College Park council unanimously buys 9315 Davidson St. for urban forest

The College Park City Council voted unanimously to acquire the vacant lot at 9315 Davidson St., approving a $230,000 purchase on Feb. 24, 2026 to develop an urban forest intended for education, recreation and ecological stewardship. Council members approved the purchase as part of a stated push to expand green space within city limits adjacent to the University of Maryland campus.

A city release about the acquisition included the fragment "City staff and community partners say t" but the remainder of that statement was not published, leaving the identities of specific partners and details of planned programs unspecified. The council's vote and the $230,000 purchase price are on the public record pending the city’s release of a full project plan, schedule and funding breakdown.

The land-buying decision arrives amid a regionwide fight over data-center siting that has drawn student and community organizers to College Park and neighboring Prince George's County. A recent forum organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Washington, D.C., branch, the No Data Center in Landover coalition and 17 for Peace and Justice framed local green-space efforts as part of broader environmental justice concerns in the county.

Panelist Goodson Bell told the forum that Prince George’s County is treated like a "dumping ground" in the region, and forum speakers linked that treatment to a legacy of environmental racism and persistent air quality failing grades in parts of the county. Those comments accompanied calls for stricter oversight of large infrastructure projects proposed for Landover and other parts of Prince George's County.

Student organizer Taylor Frazier McCollum, who started a petition against a proposed Landover data center last summer, told the forum the project would raise energy costs for nearby residents and students at the university. Her petition now has more than 22,000 signatures, and she said the issue forces families and students to choose between essentials: "Now you have to make a decision between buying your books and paying your energy bills," she said.

A panelist identified only by the last name Brooks connected the data-center debate to generational labor and wealth disparities, saying, "All of the infrastructure necessary to make this successful for them was built on the backs of me, my parents and their parents." Brooks added, "If it were up to me, I would say nowhere. But so long as it’s gonna be somewhere, it damn sure won’t be in Prince George’s County, D.C. or Virginia," and said he plans to mobilize community members in opposition.

The political backdrop includes county-level action: County Executive Aisha Braveboy signed an executive order in September that temporarily halted permitting for new data centers until the end of 2025, and in January she extended that hold until April 30. The orders have imposed a temporary pause on new data-center permitting as community pressure and review processes proceed.

Key details remain outstanding for the 9315 Davidson St. purchase: the seller’s identity, the closing date and funding source for the $230,000 acquisition, a timeline for planting and programming, and which city staff or community partners will lead stewardship and maintenance. Activists tracking data-center permitting, and the university community that backed the petition, will likely watch College Park’s next announcements for how the urban forest project will be staffed, funded and opened for public use.