Supporters who spoke at the hearing in general praised the legislative package’s aim to increase the county’s housing supply and create realistic homeownership opportunities for more county residents.
“It’s a plain and simple fact that our county needs more housing,” said Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a Washington, D.C. metro region nonprofit focused on housing affordability and transit access. “People want housing that they can afford, and they do not want to have to spend their lives sitting in traffic just to get to work.”
It is a plain and simple fact that our county needs more housing. People want housing that they can afford, and they do not want to have to spend their lives sitting in traffic just to get to work.
Nothing demonstrates the strong support for these simple ideas more than the broad, diverse coalition that showed up in support of the announcement of the More Housing N.O.W. package.
RE: Support for the Flats at Glenridge Station, DSP-23008 & DDS-24002
Dear Chair Shapiro and members of the Board:
Please accept this testimony on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG). CSG advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all. We work extensively in suburban Maryland, focused on Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.
We would like to express our support for the Flats at Glenridge, DSP-23008 & DDS-24002. The proposed 245-apartment building, with a small amount of office space, offers families affordable homes right next to the Glenridge Purple Line station, along with close proximity to retail, including a supermarket. The site is less than a quarter mile from the station and MD 450, and by direct connection would be about 300 feet from the station.
This proposal is the first major step towards implementing the vision for a walkable Glenridge Transit Village outlined in the Annapolis Road Sector Plan. The apartment building offers amenities like a playground and a plaza with landscaping. Most importantly, these 245 homes give moderate and low income families the opportunity to live next to a rail transit station, and local-serving retail.
This affordable transit-oriented development helps more people rely on sustainable transportation options and reduce the need to drive or own a car. We appreciate the unit mix offering a variety of unit sizes, including many 3-bedroom apartments.
The project provides important contributions to county and community goals, including:
Affordability – the proposal will provide homes affordable at and below 60% of median family income. These are quality, new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom homes to address residents’ need for low-cost housing. Transit-accessible housing also reduces household transportation costs;
Environmentally-friendly location – allowing more families to live here in a compact, walkable environment reduces traffic, pollution and crashes by giving households options to walk and ride transit more, and drive less;
Better communities with transit-oriented development – more homes in this location, inside the Beltway and next to rail transit and existing retail, helps to transition this area to the envisioned Glendridge Transit Village where more homes and businesses can be focused in a walkable, transit-oriented environment. A vibrant, walkable Glenridge Transit Village will benefit nearby neighbors who can enjoy better retail options, a more human-scaled environment, and transportation choices.
We recognize that the site is currently wooded, but it is a fragment surrounded by development. Allowing more people to live here, steps away from frequent rail transit at this inside the Beltway location means less driving, traffic and pollution for households who otherwise might have to live elsewhere. Additionally, the project will fund offsite forest conservation to offset trees removed from the site, while providing modern stormwater management onsite to control runoff and water quality.
We have two recommendations for improving this project:
Securing a direct walk pathway from the building to the Purple Line station entrance.
Reducing parking and allocating that space and cost savings to other benefits for residents. The large amount of parking — 337 spaces for 245 units is a 1.37 ratio. Development standards reduce by half the required amount due to the site’s proximity to transit.
Conclusion
We urge the Planning Board to approve this application as a major step forward for the Glenridge Transit Village and the benefits it will provide to the larger community and county.
Send a message to the Prince George’s Planning board by Tuesday, March 11, 12 noon
We’ve advocated for the Purple Line. We’ve advocated more affordable housing – especially at rail transit. Well, here it is! The first new affordable apartments steps away from the Glenridge Purple Line station. Please join us in voicing our support!
This proposal for 245 affordable apartments, right next to the Purple Line, is the first step towards realizing the planned Glenridge Transit Village. It will provide homes for low and moderate income households in a location that will reduce how much residents have to drive and spend on transportation.
Much more needs to be done by the county and state to transform this very suburban, automobile-dominated area into a walkable community, but this project is a good first step. We’re asking for the amount of parking to be reduced for this project and for a direct walking connection to the transit station. And, we will be pressing the county and state to make it safer to walk and bike to this and every Purple Line station.
We recognize that the site is currently wooded, but it is a fragment surrounded by development. Allowing more people to live here, steps away from frequent rail transit at this inside the Beltway location means less driving, traffic and pollution for households who otherwise might have to live elsewhere. Additionally, the project will fund offsite forest conservation to offset trees removed from the site, while providing modern stormwater management onsite to control runoff and water quality.
