Completed PAMC Projects
Anacostia Trails and Heritage Area: Wayfinding and Signage Study
The subject of this study is a roughly 21-square mile portion of the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area in its southwest quadrant. The project included identifying existing wayfinding signage, potential new signage types, and concept-level sign designs for 12 key recreational and cultural interest wayfinding destinations. The study focuses on guiding vehicular traffic only.
Related documents: Anacostia Trails Heritage Area Wayfinding and Signage Study
Applicant: Anacostia Trails Heritage Area
Status: Completed March 2023
Fairmount Heights High School Feasibility Study
Overview
Fairmount Heights High School was vacated in September 2017, when the school operations moved to a new facility. Concerns have been raised by the community that such an underutilized property could become an economic burden and its deterioration a threat to the stability of the surrounding neighborhoods. To prevent the structure from becoming an economic burden or a nuisance, and considering the community’s interest in heritage preservation, planners recommended adaptive reuse/re-purposing of the site in the Greater Cheverly Sector Plan. Although incremental planning policies have been formulated in the Greater Cheverly Sector Plan: “Adaptively reuse Fairmount Heights High School as a financially sustainable community resource” (The Preliminary Greater Cheverly Sector Plan, Land Use Element, Policy 3, pg. 44), the future of the site remains unclear, and pragmatic steps must be defined to determine the property’s long-term permanent use.
The site is recognized for its distinguished history and was designated a Prince George’s County Historic Site in 2010 (2010 Historic Sites and Districts Plan – Historic Site 72-064). Fairmount Heights High School is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, east of the District of Columbia, south of Sheriff Road, and northwest of the Martin Luther King Jr Highway, on a 14.90-acre campus in Capitol Heights, Maryland. The campus is in the western part of Prince George’s County, and its proximity to major highways and Washington, D.C. makes it conveniently accessible. It is half a mile from Baltimore Washington Parkway to the east and Route 50 to the south. The Cheverly Metro Station further improves its accessibility, within half a mile of the school (see Vicinity Map). Single-family dwellings on three sides surround the parcel; the parcels on the lot’s north, south, and east are zoned as low-density residential. A 15.06-acre parcel to the west of the school property was rezoned as mixed-use and is owned by Jemals Fairfield Farms LLC. for which multifamily housing, office space, and commercial use were proposed as part of the future development (see Neighborhood Map).
One of the strategies specified in the Greater Cheverly Sector Plan is to “conduct a feasibility study that examines financially sustainable adaptive reuse and rehabilitation opportunities of the site, including analysis of potential uses such as affordable housing, senior housing, housing for special needs populations, community education and recreation, and performing arts and cultural uses” (The Preliminary Greater Cheverly Sector Plan, Land Use Element, Policy 3, pg. 44).
The Planning Assistance to Municipalities and Communities (PAMC) project involves retaining consultant services to conduct an economic study related to transit-oriented development (TOD) around the Fairmount Heights High School and the Cheverly Metro Station. The consultant study will inform economics of the area and market needs surrounding Fairmont Heights High School to identify programmatic use options for the site, considering the existing transportation infrastructure. The consultant study will address vacant and built land, infrastructure, circulation, development constraints, livability, and overall character of the subject site and surrounding neighborhood. This information will be incorporated into a feasibility study for the adaptive reuse/re-purposing of the historic Fairmount Heights High School and its associated campus.
Visit the following page for related documents:
Historic Fairmont Heights High School Economic Study
Applicant: Town of Fairmount Heights
Status: Completed
- Maha Tariq
Planner II
Phone: (301) 952-5389
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Project Maps
Fairmount Heights High School Economic Study
Overview
The economic study evaluated potential adaptive reuse/re-purposing of the historic high school and associated campus. The project focused on market forces and real estate factors that could influence potential future uses.
Related Documents: The Fairmont Heights High School Adaptive Reuse Economic Study was published in December 2018 and presented at a well-attended informational meeting in the Cedar Heights Community Center in January 2019. The economic study was used to produce the Fairmont Heights High School Adaptive Reuse Feasibility Study
Applicant: Town of Fairmount Heights
Status: Completed January 2019
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Maha Tariq
Planner II
Phone: 301-952-5389
Town of Cottage City: Logo and Brochures
Overview
The Town of Cottage City used the Planning Department’s publications and graphic design staff to design a logo and marketing brochure. The objective was to update the Town’s image and boost economic development by highlighting proximity to the District of Columbia, the Anacostia River waterfront and small-town character. The marketing brochure communicates opportunities to reside and do business within the Town.
Related documents:
Applicant: Town of Cottage City
Status: Completed June 2019
Project Map
https://www.mncppc.org/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=15151
City of Seat Pleasant: Youth Program Survey
Overview
Staff prepared a Survey Monkey survey for students in a summer youth program (SAFEO) to use to learn interviewing, mapping and analytical skills. It is also intended to increase the students’ awareness of health and fitness opportunities in their communities.
Related Document: View the survey.
Applicant: City of Seat Pleasant and SAFEO, Inc.
