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Plans for Crossroads transit center stalled

Property owner refuses to sell land for proposed facility, officials say

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Charlie Shoemaker⁄The Gazette Officials hope to put a new transit center at the site of the Taco Bell restaurant, located on the northwest corner of the intersection of University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue.

The Crossroads is the busiest non-Metro rail hub in the region, with 61 buses passing through the intersection every hour on 11 different bus routes, according to transportation officials.

Maryland Transit Administration studies have shown the most efficient and practical site for the center would be at its proposed location — where a Taco Bell is currently located — at the northwest corner of New Hampshire Avenue and University Boulevard. Project plans also leave space for a station on the projected Bi-County Transitway, or Purple Line.

But the property owner, California-based Reliable Properties, refuses to sell, said Erwin Mack, executive director of the Takoma⁄Langley Crossroads Development Authority. According to Mack, the owner would prefer a series of alternate sites for the project, including one option that would put the center nearby on Lebanon Street. That option, however, would disrupt the residential neighborhood there, he said, calling the idea to move the project there ‘‘ludicrous.”

The center will cost $12 million. Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are each expected to contribute $2.5 million. The state will pick up the rest, but officials have not yet determined how much they will be offering for the property, said Charlie Scott, director of Washington Area Transit Programs with the Maryland Department of Transportation.

‘‘There’s no question about the need at that intersection. It’s a matter of why the state isn’t moving more expeditiously,” Mack said.

Michael Madden, project manager with the Maryland Transit Administration, said that although the process is taking longer than expected, there are steps the state could take to acquire the property.

A last resort would be taking the property by eminent domain, Madden said at an Aug. 9 meeting of the Multi-jurisdictional Pedestrian Safety Committee, an informal group of state, county and city representatives who meet to address issues at the Crossroads.

Eminent domain is a process typically used in situations in which a property owner is unwilling to sell to the state and stands in the way of a major project. Representatives of the shopping center’s ownership could not be reached for comment.

‘‘This was a huge community process. Two counties, a city and five different transit organizations were involved in the decision,” said Ilona Blanchard, Takoma Park’s senior planner. ‘‘This is a big destination for our residents. It’s important that we support the state moving forward.”

The project has the support of many nearby businesses. Sherif Ashkar, whose father owns the Sports Outlet at 7976 New Hampshire Ave., said he would even like to see the state buy the entire property, rather than just the Taco Bell section. He hopes that would lower his $10,000 a month rent payments to the current property owners.

Anand Poojary, owner of Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Restaurant at 8046 New Hampshire Ave., agreed that a more reasonable rent could come from state acquisition of the entire property, but said the transit center is better news for businesses that rely on commuter customers. Most of the patrons of his restaurant drive there, he said.

Robert Hall, property manager of Langley Park Plaza across the street from the proposed transit center site, said the pedestrian safety improvements included in the plan make the project more appealing to business owners. One plan included development on his property, but would still require commuters to cross the street to transfer bus lines, he said.

‘‘The pedestrian deaths are an embarrassing and tragic reality around here,” Hall said. ‘‘The key here is to try and stop all these people who jaywalk.”

At an April 27 Montgomery County Planning Board meeting, Takoma Park city staff testified on behalf of plans for the transit center at its proposed location, but also advocated wider sidewalks and pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue.

State highway improvements to address the issue have already been approved, including the addition of another left turn lane on University Boulevard going westward, said Dennis German, chief of the State Highway Administration’s design division. Plans also include a 4-foot-tall fence along the medians of the central section of the Crossroads, per recommendations from the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning, and roadway resurfacing and sidewalk improvements.

For now, city officials can only wait for the state to step in or the property owners to yield, said Suzanne Ludlow, community and government liaison for Takoma Park. Various city and county organizations will begin by writing letters of support to elected officials and the state transit administration.