Suffrage Point

Project Description 

Suffrage Point is a proposed housing development to be located at 4017 Hamilton Street, on the site occupied by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’s (WSSC) former headquarters. The site consists of two parts: the upper site which currently houses the vacant headquarters building, and a lower site that is currently used as a parking lot.

The applicant, Werrlein Properties, is proposing the construction of single-family homes and townhouses on the property. The plan also creates two "community greens," as well as a large recreational space adjacent to Driskell Park. The applicant first presented their plan to the City Council on February 5, 2018.

On June 14, 2019, the Prince George’s County District Council (the County Council sitting as a land-use authority) approved CSP-18002, an application for rezoning the lower parcel from Open Space (OS) to R-55 and modified the development district standards to permit R-55 development within the entire 8.26 acre site.

On February 23, 2022, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland directed the District Council to amend the resolution of the Conceptual Site Plan to clarify acreage. On September 17, 2022, the District Council order planning staff to prepare for approval an order to amend the CSP and establish a density at 6.7 units per net acre for single-family detached units and a density of 12.3 units per net acre for single-family attached units. 

Upper Lot

On July 5, 2019, Delmarva Site Development commenced demolition activities scheduled for 60-90 days. The sidewalks along the upper lot have been closed for public safety. Demolition staging is taking place in the lower section of the upper lot. Processing (crushing) of the materials is taking place on the lower lot once a significant amount of debris has been accumulated.

In early 2020, the applicant submitted a Preliminary Plan of Subdivision (PPS) for the upper parcel of the Suffrage Point site. The subject property is located in the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Hamilton Street and 41st Avenue, north of Gallatin Street. This application includes the subdivision of the upper parcel into 30 lots, consisting of 15 single-family homes and 15 townhouses. Two additional parcels are proposed, one at the far west of the site and another fronting the proposed townhouses along the south of the site. The site plan also includes an alley within the interior of the site, to provide services and site access along the rear of the proposed units. The lower lot in not included in this subdivision application.

The M-NCPPC Planning Board approved the applicant's preliminary plan of subdivision application in March 2020. In August 2020, a notice of appeal was filed with the Circuit Court.

The detailed site plan for the upper parcel was approved by the M-NCPPC Prince George's Planning Board in June 2020. The District Council affirmed the Planning Board's conditional approval and approved the plan on October 21, 2020.

Lower Lot

The applicant is proposing subdivision of the lot for 41 single family attached townhomes on the site and a new alleyway for interior flow on the site for services. Parcel B2 to the south will include compensatory storage for the site and open space. The Preliminary Plan of Subdivision (PPS) was approved by the Planning Board on June 16, 2022.

Detailed Site Plan (DSP) for the lower lot was accepted on October 23, 2022 and is under review.

Conceptual site plan for the property (above).

A rendering of the proposed homes fronting Hamilton Street (above).

Subdivision of lots on property's upper parcel (above).