Status: Completed 2018
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
City of Seat Pleasant: Design-Engineering For Streetscape Improvements
Overview
The PAMC program funded preliminary engineering and design to create a more user-friendly streetscape along Martin Luther King, Jr. Highway in Seat Pleasant; transforming the roadway into a neighborhood street where people will want to stop to shop, eat, and exercise (walk or bike). The city may use the report to request funding to complete the engineering needed to construct the recommended improvements.
Related document: MD 704 Streetscape Enhancement 30% Design and Engineering Final Report
Applicant: City of Seat Pleasant
Status: Completed October 2019
Contact Us
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
College Park Complete and Green Streets
Overview
In 2016, the City of College Park adopted a Complete and Green Streets Policy. This policy seeks to provide immediate and long‐term benefits for community residents by incorporating safe multimodal transportation options throughout the city by reconstructing streets to incorporate complete and green principles. These principles include sidewalks, bicycle routes, stormwater best management (low-impact development) practices, and street trees. In 2019, the city applied for and was awarded (by the Prince George’s County Planning Board) planning assistance to implement the city’s 2016 policy using an M-NCPPC-funded consultant. The consultant assessed the feasibility of implementing complete and green streets infrastructure on previously identified priority street segments. The 30 percent designs and cost estimates developed in this project will be used to gather community consensus through outreach, apply for grants, develop final designs, and advance projects to construction. This report describes the process of selecting the prioritized street segments and summarizes the 30 percent designs and cost estimates.
Related document: City of College Park Complete and Green Streets Implementation Plan
Applicant: City of College Park
Status: Completed April 2021
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
New Carrollton Economic Development Strategy
Overview
In an effort to ensure the City of New Carrollton’s continued economic vitality with sustainable development, the city partnered applied to the PAMC program to hire a consultant to prepare an economic development strategy. The strategy reflects the community vision and stakeholders’ opinions about current economic conditions and future goals.
This economic development strategy addresses many issues including commercial tenant retention and attraction, assistance to enhance retailers’ ability to compete, and assistance to retailers as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy proposes ways to better link New Carrollton businesses and sites to the enhanced activity and investment at the New Carrollton Metro Station, identifies potential redevelopment sites in and adjacent to the city, and highlights tools to support existing businesses and attract additional businesses. The consultant team prepared an implementation plan with step-by-step actions, identifying the roles and responsibilities of specific parties, timelines, relative priorities, and performance measures.
Related document:
2021 New Carrollton Economic Development Strategy
Applicant:
City of New Carrollton
Status:
Completed August 2021
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
Spaces Sidewalk & Streetscape Improvements
Overview
The PAMC-sponsored SPACEs Sidewalk & Streetscape Improvements project is complete with the publication of Northern Gateway SPACEs 30% Design and Engineering Report. This project sought to balance the needs of diverse users (pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists) to shape an environment that ensures access, safety, and enjoyment of an approximately two-mile section of MD 193 (University Boulevard), a busy, automobile-oriented environment in Langley Park. Together with new investment in the Purple Line light rail transit corridor, the project sought to improve biking and pedestrian safety, an objective shared by the County’s Vision Zero initiative. The plan also serves to better connect neighborhoods to the corridor and enhance the public realm. Streetscape enhancements include improved sidewalks, buffered bike lanes, and landscape features.
The 30% designs and cost estimates developed in this project will be used to gather community consensus through outreach, apply for grants, develop final designs, and advance projects to construction. This report describes the process of incorporating these improvements within the Purple Line light rail corridor.
Related documents:
Northern Gateway SPACEs PAMC Project 30% Design and Engineering Report (English)
Informe de Diseño e Ingeniería del 30 % del Proyecto Northern Gateway SPACEs PAMC (Spanish)
Applicant: Northern Gateway Community Development Corporation
Status: Completed September 2021
- Karen Mierow
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3026
Old Brandywine Sidewalk and Streetscape Improvement
Overview
The PAMC- sponsored Old Brandywine Sidewalk & Streetscape Improvements project is complete with the publication of The Village of Brandywine Sidewalk and Streetscape Improvements Study. New planned developments will bring added housing, employment, and recreational opportunities to the area. The project seeks to improve biking and pedestrian safety, an objective shared by the County’s Vision Zero initiative. Streetscape enhancements included shared-use paths, sidewalks, bike lanes, and landscape features.
The 30% designs and cost estimates developed in this project will be used to gather community consensus through outreach, apply for grants, develop final designs, and advance projects to construction.
Related documents:
The Village of Brandywine Sidewalk and Streetscape Improvements Study: 30% Design and Engineering Report
Applicant: Black Creek Swamp Land Trust, Inc.
Status: Completed November 2021
- Karen Mierow
Planner III
Email Karen Mierow
Phone: (301) 952-3026
The Houses of Fairmount Heights: A Pattern Book
Overview
This pattern book is part of an FY 2019 and FY 2020 M-NCPPC Planning Assistance to Municipalities and Communities (PAMC) Program project requested by the Town of Fairmount Heights to update the 1993 Fairmount Heights, Maryland Residential Façade and Improvement Guidelines. It identifies over 500 single-family dwellings, classifies and maps them by style and dates of construction, explains the origins and characteristics of each style, provides photographs, and in certain instances provides new research on the early builders and homeowners.
