Aviation Landing Master Plan

Design Collective was engaged by Terrapin Development Company (UMD’s development arm), Mosaic Development Partners (P3 partner), the University of Maryland (land owners), and the Castle Family (land owners) to prepare a master plan and feasibility study for an approximate 20-acre area adjacent to the College Park Airport, the Aviation Museum, and the College Park Metro and Light Rail Stations – properties owned jointly by UMD, the County, and the Castle Family. The master plan and feasibility study supported the P3 team’s purchase of Prince George’s County-owned land and outlined a vision for transforming the 20-acre, underutilized industrial area into a vibrant, mixed-use, TOD district with aeronautics-focused businesses, incubators, maker space, university uses, housing, restaurants, and shops. The feasibility study considered county-owned land, private land, and UMD land. 

Multiple landowners and stakeholders were engaged to consider adaptive reuse, retention of desired buildings and tenants, demolition and new construction, and the sequencing of development to respect ongoing businesses, ownership interests, and the long-term phasing out and/or consolidation of existing tenants. The plan includes: 1) quantification of development potential on a parcel-by-parcel basis, based upon proforma analyses, market analysis, zoning, and airport height constraints; 2) a phasing strategy; 3) typical building plans, sections, SketchUp models, and construction types; 4) development proforma and economic and fiscal benefits analysis (by HR&A); and 5) multimodal transportation recommendations.  The first phase is currently in design, targeting a 2027 opening, and includes a 250-unit residential mixed-use building, the central square, and major infrastructure investments to address flood mitigation, compensatory storage, new streets, and the transformation of existing streets to create a more walkable, transit-focused district.