More News

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) signed an agreement Monday with a federal agency to breathe new life into neighborhoods around the Suitland Federal Center.

The Memorandum of Understanding commits the U.S. General Services Administration-National Capital Region to support local businesses and work with county officials to promote economic development in Suitland.

The agreement is largely symbolic — it doesn't involve any commitment of money or require any action by law — but community leaders say having a document on hand to prove they have a good relationship with the agency will help bring in new businesses and other federal tenants.

The 226-acre center employs about 7,000 workers and is home to several federal agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and National Archives and Records Administration.

Suitland residents and business owners have expressed support for the agreement, which includes a pledge by the GSA-NCR to encourage workers to support local businesses.

Elsie Jacobs, president of the Suitland Citizens Association, said she is waiting for the day when thousands of federal employees stream out of the center during lunch and after work to shop and eat at businesses along Suitland Road and other business corridors.

"I want people to come across the street like they used to years ago," Jacobs said. "Those people came from behind those walls over there and they came over to the community."

Johnson and Sharon Banks, acting regional administrator for the GSA-NCR, signed the agreement, which also calls on agency representatives to attend community meetings and help the county leverage future expansion of the center to bring in more businesses.

It encourages both county and GSA-NCR officials to work directly with Suitland stakeholders, which include the Suitland Citizens Association, Suitland Business Association and county agencies.

"We believe that it's an appropriate action for us to take as a responsible government agency," said GSA-NCR spokesman Michael McGill. "We should respect the needs and interests of the local governments who manage the areas where we occupy space."

Suitland has struggled to redevelop its residential neighborhoods and business corridors in recent years. Suitland Manor, a proposed 22-acre mixed-use development that would sit across the street from the federal center, has failed to move ahead since county planners introduced the plan in 2005.

Sylvia Quinton, president of the Suitland Business Association, said momentum is building again on Suitland Manor following a reissue of the request for proposals from potential developers by the county's Redevelopment Authority on Oct. 29.

The new memorandum will help attract other federal agencies and businesses once redevelopment is under way, said Quinton, who is also executive director of the Suitland Development Corporation.

"Now we have a document that gives us evidence of a partnership that has existed for 20-something years," she said. "We need that evidence as we look to bring in new stakeholders who might not be aware of the history."

The memorandum signed Monday is not the first collaboration between the county and the GSA-NCR, according to Christy Lipscomb, a spokeswoman for the county executive. GSA-NCR representatives have been part of the planning process for the mixed-use development in Suitland, she said.

Although the agreement is not legally binding, Elsie Jacobs said she does not doubt GSA-NCR will hold up its end of the deal.

"I'm not a person where you can tell me something and then let it go," she said. "I want us to work together."

E-mail Zoe Tillman at ztillman@gazette.net.