Location matters when we build new housing. The Housing for Jobs Act will help to produce more of the homes Maryland needs in strategic locations tied to our transit network, our environmental health, and our economic success.
The work of DHCD and affordable housing practitioners across the state is essential to meeting this need and building more inclusive, equitable communities where all people can afford to live. We ask you to support the full FY26 DHCD capital budget request.
RISE Prince George’sis a group of county residents and allies advocating for policies and practices that build shared, sustainable prosperity in Prince George’s County by creating safe, walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented communities. Platform brief 2025.
LISC – DC is a mission-based investor, convener and technical assistance provider. We work with a wide variety of partners to build neighborhoods where every person, regardless of race or income level has the chance to live and thrive. Briefing 2 pager
Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers(HAND) is a nonprofit membership collective working across the private, public, and social sectors to collaborate in the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Capital Region of Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. Representing the ecosystem of partners who bring equitable communities to fruition, HAND works to disrupt the systems that perpetuate inequity in the communities we serve. We do this by embedding racial equity into our operations, practices, and programming, and activating our membership through policy forums and advocacy designed to drive impact for Black and brown communities residing at the sharpest intersections of inequity. HAND One Pager
The Capital Market(TCM) is a community-based farmers’ market that: provides healthy, affordable food options to our neighbors in the Capitol Heights neighborhood and surrounding vicinity; supports the growth of local-businesses and farms owned and operated by people of color; advocates for equitable and culturally-aware food systems.
Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development, Inc. (SEED) provides food, clothing, education and training while promoting self-sufficiency and empowerment directly to low- to moderate-income families and communities. Through community services, education and community development, SEED will create environments where all individuals are empowered, all children are nurtured, families are strengthened and communities are transformed. SEED is also the developer of 250 units of affordable housing on the Purple Line Corridor’s Riverdale Road Station in partnership with Lincoln Avenue Communities. SEED brochure
Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. (HIP) develops innovative affordable housing, revitalizes neighborhoods, and equips people to achieve their housing and financial goals. Our vision is that every person lives in high-quality affordable housing in a thriving community. HIP handout
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC) is a public-private-community collaborative working to leverage Maryland’s largest transit investment in the 21st century to ensure equitable change for all who live, work and invest in the corridor. PLCC flyer
Coalition for Smarter Growth advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all. Blueprint for a Better Region
The sponsors are 501(c)(3) organizations and this is a permitted educational activity. By law, these organizations do not endorse or work on behalf of any candidate for public office.
Pictured: left to right: Pastor Mike Dickson, Solid Rock Church; Stanford Fraser, RISE Prince George’s; Sheila Somashekhar, Purple Line Corridor Coalition; Steven Palmer, HAND; Albert Slocum, candidate; Moisette Tonya Sweat, candidate; Kyle Reeder, The Capital Market and RISE Prince George’s; Marcellus Crews, candidate; Bryan Franklin, LISC; Stephanie Proestel, HIP; Cheryl Cort, CSG; David Bowers, Enterprise; Marcus Robinson, LISC; Bernard Holloway, RISE Prince George’s. Photo credit: Lesia R. Bullock, HIP
Single-staircase buildings offer a potential solution to several of the housing challenges Maryland faces. Modern fire safety requirements and building materials make it possible to build single-staircase buildings safely, and this study will help us update our state’s housing policies to reflect these advances.
Providing sufficient housing that people can afford is essential to ensure that Maryland is providing opportunities for all to live and thrive in our communities. For this reason, we ask you to support HB 38.
HB 38 will provide information that will help Maryland better understand where education investments are most needed, and will prevent school capacity from becoming an indefinite barrier to needed housing production.
The Coalition for Smarter Growth supports SB 20. Our organization advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all.
The Locally Operated Transit Systems – Mandatory Funding – Inflation Adjustment (Local Transit Sustainability Act)will provide greater reliability to services on which many Maryland workers and residents depend.
Maryland is one of the top states in per capita transit ridership. In the area where our organization works, locally operated transit systems are essential:
Montgomery County Ride On served 18.5 million passenger trips last year. This was a 20% ridership increase from the previous year, and the second highest growth among mid-sized transit systems nationwide.
Prince George’s County The Bus serves 10,000 miles of routes in the county and 10,000 riders per day.
Despite recovering ridership and fare revenue since the pandemic, Maryland’s Locally Operated Transit Systems – and their many riders – depend on regular state support.
SB 20 would provide predictability for local agencies and communities with needed adjustments for inflation.
We ask for a favorable report for SB 20 by the committee. Thank you.
