Joint City Hall-UMD Building Opens

College Park has a revitalized center of civic life with the opening of a new city hall, a collaborative city-university project of office and retail space along with a public plaza for residents and visitors.

The $51 million, 95,000-square-foot building has municipal and university offices along with community meeting rooms and glass-enclosed council chambers overlooking Baltimore Avenue. The 7,000 square feet of retail space—managed by Terrapin Development Company, a real estate and economic development entity created by UMD and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation—is anticipated to have food and beverage tenants, as well as space for local vendors.

“The university partnership with the city was borne out of a long-term vision,” UMD President Darryll J. Pines said at a December dedication ceremony. “That vision has taken a great leap forward.”

The project is the latest achievement from the Greater College Park initiative, an ongoing effort to harness more than $2 billion in public and private investment to create one of the best college towns in the country.

“We saw an opportunity for strengthening and actualizing the partnership,” said Mayor Patrick Wojahn. “What this symbolizes ... is a rebirth.”