It identifies vacant properties in the town and provides five new dwelling designs that are compatible with the existing dwellings and streetscape. It is a companion to the 1993 Fairmount Heights, Maryland Residential Façade and Improvement Guidelines publication.
Related documents:
The Houses of Fairmount Heights: A Pattern Book
1993 Residential Façade and Property Improvement Guidelines
Applicant: Town of Fairmount Heights
Status: Completed April 2022
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
AQUASCO-Woodville Cultural Resources Inventory
Overview
Aquasco-Woodville, a rural village in the principally agricultural southeast part of Prince George’s County, Maryland, retains numerous late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century buildings, cemeteries and sites that are clustered along both sides of MD 381 (Aquasco Road). This report examines seven previously undocumented properties, six of which were found to be associated with the African American middle class that emerged in the area after the Civil War: the Cemetery for Enslaved African Americans at Eastview, the Whitehall Tenant House, and the Delilah Waters House.
Related Material:
Aquasco-Woodville Cultural Resources Technical Report
Aquasco Woodville Cultural Resources ArcGIS StoryMap
Applicant:
Cedar Cedar Haven Civic Association on the Patuxent River, Inc.
Completed:
April 2022
- Maha Tariq
Planner II
Phone: (301) 952-5389
Interview Transcripts – AQUASCO-Woodville Cultural Resources Inventory
BLADENSBURG MARKET FEASIBILITY AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Overview
The subject of this analysis (the “study area”) comprises 17.36 acres of approximately 67.5 acres in the Town of Bladensburg in Prince George’s County, Maryland, that was identified in the 2009 Approved Port Towns Sector Plan as the Town Center Character Area. This market feasibility and economic analysis explores if there is a market for mixed-use development in the study area, then tests if redevelopment is financially feasible from a private investor’s perspective. Feasibility is then tested under the County’s prior Zoning Ordinance and the Zoning Ordinance that went into effect April 1, 2022. The analysis has 10 sections. The executive summary summarizes the findings and makes recommendations for next steps. The initial sections describe existing conditions and trends, regional dynamics impacting market potential, and Bladensburg’s strengths and weaknesses. The market analyses follow these sections. Development scenarios are tested for financial feasibility in the final section.
Related Document:
Bladensburg Market Feasibility and Economic Analysis
Applicant:
Town of Bladensburg
Status:
Completed May 2022
Contact Us
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
College Park Age-Friendly Action Plan
Overview
In 2020, the City of College Park was admitted into AARP’s network of age-friendly communities. A requirement of admission to this network is the creation of a report detailing action recommendations to make a given community more age-friendly. On May 13, 2021, the Prince George’s County Planning Board approved the PAMC application submitted by the City of College Park to fund such a report.
The completed report details the goals, objectives, and action items that should be considered by the City of College Park as it strives to improve its age-friendliness in five areas: housing, transportation, communication and information, social participation, and health services and community support. These goals cover a range of issues that affect the quality of life for seniors, students, and others who call the City of College Park home.
Related document:
College Park Age-Friendly Action Plan
Applicant:
City of College Park
Status:
Completed October 2022
Karen Mierow
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3026
Phone: (301) 952-3166
Healthy Corner Store Initiative: Guidance and Toolkit
OVERVIEW
Prepared for the Institute for Public Health Innovation in coordination with the Prince George’s County Health Department, this document consists of an in-depth profile of existing conditions for small corner stores in the Healthy Food Priority Areas of Prince George’s County. Retail market conditions and data are analyzed, case studies are examined, and guidance and recommendations for the implementation of the Healthy Corner Store Initiative (HCSI) are provided. A user-friendly toolkit is included to help store owners offer fresh, healthy food items.
Related document:
Healthy Corner Store Initiative: Guidance and Toolkit
Applicant:
Institute for Public Health Innovation
Status:
Completed December 2022
Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
Town of Edmonston Economic Development Strategy
Overview
This document is an Economic Development Strategy for the Town of Edmonston, a small municipality in northern Prince George’s County, Maryland, incorporated in 1924 (Planning Area 68, Councilmanic District 5). The strategy combines demographic, economic, and real estate data in a SWOT analysis, a community-crafted economic development vision statement, four supporting community economic development goals, and 12 action items in four priority areas for the town to implement.
Related document:
Town of Edmonston Economic Development Strategy
Applicant:
Town of Edmonston
Status:
Completed May 2023
Daniel Sams
Planner III
Accokeek Heritage Tourism Study
Overview: The Accokeek Heritage Tourism Study identifies and analyzes heritage tourism resources in Accokeek, the challenges they face, and provides recommendations to make them known or better known using best practices. The study identifies common heritage themes and 34 action steps to enhance connectivity and accessibility without threatening the resources themselves or the community’s quality of life.
Related document: Accokeek Heritage Tourism Study
Applicants: Accokeek Foundation, Alice Ferguson Foundation, Greater Accokeek Civic Association
Status: Completed June 2023
- Daniel Sams
Planner III
Phone: (301) 952-3166
