The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is searching for a development team to add dense, transit-oriented mixed-use communities along the rail corridor between Washington D.C. and Baltimore.
MDOT recently issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a firm to create a strategic plan to increase residential and shopping options for the Odenton MARC Station, which is one of 13 stops on the MARC Penn Line.
Proposals are due Jan. 26.
The RFQ is the first near-term opportunity to advance a strategic plan for the MARC Penn Line, launching an effort that could yield nearly a thousand new housing units and hundreds of millions in gross tax revenue for the state over 30 years.
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The 13-acre surface parking lot on the west side of Odenton MARC Station provides an opportunity to develop new housing, retail and enhanced connectivity adjacent to transit with regional accessibility and close proximity to Maryland’s largest employment center – Fort Meade.
MDOT is looking for development teams with a track record in partnering with public sector agencies in delivering transit-oriented developments and affordable housing.
“This public solicitation is the first step toward improving transit connectivity, creating new jobs and expanding affordable housing options along the MARC Penn Line,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “At MDOT, we look forward to engaging with experienced development teams that can become long term partners in developing the Odenton MARC Station into a vibrant community where people can live, work and have fun.”
The plan for the area surrounding the Odenton MARC Station includes adding a mixed-use development with more than 900 new housing units, 38,00 square feet of retail, 1,360 new jobs, $270 million in state and local tax revenue and 117,000 new annual MARC trips at the station. It would add more than two miles of new safe, connected sidewalks, trails and bike paths for improved connectivity.
Transit options would also be enhanced by local bus and shuttle routes.
Through the RFQ, MDOT will establish a pre-qualified list of teams that will be able to submit development proposals in Spring 2025.
MDOT’s goal is to select a development team next summer and negotiate a Master Developer Agreement allowing the development of the site. This solicitation request covers the first phase of development planned for Odenton MARC Station.
Photo courtesy Ryan Stavely, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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