WMATA, EYA Present Plans For 210-Unit Takoma Project

• July 17th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

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After completely revamping development plans that were disputed years ago, WMATA and developer EYA met with Takoma Park community members on Tuesday night to brief them on new plans for a residential project at the Takoma Metro (map).

The redevelopment plan, which is still in the early stages and will have to go through several approval processes, consists of a 210-unit apartment complex on what is now a parking lot adjacent to the Metro. WMATA is leading the development and working with EYA on the plans. A previous plan, which included 90 townhomes, was hotly debated by the community about five years ago and recently scrapped.

One of the biggest points of contention for the previous vision was that the townhomes would be built on what is currently open green space. In the new plan, those concerns are being addressed by leaving the green open area to the east of the project alone, and switching from townhomes to a more compact apartment building. The “Kiss and Ride” parking lot would be maintained and most residential units would go above the lot, with a few on the ground facing Eastern Avenue.

The majority of the units, according to an EYA representative at Tuesday’s meeting, will be studios and one-bedrooms, and around 20 percent would be two-bedrooms. A suggestion from an attendee to consider three-bedroom units for families was dismissed. A total of 147 parking spaces are planned for the 210-unit project.

There was a bit of open-endedness in regards to the streetcar situation. As is well known, a streetcar line is planned that would run along Georgia Avenue from downtown DC and to the Takoma Metro station. WMATA is leaving open space for a future Takoma streetcar station, but will not know if the trolley will be coming to the neighborhood for about another year.

WMATA is expected to vote on the new plan later this month. For the documents presented at the meeting, click here. (Thanks to Jonathan O’Connell for pointing them out.)

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/wmata_and_eya_meet_with_community_on_takoma_metro_redevelopment_project/7327.