Two new 10-story apartment buildings are planned for College Park around the corner from the Trader Joe’s grocery store.

Called The Mark College Park, the two properties are planned for the current site of College Park Towers, a pair of condominium buildings built in 1983 located at 4313 Knox Rd., next to the Terrapin Row Apartments and near the Amazon hub.

Developed by Landmark Properties, the new student housing would include a total of 2,079 beds in 601 units ranging from studios to five-bedroom apartments with amenities such as stainless-steel appliances, quartz countertops, and in-unit laundry.

Other amenities include 5,000 square feet of retail space and a rooftop deck with a jumbo-sized TV and a pool.

The developer, based in Athens, Ga., plans to acquire the land and buildings in 2026 and complete the project by 2029.

The Mark College Park won’t be far from The Standard at College Park, a recent 282-unit Landmark development with similar amenities.

Both The Mark and The Standard are part of a broader goal by the University of Maryland to turn College Park into one of the country’s top college towns after years of being a commuter school.

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An artist who grew up on the Route 1 corridor recently painted a massive new mural on a West Hyattsville parking garage.

Noted D.C. artist MISS CHELOVE painted the mural of a young woman surrounded by flowers at the Riverfront at West Hyattsville development.

CHELOVE, whose legal name is Cita Sadeli, grew up in Hyattsville, where her love of public art was sparked by graffiti she saw when she would ride into the city with her mom.

She previously painted murals at the Mount Rainier Public Library and at the Hyattsville Middle School, where she attended.

This mural is dramatically larger, however, at 202 feet wide by 62 feet high. CHELOVE worked with a crew of four on swing stages four and five stories above ground to paint the mural.

You can see the mural on the Green Line heading north to Hyattsville Crossing, from the Kaiser Permanente parking garage or on Ager Road headed towards Langley Park.

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Hyattsville has begun an upgrade of The Spot park near the Arts District.

Located at 4505 Hamilton St., just south of the Yes! Organic Market parking lot near the  Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail, The Spot started in 2021 as an informal pop-up park where community events and concerts could be held.

It was the brainchild of the SoHy Co-op, a nonprofit group which helps support local businesses, with a grant made possible by Anacostia Trails Heritage Area.

The city is now upgrading the park. The south side will get a picnic pavilion, game tables, misters, kids’ play equipment and movable lawn seating. The north side of the park will be level and turned into a lawn for now.

There will also be bike parking and repair stations just off the Trolley Trail.

The park will be closed during renovations, which are expected to wrap up in the middle of the year. More work is planned for 2026, including a stage, landscaping and a walking path are expected.

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Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks got her start in politics in Prince George’s County.

The Democrat, who defeated former Gov. Larry Hogan 52-45 percent on Tuesday, currently serves as county executive and previously served as the local state’s attorney, the county’s top law enforcement official.

Alsobrooks is the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate and will be the first to serve at the same time as another Black woman, Delaware Senator-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester.

She’s also the first statewide official who previously represented Prince George’s County since Parris Glendening, a former University of Maryland politics professor who started as a Hyattsville city councilman, moved to the county council and served as county executive.

That gave her a boost, as 83% of Prince George’s County voted for her, adding 265,286 votes to her total.

“I have to acknowledge the super bad and incredible people of Prince George’s County,” she said when she won the primary earlier this year. “Yes. You should know, you’re the heart and soul of our campaign.”

Alsobrooks was raised in Camp Springs and graduated from Benjamin Banneker High School before getting a degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore.

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A new eatery offering playa bowls is set to open soon at The Station at Riverdale Park.

Located at 6740 45th St. in the former Cafe Azul space, Roxa Bowl will feature bowls, smoothies and toast made with fresh fruits and berries.

Açaí berries have become popular in the last few years, as they are considered a “superfruit” with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Roxa Bowl aims to go even farther than chains such as the popular Playa Bowls chain, which has a location in College Park, by featuring certified organic and non-GMO Açaí berries imported from Belém do Pará in Brazil.

Dishes will also have much less sugar and processing, and there will be options for kids such as a sweet toast with condensed milk and strawberry topping.

Roxa, pronounced RO-hah, means purple in Portuguese, the color of the berries.

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Hyattsville’s Shortcake Bakery closed its doors Thursday evening after 13 years in business.

Located at 4700 Rhode Island Ave. since 2011, the bakery saw more than 200 people show up for its last day in operation, owner Cheryl Harrington told the Hyattsville Wire.

“It was overwhelming, but in a good way,” she said.

Harrington had been in talks with her landlord, Stuart Eisenberg, for several months about possibly selling the bakery to someone else and transferring the lease, either for a long-term lease or a short-term extension.

Eisenberg told the Wire that he was ultimately unable to make that work due to his own business needs, and with her health department license ending on Oct. 31, he agreed to release her from the lease with no penalty or further expense on that date.

He said it was Harrington’s decision to shut down. “Her decision to do so was completely independent of my future plans for the building,” he added.

Harrington told the Wire she is still talking with neighboring Maryland Meadworks about whether to continue with their Sunday brunches, which began during the pandemic. But she said for now she’s looking forward to spending time with family and she’s unsure if she would want to reopen in a new location.

This post was updated on Nov. 1, 2024, to also include Eisenberg’s comments.

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The Greene Turtle will open soon in College Park.

Staffers at the Maryland sports bar chain who were in training recently told the Hyattsville Wire that the location will open any day now at the College Park Shopping Center at 7370 Baltimore Ave., just south of Knox Road.

The menu features typical sports bar fare such as nachos, sliders, and chicken tenders for appetizers and tacos, fish and chips, and burgers for main courses.  You can also order platters for 10 to 12 people for special occasions.

The chain also has an extensive cocktails menu and a limited beer and wine selection, although under its Prince George’s County Liquor Board agreement alcohol can only make up about a third of sales.

After starting in Ocean City in 1976, the chain has grown to more than 30 locations, mostly in Maryland but with a handful in Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware.

The shopping center already has several other chain restaurants: &Pizza, a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream shop, Noodles & Co., a Chipotle and a Cava, Five Guys burgers and a Starbucks as well as a 24-hour CVS drugstore.

Along with the Greene Turtle, the Virginia-based Korean barbecue restaurant Honey Pig is also in the final stages of building out a new location in the shopping center.

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