and braved icy rainfall to join the event, which featured pumpkin decorating, a costume contest, and a Monster Mash Dance Party led by DJ (“DJ Kurt”). Festivities ran from 2 to 4 p.m. “When I walked out my door, it was rain, sleet, all that craziness. I’m glad that it didn’t stop everybody from coming out,” said Tim Hunt, a city …

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Cafritz Attorney: Development Does Not Compare to UTC

Chip Reed said he doesn't think it's likely that what happened to the Hyattsville town center would be the destiny for the Riverdale Park project.

An hour-long presentation from a Riverdale Park planner and Cafritz developers uncovered some new concerns and some new possible plans for the proposed project, which would include a Whole Foods store among other retail and residential components. The meeting also allowed nearby residents to weigh in on the development. Hyattsville Mayor Marc Tartaro said Riverdale Park's council should get as many details nailed down before the conceptual site plan is approved, noting that there were some unfavorable changes made to EYA plans after the CSP was approved that Hyattsville's council had no say on. "Certainly Hyattsville will support you, however you move forward,” he said, adding that traffic is a concern as it backs up to DeMatha Catholic …

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