About Town: Maryland Book Exchange

At the North College Park Citizen Association's (NCPCA) October 14 meeting, Ilya Zusin, the developer who wants to build a six-story student-housing complex at the site of the Maryland Book Exchange, presented his vision for the property. In the end, the NCPCA voted in favor of the development, but not before a rousing discussion, which, at times, got a little heated. (North College Park resident Fazlul Kabir recorded the following exchange on his blog, Kabir Cares.)

"Something better can be built in this place," said Marcus Afzali, City Councilmember for District 4.

"What better option do we have?" Zusin asked.

"There are a whole lot of them. How about a hotel?" Afzali answered back.

"Having a hotel is not a viable option. We've also approached several grocery stores, none has expressed interest yet," Zusin responded.

In general, the residents of North College Park who are opposed to the project echoed the concerns of critics in Old Town who, according to a November 25 article in the Gazette, believe that "such a large building does not fit with the one- and two-story buildings nearby and would bring more students to an adjacent Old Town neighborhood already overrun by student renters and loud parties."

In September, the Old Town Civic Association (OTCA) voted 24-0 to oppose the project.

During the NCPCA meeting, Zusin dismissed the development's critics by saying that their concerns have more to do with student behavior than with the development itself, and added that the it could actually help Old Town residents by getting students out of the neighborhood by giving them somewhere else to live.

Maybe, maybe not, yet, regardless of how you might feel about the proposed development, there are two things about the brouhaha over it that I find interesting. The first is the way students are spoken of as a foreign entity—a "them." The second is the way the discussion of student behavior clouds the much larger issue regarding the lack of vision regarding what kind of city College Park wants to be.

As a homeowner, I can understand the concerns of Old Town's residents. Living around students can be a trying experience, as they are often oblivious, if not completely hostile, to the concerns of the residents (i.e., loud parties, littering, the idiotic riots after sporting events). Thus, it's no wonder that some residents have few nice things to say about the city's student population.

That said, it's unfair to paint the University of Maryland student body with a broad brush. For every one of them who takes from College Park, there are others who give something back. Be it by volunteering their time at the recent College Park Day festival, contributing to local charities, or by working with city committees, many students have lent a hand to make College Park a better place. This is not news, but for fed-up residents, stereotyping is just too easy. Thus, it's no wonder that some students have few nice things to say about city residents.

Yet, matter what you think of College Park's student population (or what they think about us) the real issue in the debate over the Maryland Book Exchange property is that the city has not decided what it wants to be when it grows up. On the one had, city leaders want College Park, especially the downtown area, to offer a world class setting for the state university system's flagship campus, hence the mammoth East Campus development. At the same time, though we have a former mayor and at least three city council members opposed to a six-story student apartment complex—a property that, if built, will likely house the students drawn to the University, in part, by (what's expected to be) a "great college town." Does that seem odd to anyone else?

As one resident put it in a comment on the Rethink College Park website, "The days of College Park being a sleepy college town are over." (See "Olson, Stullich, NIMBYs Oppose Book Exchange Housing Plan," September 12, 2010). Like it or not, the author of that comment might be right. You can't have it both ways.

Smith is a resident of North College Park and treasurer of the North College Park Citizen's Association.