Prince George's County Planning Board to Review 87-Unit Senior Housing Project in College Park

After more than five years of revisions, parking disputes, and community debate, Cruz Development Corporation's Branchville Crossing project reaches the Prince George's County Planning Board on Wednesday, when the board will hold an evidentiary hearing on a detailed site plan for 87 units of affordable housing restricted to seniors and physically disabled residents on Branchville Road in College Park.

The project, filed under case number DET-2025-010 and accepted by the county planning department on December 8, 2025, would occupy a 2.01-acre site on the north side of Branchville Road at its intersection with US 193 (University Boulevard). The property, addressed as 4810 Branchville Road, carries current zoning of RMF-48/AG and falls within Planning Area 66, designated as an Established Communities growth policy area.

The College Park City Council unanimously recommended approval of the detailed site plan before the matter advanced to the county level. Mayor Fazlul Kabir said he's glad to see the developer move forward with affordable senior housing, which the city has long advocated for, because previous plans for the space were once for market-rate housing.

Parking emerged as the sharpest point of contention. District 2 council member Kelly Jordan said the most common concern she heard from city residents about the proposal was the limited number of parking spaces. Current zoning rules cap parking for the development at 36 spaces, but revised plans now include 54 spaces, contingent on approval from the Prince George's County Planning Board. That figure is a far cry from the 130 spaces, including 95 structured, that Cruz Development had proposed in an earlier 2020 iteration of the project, which called for a seven-story, 81-unit building with a density of 37 dwelling units per acre.

The current plan, described in a Diamondback report as a four-story building, would restrict occupancy to residents aged 62 and older. Financing for the project has previously been described as affordable housing supported by bonds from the State Department of Housing and Community Development, with income eligibility requirements for residents.

Since a January 13 College Park City Council worksession, the developer revised plans to address additional concerns, including testing noise impact and resolving landscaping issues.

One speaker captured the urgency felt by some longtime advocates at the council level. "I'm about the senior, the disabled population, the most vulnerable, the veterans, the homeless," she said. "I don't want to die until I see Branchville Crossing constructed. I've been waiting for 35 years."

The evidentiary hearing is listed as item five on the Planning Board's March 26 agenda, which is overseen by Acting Planning Director James R. Hunt. Residents seeking information on the case can contact the Prince George's County Planning Department at 301-952-3530, and staff reports are accessible through the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's website.