Prince George’s leaders say the Purple Line will be the key to the county contributing its fair share to the region’s ambitious housing goals.
The 16-mile light rail line linking Bethesda and New Carrollton is years away from opening – officials currently estimate the first passengers boarding between 2022 and 2023 – but lawmakers believe they should start planning to take advantage of it now. Specifically, they hope encourage construction of new homes, particularly affordable ones, along the new east-west transit corridor.
Like the rest of the region’s localities, the Maryland suburb has in principle agreed to massively ramp up housing construction during the next decade to meet a supply shortage. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has set a goal of building 320,000 new homes by 2030 in a bid to drive rent prices down and prevent thousands of families from being displaced.
But unlike two of its neighbors, Prince George’s has yet to set specific construction targets. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has pledged to add 36,000 new homes by 2025, while the Montgomery County Council voted last week to build 41,000 homes through 2030.
Prince George’s County Council Chair Todd Turner, D-Bowie, said Wednesday he’s unsure when lawmakers might take that step. Right now, the council is waiting for a working group made up of lawmakers, community advocates and affordable housing developers to report back on expert recommendations for how to meet the goals of its “Housing Opportunity for All” roadmap, he said.