Prince George’s County has suffered some big losses this year.
Placeholder
Bisnow/Emily Wishingrad
Lerch, Early & Brewer's Peter Goldsmith, Donohoe Hospitality's Thomas Penny, St. John Properties' Andrew Roud, Pivot Energy's Remington Mignott, Lincoln Avenue Communities' Stacy Kaplowitz, WMATA's Nia Rubin and Cruz Cos.' John Cruz
This spring, the Washington Commanders announced they would be leaving their 30-year home at Northwest Stadium in Landover to return to the District, in a deal that was finalized last month.
In May, Six Flags Entertainment announced it would be closing its amusement park in Bowie that had been open since 1999.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been moving to derail the plan to move the FBI headquarters from D.C. to Greenbelt. The latest installment in that saga came when the agency announced in July it would be moving into the Pennsylvania Avenue building vacated by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
But county leaders and developers speaking at Bisnow’s Prince George’s County event Wednesday said they were optimistic about the next chapter — at least for two of the sites.
“When we think about Six Flags and we think about Northwest Stadium, these are projects that will change the future course of the county,” Donohoe Hospitality President Thomas Penny said onstage at The Hotel at the University of Maryland.
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy, who was elected to the office in June, said in her opening remarks that the county is preparing for the future of these sites. She didn’t mention the FBI site in her remarks.
“We are making sure that we are ready to accept the development and investment that we know is coming,” she said.
Placeholder
Bisnow/Emily Wishingrad
Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy
Braveboy said Six Flags, which operates on about one-fifth of a 500-acre site, contributes about $3M in annual tax revenue to the county.
“Because it was underutilized, and because Six Flags was a place that people would visit but not stay, we really didn't realize what we could off of that prime real estate,” she said.
She compared that income to Prince George’s landmark development in recent years, National Harbor, which she said brings in more than $70M a year in tax revenue.
“I think we could do that or even better,” she said. “So I’m excited about that.”
The park is set to shutter on Nov. 2, and the site is being marketed by CBRE for redevelopment.
“We are now working with the developer or the owner to identify a new user so that we can maximize our opportunity to grow our economy on a site like this site,” Braveboy said.
Northwest Stadium, formerly FedEx Field, brings in about $14M a year for the county, she said.
The Commanders’ lease expires in 2027, but the new stadium in D.C. isn’t expected to open until at least 2030, meaning the team will likely ink an extension.
The NFL franchise owns the 200-acre site in Landover and has already promised to demolish it and plan a redevelopment there “with projected economic impact at least equivalent” to the stadium use, The Washington Post reported in December.
Placeholder
Bisnow/Emily Wishingrad
Prince George's County Economic Development Corp.'s Ebony Stocks, Workhorse Residential's Scooter Monroe, Mosaic Development Partners' John Childress, Prince George's County's Perry Paylor, Banneker Ventures' Omar Karim, Terrapin Development Co.'s Ken Ulman and Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures' Gina Merritt
“What we do know is that the future, again, it's really bright, and it's an opportunity for us to be a destination site for the world,” Braveboy said.
Developers said they are ready for the county to take advantage of the economic development opportunities that it sorely needs.
“I personally think that there's a significant opportunity to bring capital dollars to the county and to do something world-class, where people want to live, work and play in the county,” Banneker Ventures President Omar Karim said.
Karim said that the county needs more “destination sites” to feed economic activity. Instead of county residents driving to Annapolis or D.C., he said, they could stay and spend their dollars and fuel more investment at home.
Donohoe’s Penny urged attendees to take an active part in the opportunities ahead.
“It's not often in your career that you have a chance to participate in once-in-a-generation development projects,” he said. “And so those of us who really want to have a legacy, particularly those of us of color, this is the time. And it’s important we lean into it and make sure that we can maximize participation and take advantage of it.”