<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16890" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>
<DIV>Difficult for someone like me to understand all the implications, except to
know a lot seems to be changing, some for the better, some not. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Are there Riverdale Park officials out there who can distill the realities
for someone who is is not (yet) directly involved in the intricacies?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks</DIV>
<DIV>Adrianne Lefkowitz</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><BR>We
now have our new sign up on the Cafritz property!<BR>It is located by the
entrance to WAMATA.<BR>For those of you who are scratching their head
wondering what the big deal is about the sign is-<BR><BR>It is very much in
the intrest of Riverdale Park to establish the fact that the Town has a
presence on the RT. 1 side of the Cafritz Property.<BR><BR>first, both
University Park and College Park have organized groups that are monitoring the
development. When the building happens, they do not want the traffic to exit
out on to RT. 1, or through their neighborhoods.<BR><BR>That means it will
have to be filtered through Riverdale Park's ward 1. What are the greatest
possible paths?<BR><BR>The back side of the property abuts Rhoade Island Ave
and the rail road tracks by the old ERCO building. <BR><BR>If Rhode Island
Avenue is opened again It will have to accommodate a sizable amount of
traffic.? that would be going through half of what is now Town Center parking
lot, and through the industrial area by Greg's Towing.<BR><BR>Then we will
have a real mess to deal with at the Queesburry Road and Rhode Island Avenue?
train crossing!<BR><BR>I know this Cafritz thing seems like a dream, because
the property has been vacant for 50 years or so, but the entire area is
currently in a state of transformation.<BR><BR><BR>Any citizen concerned about
the town, and especially those in ward 1 who will be directly impacted, we
need to start taking this thing seriously, or we will wake up one day and find
something we never bargained for in our back yard.<BR><BR>With the advent of
the purple line, the character of the entire area is being redesigned by the
developers.?The type of development that ?happens in our neighboring towns
directly affects Riverdale Park.<BR><BR><BR>For those who don't get the
Gazette delivered to your street-<BR><BR>Heare?is a shortened? article this
week written by David Hill. Read full article on page A-4?<BR>Mixed Use
Proposal Irks residents<BR><BR>West Hyattsville complex could change area for
worse<BR>?<BR>"University Park residents are worried that a proposed housing
complex in West Hyattsville could bring pollution, noise and traffic to their
town.<BR>The New Belcrest Plaza would replace the existing 50-year-old
low-rise apartment complex of the same name with 2,750 new housing units and
more than 250,000 square feet of office and retail space.It would include a 4
story townhouse complex, 17-story high-rise apartments and a 33-story mixed
use tower across from the mall at Prince Georges Plaza."<BR>"If I wanted to
live in Bethesda, I would live in Bethesda"said town council woman Anne
O'Connor (ward 6). "the idea of moving low income families to make room for
young, urban professionals doesn't feel right to me."<BR>"Jonathan Glenn (
executive vice president of Silver Spring based Percontee Inc, which owns
Belcrest Plaza)<BR>said he expects most current tenants to move out , and for
the existing complex to stop accepting new tenants in the coming year. Any
remaining tenants, he said, would be relocated at the developers'
expense."<BR>?<BR>The Proposed complex includes buildings that violate both
the areas minimum and maximum allowable height of?6 and 16 stories
tall.<BR>the District Council would have to waive these zoning requirements
and Prince Georges County Planning Board would also have to approve the
project. Glenn said the approval process would likely take about
6-months"<BR><BR><BR>?Melissa<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT><DIV CLASS="aol_ad_footer" ID="e6aaf0e0ab8fc6fe7a4986c02dbed83d"><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/></font></DIV></BODY></HTML>