Revitalization of the Route 1 corridor has begun officially with the construction of an affordable housing and retail development in Laurel.
“The beauty of this project is it?s the pioneer in the Route 1 corridor redevelopment,” said Neil Gaffney, deputy director of the county?s Department of Housing and Community Development.
With 80 affordable housing apartments and 16,000 square feet of retail, Patuxent Square is the first mixed-use development in the southern portion of the Route 1 corridor.
The county?s Housing Commission owns the land on Washington Boulevard, and is renting it at a low rate to Orchard Development Corp. for 25 years, Scott Armiger, the corporation?s vice president said.
The commission, which bought the land for roughly $2 million, contributed an additional $2 million in what Armiger described as an interest-free loan.
The company also receives state tax credits for building affordable housing, he said.
“It enables us to keep the rent low and make it an affordable project,” Armiger said. “If it weren?t for that, we would have to charge higher rents.”
The one- and two-bedroom apartments will rent for $700 to $900 a month, he said.
Families making up to 60 percent of the median income for the area, which is $72,800, qualify for this housing, Gaffney said.
Next week, construction will begin on a second mixed-use development in the area called Ashbury Court, and officials expect more developers to follow suit. At Ashbury Court, 21 of the 140 planned residential units will be affordable, Gaffney said.
County Executive Jim Robey said the development was a result of a five-year effort to revitalize the area. The affordable housing would accommodate entry level police officers, firefighters, teachers and the workers at the nearby Dryer?s Ice Cream plant, which is expanding in Laurel.
“They are going to need places to live,” he said.
