News Article

City hopes designation speeds up development


(8/6/2009) An area around a Laurel MARC station has been designated a "smart site" by the governor's office, a designation city and state officials hope will expedite the process of developing the plot and revitalize economic health in the downtown district.

The main benefit of being a smart site is the area now has the attention of developers, state agencies and other parties who need to come together to move residential development along. Essentially, it is a priority label to incentivize more "smart growth" projects, said Andy Scott, special assistant to Maryland's secretary of economic development.

"It's fairly complicated to bring housing, transportation, city and other agencies together," Scott said. "Being a smart site makes this development a priority for future funding and encourages collaboration."

The site, which lies between First and Main streets, was recognized July 22 for being planned as a mixed-transit oriented site and because a residential area in the works will encourage smart growth as future residents will have close proximity to public transportation, encouraging them to drive less and ride more.

"Most of the initial designations concentrate housing near transit," Scott said. "It helps the state in a lot of different areas. It reduces pressure on our highways, increases the use of mass transit, reduces our carbon footprint, reduces pressure on urban sprawl and is good for the economy."

The 4.3 acre zone also encompasses an area where a swath of Department of Defense and military employees, in addition to their families, could be relocated when 5,400 employees are transferred to Fort Meade two or three years from now as a part of the federal government's Base Realignment And Closure process or BRAC. The station's BRAC compatibility was another factor in the decision to name it a smart site, said Karl Brendle, the director of the city's zoning and planning department.

"The site is really the centerpiece of our BRAC proposal, so that helped as well," Brendle said. "Being a recipient implies good use of state funds, so now our site is of extremely high priority for the state. They're going to pay attention to these places over regular stuff as a reward for smart growth."

Brendle added he hopes the planned development will spur economic development in the downtown sector of Laurel. Most of the housing will be in walking range of downtown business, particularly on Main Street. Brendle hopes the proximity will generate more interest on some of those businesses and help anchor economic development on the east side of downtown Laurel.

The Maryland Department of Transportation announced last month it was accepting new conceptual proposals for the plot, which is currently being used as a parking lot for the train station.


By Kyle Goon

Copyright © 2009 Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net

Link to the article: City hopes designation speeds up development

Source: The Gazette