Not The College Park I Knew

umcp11
Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:17:41 +0000

I’m 100% certain the high housing prices are a result of the student demand, NOT a result of of it being “close to DC.” If you go further North up route 1 around the Greenbelt metro, just one stop away, the prices drop dramatically. Apartments run FAIRLY consistent, but especially if you are looking at group rental homes, the price of a home drops exponentially. For what many people pay to rent behind or near frat row (read: $800-900 per person without utilities), you can definitely get a rowhouse on Capital Hill. Capital Hill. That’s pretty f-ing close to DC isn’t it.

The View charges NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS per student for a TINY 2 bedroom apartment. That’s $1800 dollars. Prices in MUCH, MUCH nicer metro-convenient areas (Alexandria, Silver Spring, or even SW waterfront downtown - on the good side of the river) run equivalent to that, usually for nicer places. Silver Spring is the real hotbed for DC-commuters because it is far nicer and equally or more affordable than CP-metro-area. And again for the prices paid on apartments and house rentals here, you could go much closer (or even into) DC.

I used Austin because I was debunking the theory that flagships are associated with bad towns. They are, on the contrary (especially the prestigious ones), associated with thriving towns. All places that experience a revitalization are at first “nothing but families.” See: Silver Spring. See: anywhere. College Park is a fairly small town and I think a lot can be done - especially because of its proximity to the metro - to make it more of a destination in its own right, and to make it balloon.