College Park was in the spotlight Thursday as WAMU host Kojo Nnamdi dedicated an entire segment to discussing the area’s redevelopment efforts.

Guests included Wallace Loh, president of the University of Maryland, and Stephanie Stullich, a member of the College Park Advisory Planning Commission.

“The Route 1 corridor once filled with fast-food joints and dive bars now boasts a four-star hotel, a hip music venue … a Whole Foods and luxury apartments,” said Nnamdi. “But some wonder whether you can create a college town from scratch and whether the community is on board with the university’s vision.”

During the segment, Loh said that his goal was to build “an entire ecosystem” of housing and amenities in order to support the university’s graduates, citing a conversation he had with Oculus VR founder Brendan Iribe about why he left the area for Silicon Valley.

“He said, well, there’s no place to live here, there’s not even a grocery store,” he said.

Loh also noted that the university has invested about $1 billion over the last seven years on things like new labs and other buildings on campus, while private developers have spent about $1 billion in private investment in the same time period.

During the show, Loh said that the University of Maryland produces more STEM students than any other university in the U.S.

To listen to the full segment on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show,” click here.