Brandywine Realty to Develop $300M Mixed-Use Neighborhood

Discovery District. Rendering courtesy of Brandywine Realty Trust

Terrapin Development Co., in partnership with the University of Maryland College Park, has appointed Brandywine Realty Trust to develop a 5-acre, mixed-use neighborhood within the University of Maryland’s Discovery District in College Park, Md. The project will comprise 550,000 square feet of office and retail space, as well as up to 250 residential units. The development, which will be constructed in four phases, is expected to cost at least $300 million.

Discovery District occupies some 150 acres adjacent to the eastern side of UMD’s main campus. The master-planned development includes, aside from 2 million square feet of office space, the 297-key Hotel at the University of Maryland and the first WeWork location in the state, as well as various residential developments.

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Designed by Ayers Saint Gross and Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, the new neighborhood will take shape on the so-called Parcels B&C at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Campus Drive, near the Hotel at UMD. Upon completion, the office buildings will feature open floor plates to provide multiple configuration options. An array of green public spaces and outdoor seating will complement vertical construction.

The development site is some 9 miles northeast of downtown Washington, D.C., across from Paint Branch Stream Valley Park and close to various academic and research buildings.

Part of the Greater College Park initiative

Discovery District debuted in 2017 as part of the Greater College Park initiative, aiming to revitalize the university’s campus and the surrounding neighborhood to add a vibrant downtown community to the local academic environment. The $2 billion development is the result of the public-private partnership between Corporate Office Properties Trust and the University of Maryland.

Greater College Park comprises more than 30 projects developed by Terrapin Development Co., a joint venture between the University of Maryland, The City of College Park and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. Developments include a new City Hall, a 788-bed student housing community, and a mixed-use project featuring 393 residential units and 70,000 square feet of retail, among others.

More university projects

Brandywine has a lot of experience with projects developed in partnership with universities. In February, the REIT secured a joint venture partner for the development of a 28-story, 570,000-square-foot mixed-use tower at the $3.5 billion, 14-acre Schuylkill Yards innovation neighborhood in Philadelphia. The REIT is the master developer of the University City project in partnership with Drexel University.

Brandywine also joined forces with the University of Pennsylvania for the FMC Tower at Cira Centre South. The 49-story, 2.7 million-square-foot mixed-use tower comprises office spaces, multifamily residences and hotel rooms, as well as a 1-acre urban park. The REIT relocated its headquarters to the building in 2017.