Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined local officials Monday to break ground on a new mixed-use development at the Odenton MARC Station, the first visible step in a transit-oriented development that has been more than two decades in the making. Construction will begin with a 1,100-space parking garage, expected to cost about $56 million, followed by residential and commercial construction that transforms the site's surface parking lot into a walkable, mixed-use community.
The groundbreaking marks a milestone for a project that officials say has been in the works for over 20 years, according to WMAR-2 News. Moore said it was the first transit-oriented development groundbreaking of his administration. “This is the first transit-oriented development groundbreaking of our administration,” Moore said, per the station's report. “This is what it means to actually have a vision and get things done, this is what it means to have promises made and promises kept.”
Once the garage is finished, the broader development is planned to include 585 new homes, with more than 150 designated as affordable or workforce housing, the station notes. The project will also bring more than 30,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, along with new sidewalks, trails and bike paths connecting surrounding neighborhoods to the station.
Developers and the Numbers Behind the Project
The developers behind the mixed-use community are Homes for America and Questar Properties, according to Patch. Patch reports the overall price tag is expected to exceed $200 million, and that construction on the broader development could begin in 2028, depending on approvals.
Housing figures vary slightly by source. The seed report from the same WMAR account puts the affordable and workforce total at more than 150 homes, while a low-confidence governor's office statement breaks the 585-unit total down further into 130 affordable, 20 workforce and 435 market-rate homes. The Baltimore Banner reports the development will also include 30,000 square feet of retail and 180,000 square feet of what it describes as “public amenity space,” and notes Anne Arundel County is paying the $56 million garage cost directly.
Descriptions of the development site itself differ between sources. The Banner describes it as a 10-acre parking lot on the west side of the station, while the Maryland Department of Transportation lists the parcel at 12.85 acres of state-owned land currently used for surface parking.
Officials Frame the Project as a Housing and Transit Fix
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said transit-oriented development is in demand. “When you do transit-oriented development, it's so popular, everybody wants to live there,” Pittman said, according to WMAR-2 News. Sam Snead, director of the county's Office of Transportation, said the redevelopment amounts to more than added parking, per the same report.
Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said the project reflects a broader shift in how communities approach transportation and housing, the station reported. The Banner notes transportation officials have projected the project could generate $270 million in tax revenue for Maryland and Anne Arundel County over 30 years, along with up to 117,000 annual MARC trips at full build-out. State officials have also framed the project as a way to chip away at Maryland's statewide housing shortage while reducing road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions near public transit, per the same outlet.
Part of a Larger Push Along the MARC Penn Line
The Odenton project is one piece of a larger strategy. Patch reports that the 2024 MARC Penn Line Strategy projects more than 2,600 new housing units, nearly 500,000 additional yearly MARC riders and more than $800 million in state and local tax revenue from station-area development opportunities across the line.
A similar project is advancing near Bowie State University, where a planned transit-oriented development at that MARC station is slated to include more than 400 housing units, retail and commercial businesses, and office space, according to Maryland Matters. That project, led by joint development partner Mosaic Development Partners JV and Campus Apartments, is also expected to include pedestrian and bicycle access between the station and campus, with the county-owned portion aiming for up to 670 construction jobs and $108 million in state and local tax revenue.
Odenton has seen transit-area development before. The Village at Odenton Station opened in 2012 with businesses and 235 luxury apartments, including 57,000 square feet of retail space, Patch reports. The new garage and housing project would build on that earlier effort as the station area continues to grow around its MARC commuter rail service.
