Over 100k pageviews

Considering how for this blog I don't have a Facebook page, no Twitter or Instagram or any online presence whatsoever except for this one lonely little Blogger page all by itself it's incredible that I noticed this earlier in the month.

Even more amazing since I only post once a month these days and the only way you can even see if there is a new post is by coming out to this blog and checking the site manually.

Looking at the traffic I am surprised how much of it is reading posts I wrote years ago.   Thanks for reading this blog, even though I neglect it terribly. 

Community updates from the developer

The developer sent an email yesterday reaffirming the existing timeline for building 5.

In an email sent to residents, retail tenants and others they said they still expect the project to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, which is the same date they have been calling for and I have been reporting here since they broke ground.

They did also say that they expect “substantial completion during the first quarter of 2021" and with "occupancy expected next spring"

So no new news here, and really no new news in all of Riverdale Park Station for the last few months.

We did recently get a new Chase ATM just past the Hair Cuttery:

Speaking of banks that no one really has bank accounts at, Old Line Bank in Riverdale Park Station changed to WesBanco early this year after getting bought out at the end of 2019.  I actually didn't even notice until March or so.  The official website for Riverdale Park Station has not been updated as of yet.

The new nature trails of Riverdale Park Station.

Riverdale Park Station has some great new nature trails!

If you have been following this blog for a long time you will remember the land directly to the North of Riverdale Park Station was put up for sale by WMATA back in 2018.  A developer had put a bid in to buy the land to build more townhomes, but the community pulled together and got M-NCPPC (Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission) to put a bid in that was accepted in 2019

The entire saga of this land is detailed here:

http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2019/05/victory-for-community-on-wmata-albion.html

The last I checked on the status of this land was back in March 2020 and M-NCPPC was still finalizing things but was expected to have closed on the land by Summer 2020.  (may be a little slower now due to COVID).

But the point of this post was to talk about something great that a community member did to make this land usable.

Two weeks ago, a series of paths were cleared throughout all of the land.

I spoke to the guy who was out doing it by himself and he said he was not doing it at the direction of anyone, he just wanted to be able to use the land so he was clearing paths.  He lives across the street over in University Park.

I walked some (but not all) of the paths that were cleared an here is a good overview of what's been now been cleared.



It really feels like you are somewhere out in the middle of nowhere even though you are right behind Riverdale Park Station.  He did a great job clearing these paths.

The entry way is cleared directly from the Hiker/Biker Trail in both directions:





 Here are some pictures from the rest of the walk, hope I captured how isolated it seems:






Also there is a lot of wildlife packed into this patch of woods.   During this one walk I saw 4 rabbits. Two are in this first picture.





And there is an entire family of deer that lives back here.  I have seen as many as 5 at one time with one baby.  Almost every trip you will see at least one or two of them.



This is a great addiction to our little neighborhood and really I hope when the M-NCPPC transaction is finalized that they leave things exactly as they are as, it's perfect just as it is.  Thanks to the University Park community member who took the initiative to do this.  He was also one of the people who assisted me in the battle to keep this land from being developed.

One warning about this area is there are a lot of small ticks back there so make sure you wear higher socks and check yourself for them before coming back inside.

Burton's and Denizen's reopening.

Denizens just reopened on Tuesday:

Burton's is reopening for takeout, delivery and patio dining on Monday, 6/15/2020:

It's great to have these two back even if we have to eat outside for a little while.  Since most of the country is already opened back up I expect you will be able to eat inside with a reduced restaurant capacity very soon.

Construction Update - Apartment in Building 5

Posting another update on the construction for the apartment in building 5 a little earlier than planned since so much progress on the exterior is being made in such a short period of time.

The planned opening date that I have been reporting here for over a year now of the second quarter of 2021 still is definitely on track.

The eastern most part of the building is already all the way up to the roof and the windows are already in.  The developer had said they would complete the eastern most part of the building first so the hiker/biker trail could be reopened before construction finished.

Amazing progress here:

Eastern section of building 5

The part of the building on both the North and South side that wraps around the parking garage is in the much earlier stages:

North section of building 5

South Eastern section of building 5

Personally I am really looking forward the exterior being finished so I don't have to hear hammering all day long anymore.

The views from the top are not nearly as impressive as the last update now that the apartment building is a bit higher than the parking garage which obstructs the amazing shots I was able to get before from up on top of the eastern part of the parking garage.

Bozzuto Development in College Park proceeding

Bozzuto Development Co. is set to break ground on its $140 million redevelopment of a site south of the University of Maryland’s front door in The City of College Park, MD where Plato’s Diner and a Quality Inn hotel once stood.

