[RP TownTalk] EYA II (East side of US 1) update

[Alan K. Thompson]

EYA presented the same material to the Mixed-Use Town Center (M-U-TC) Design
Review Committee last night (a portion of the development is in Riverdale
Park, and in the M-U-TC zone).  The committee had a lively discussion with
EYA, and agreed to have one of the architects on the committee meet with
EYA's architect(s) and a representative of Hyattsville (also an architect)
to discuss options for moving forward on the project.  The committee was
cautiously supportive of the new mix of unit sizes, but wanted to see
improvements to the design, and especially the facades.

EYA will meet with the M-U-TC Committee again on February 18 at 7:30 pm.
Anyone interested can join us at Town Hall, 5008 Riverdale Road, that
evening.  The Town Council may also weigh in on the changes at some point
this month.

I can try to answer any questions people might have about the project and
proposed changes.

Alan Thompson
M-U-TC Design Review Committee Chair

On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 11:34 AM, Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com>wrote:

> If you're not on the Hyattsville HOPE list, where there's been a lively
> discussion of these issues, you may not be aware that the EYA develops have
> come to the Hyattsville City Council with a request to change the specs and
> design in order to make phase II (the east side of the road, where Busboys &
> Poets, Tara Thai and maybe Yes Organic Market, in addition to residential
> units would be).  Here's an article in the Gazette:
>
> Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010
> Restaurants hang on for eastern arts district project Developers want
> changes to residences before retail goes up
> by Elahe Izadi | Staff Writer
>
> The long-awaited eastern portion of Arts District Hyattsville, where
> restaurants Busboys and Poets and Tara Thai have signed leases, is closer to
> becoming a reality, but developers want changes to the residential portion
> before retail can go up.
>
> Bethesda-based developers EYA said the economic environment is making the
> project more and more difficult to complete and they need to get approval on
> changing the number and kinds of residences and switching to less expensive
> building materials in order to make the project more cost-efficient and
> easier to finance.
>
> "We cannot develop the retail on the east side in a vacuum," Vice President
> of Development Aakash Thakkar said during a Jan. 18 Hyattsville City Council
> meeting. "Building out the rest of the east side is a condition the rest of
> the financers and frankly, we, ourselves, have placed."
>
> Busboys and Poets, a restaurant and café that also serves as a community
> space, has locations in both Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The Hyattsville
> store would be its first in Maryland and one that developers say would make
> Hyattsville a destination in the area.
>
> Although EYA developers spoke before the City Council, ultimately the
> approval of the county planning board is needed in order to make changes on
> approved detailed site plan. They're scheduled to appear before the board
> Feb. 25.
>
> EYA wants to add a 198-unit building, most likely an apartment complex
> which could become a condominium, and make changes to the number, size and
> materials used on the townhomes.
>
> "Yes, it's different to a degree, but in the overall scheme of things, our
> goal was to put forward something that is financeable," Thakkar told the
> council. "We believe it's both financeable, but as importantly, we do
> believe [the building materials] to be of the highest quality and something
> you can be proud of."
>
> EYA wants to change the dimensions of some of the townhomes, get rid of a
> live-work unit and add HardyPanel siding to the mix of townhome building
> materials, EYA Vice President of Architecture Gregory Shron said.
>
> The townhomes on the west side were built primarily with brick and sheet
> metal, and the changes to building materials and sizes could save EYA
> $10,000 to $15,000 on each unit, although that won't lower the costs of the
> homes for buyers, keeping them in the high $300's, Thakkar said.
>
> EYA is currently looking to sign more leases on the east side, and
> businesses — such as Yes! Organic Market, which currently only has stores in
> Washington, D.C. — have expressed interest, Thakkar said.
>
> If everything goes EYA's way, construction can begin on retail space in
> March and retailers can potentially move in as soon as October, Shron said,
> and construction on townhomes could begin in November.
>
>
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