Churches and convenience stores, day care centers and take-out restaurants in Suitland Manor know a 22-acre town-center redevelopment project looms over their neighborhood.
But several business owners say no one has told them when they will need to leave their current locations, where they might be able to go and whether they’ll be invited back once new storefronts are in place.
“We question that all the time,” said Angela Harvey, director of the Visions Development Center, a child care facility with about 100 children. “We haven’t heard nothing thus far, so I’m just hoping that no news is good news.”
Calls to the Prince George’s County Redevelopment Authority, the department heading up the project, were not returned Wednesday.
Rampant crime and drugs in the Suitland Manor district on the northwest corner of Suitland and Silver roads has made it the target of revitalization and redevelopment plans since the 1980s. The latest plan, building on the growth of the nearby Suitland Federal Center, envisions a town center on the 22-acre parcel and incorporates commercial, retail and residential use of the land. The county has spent millions to relocate residents living in the neighborhood.
Samuel Chavarria, owner of the Suitland Market convenience store, said he’s heard nothing beyond comments made at various community meetings he sought out and attended. He’s seen his business dwindle as former customers — people Chavarria said used to visit the store as many as five times a day — take money offered by the county and move to other homes.
Chavarria said he’s gotten no guidance on when he’ll need to leave and whether he’d be welcome back once the redevelopment is done.
“I just have no clue of when and at what point that’s going to be,” Chavarria said.
Redevelopment
» For more information about the redevelopment project, visit www.suitlandmanor.com.