Thanks so much to the:

College Park City-University Partnership for sharing this news

The story they reference in Biz Journals is linked HERE

I do wonder about a glut of luxury apartment units on the horizon in this area with so many high end apartments currently under construction in this immediate vicinity.    It makes me wonder about the future of the apartments here in Riverdale Park Station that are supposed to be down in building 8 and building 9  (after the one in building 5 currently under construction is completed)  I am thinking with the state of the economy the odds of those next two apartments here are probably dropping a bit.

Construction Update - Apartment in Building 5

3 months since my last construction update on 12/29/2019.  That post is HERE if you want to see how far they have come in the past 3 months.  These pictures are from 3/29/2020.  I believe in the next 3 month update planned on 6/29/20 the entire outside structure will be up.

The planned opening date that I have been reporting here of the second quarter of 2021 is still definitely on track.  Great progress is being made.   

Even the Coronavirus is not slowing down construction at all as construction has been deemed essential in Maryland.  The full crews are still out here working every day.

Riverdale Park eateries desperately need our help.

The amount of financial loss that the Riverdale Park restaurants are suffering right now really cannot be understated.

Maryland ordered all restaurants to close to dine-in business back on March 16th.

It's been two weeks now and the damage to their businesses has been enormous.

Restaurants are low margin businesses, I know as I owned one myself almost a lifetime ago.

At first all of the restaurants here said they would continue to provide pick up and delivery service.

-  On March 19th (3 days into the shutdown) Denizens gave up and closed up shop completely for food and only offers a beer delivery service now.  The owners have publicly been stating this is ruining them financially.

-  On March 23rd (7 days into the shutdown) Burton's gave up and closed completely.

These are our remaining restaurants in the immediate area that are still offering pickup and delivery service, along with links to all of their delivery services:

District Taco        -     DoorDash
Habit Burger        -    DoorDash
Jersey Mikes        -   GrubHub
MOD                   -    DoorDash
Banana Blossom  -    Toast
Rivieras Tapas     -    GrubHub

I've been visiting these place for pickups and talking to the owners/managers and almost all of them are considering closing their doors until this is over.  Some are much closer to closing than others but as this continues we are going to continue to lose options, and its going to be very quick.  I think we will lose at least one option from the list above PER WEEK if there is not more support.

Although it has already been crippling to their businesses the fact that this looks like it is going to stretch into months it means this could bankrupt a lot of these places so they never come back.

I realize everyone has their stockpile of food now and is bunkered up right now but a delivery order is extremely low risk and you are potentially making it so these businesses don't declare bankruptcy and still exist after this is over.

Apartment in Building 5 - Renderings and More Information

Hard to believe my first post about this apartment was back in October of 2017.  That post is HERE and that information is still all correct.  Although in 2018 they decided to make the building one story higher (to match the parking garage) the number of planned units (229 units) has stayed the same and everything else about the design stayed the same.  The two retail spots planned in this building are still planned to be there.  The large courtyard is still going to exist.

The planned opening date that I have been reporting here for over a year now (of the second quarter of 2021) is still on track.  Actually now the developer is saying they are hoping to hit March 2021 as the opening date but lets stick with second quarter 2021 as this blogs prediction for now.

Today I had some folks asking what the new building was going to look like.

First, here are some renderings I had saved off from a presentation from before the Whole Foods was even built.

These should all still be pretty accurate, except for the fact that the building will be one story higher than these pictures.

I also recently found some new information I wanted to share.

Here is a new rendering of the building that was just provided by the builder:

Also here is some additional information they have recently provided:

The project consists of a wood frame over concrete podium that wraps around a 473-space above-grade precast parking garage. Riverdale Park Station consists of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with high-end features such as separate HVAC systems, modern kitchens, and balconies. Its ground-level amenities include a large courtyard with a trellis and fireplace, fitness center, media room, business center, and lounge. 

Riverdale Park Station reduces its environmental footprint via EnergyStar® appliances and a bioretension area along one elevation of the building. The community also offers a large bicycle storage locker so residents can take advantage of several area bike paths, such as the historic trolley path that runs by the community.

So it seems the rumors that have been floating around about this apartment having a swimming pool are unfounded.   Still it looks like it this apartment is going to a be a pretty high end, swanky place.

Hair Cuttery Now Open - Friday 2/7/20

It was one week later than they originally planned but Hair Cuttery is now open as of today.

A link to a coupon for their Grand Opening is here:

https://www.haircuttery.com/promotions/grand-opening-coupons.html

Since Riverdale Park Station put a "Permanent hold" on the Hyatt House Hotel back in 2018.  (read my article about that HERE) there is now no more retail in the queue for Riverdale Park Station.

We need those apartments to keep progressing to start filling some of these remaining empty spaces.