Call it the second Battle of Bladensburg.
Two centuries after the Maryland town was the site of a skirmish in the War of 1812, a fight is brewing over the Town of Bladensburg’s desire to annex valuable land owned by the Prince George’s County government that the nearby Town of Cheverly was already planning to annex.
The object of Bladensburg’s desire is a 113-acre parcel of land adjacent to Cheverly where Prince George’s County Hospital was located until 2021.
On Thursday evening, the Bladensburg town council will hold a public hearing for residents to weigh in on the annexation plans. It begins at 5:30 p.m. at Bladensburg Town Hall — just a few blocks from the site along the Anacostia River where the original battle was fought 210 years ago.
The Prince George’s County government, which owns the land, has contracted with two entities — a large-scale development firm based in Bethesda, Urban Atlantic, and a group of politically experienced Prince George’s investors known as Hometeam 5 — to clean up and build out 44 acres of the property, which sits on the highest point in the county.
The plan calls for more than 1,300 residential units, including townhouses, apartments and accommodations for active senior citizens. It also calls for construction of a 70-room hotel, 40,000 square feet of retail development, and 70,000 square feet of office and medical space.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters
