Construction Begins On The Margaux In Prince George's County

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The Margaux in New Carrollton, a 291-unit workforce housing residential building adjacent to the New Carrollton Metro Station will offer modern, transit-oriented housing at below-market rates.

A groundbreaking ceremony recently was held for the facility.

“We are so proud to break ground on another historic project in New Carrollton,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said. “The Margaux is yet another symbol of rising opportunity for all Prince Georgians. We want to thank WMATA, Urban Atlantic, the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, EagleBank, and County Council Member Dannielle Glaros who all made this project possible. We have been collaborating for years to get to this day and we look forward to celebrating future successes at this very site in the years ahead.”

Prince George’s County recently requested $25 million in Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant funds from the United States Department of Transportation to help fund the New Carrollton Multi-Modal Transportation Station Project. This project will bring a new transit center and transform the largest employment cluster in the county into a true “downtown,” while catalyzing transit-oriented development in the area.

The Margaux is part of a larger 2.3-million-square-foot, mixed-use joint development partnership between WMATA and Urban Atlantic. This is one of several projects to break ground at the site, which also include office space, retail, additional housing and WMATA’s new Maryland Office Building, all anchored by a multi-modal transportation hub. New Carrollton offers convenient access to Metrorail, Metrobus, Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter Train Service, Prince George’s County TheBus and the future Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line.

“The Margaux is now an exciting part of Metro’s proud legacy of transit-oriented development, supporting the region’s economy and a safe, reliable public transit system for generations to come,” Metro Interim GM/CEO Andy Off said. “Metro has the most robust joint development program in the nation, and the transformation underway here at New Carrollton – housing, new business, and improved transit options including the Metrorail station that is currently being rebuilt and modernized – shows the positive impacts these partnerships have for Metro customers and the entire region we serve.”

Amazon provided $25.4 million in low-rate financing to Urban Atlantic for the project through the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, a more than $2 billion commitment to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable homes through below-market loans and grants to housing partners, traditional and non-traditional public agencies, and minority-led organizations. Amazon has committed $125 million in below-market capital to expedite development of affordable homes so that moderate- to low-income families in the National Capital Region can afford to live in communities with easy access to employment, schools, healthcare, education, and other amenities.

The Margaux will be affordable for individuals and families in the workforce making less than 80 percent of the area median income including teachers, law enforcement personnel, first responders and healthcare workers. These are residents who play a crucial role in the community, yet don’t qualify for subsidies and whose wages haven’t kept pace with escalating housing costs. According to a 2019 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household nationally spends 13 percent of their income on transportation costs, the second highest expense after housing.