The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is prepared to sell a 5-acre parcel adjacent to the West Hyattsville Metro station to the only development team that could buy it.
The WMATA board on Thursday is expected to approve a joint development agreement with Gilbane Development Co. and The Hogan Development Group LLC for the sale of 5.3 acres sandwiched between the Green Line and the developers’ The Riverfront at West Hyattsville project. The Metro station is located immediately to the south, on the other side of the Green Line tracks.
West Hyattsville Property Co. LLC, the joint venture of Gilbane and Hogan, is the only potential buyer because the site is landlocked, according to a Metro staff report, which identified the LLC’s offer as unsolicited. The report does not identify a negotiated price, but it does note the compensation is for “above the appraised fair market value” and the deal includes covenants that “guarantee a transit-oriented development” and construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities to the Metro station.
Per the project’s website, Riverfront at West Hyattsville (it is essentially adjacent to the northwest branch of the Anacostia River) covers 18.5 acres in all and is expected to be developed with 183 townhomes and 300 apartments, 9,000 square feet of retail, a 4.5-acre community recreation area with amphitheater, and a bike-pedestrian loop. The additional 5 acres will allow for an additional 200 or more units and increase ridership at the station, which currently average 3,220 weekday entries, Metro staff reports.