Prince George’s County residents packed a Thursday evening town hall at the Wayne K. Curry Building in Largo, which required an overflow room. More than 1,200 additional viewers tuned in online to catch the first glimpse of redevelopment plans for the 515-acre former Six Flags site.
The forum featured a panel, moderated by the Washington Business Journal’s Drew Hansen, with County Executive Aisha Braveboy, Wanda Durant, mother of NBA star Kevin Durant and president of the Durant Family Foundation, and other county and business officials.
Kevin Durant’s 35V, a media and investment firm founded by the Prince George’s County native and his agent Rich Kleiman, teamed with TPA Group, an Atlanta-based real estate developer, to purchase the parcel in April.
The county executive’s office solicited community feedback before the meeting through a survey that Braveboy said garnered more than 1,000 responses. Rather than taking live questions from the audience, panelists were presented with presubmitted comments and queries.
At the beginning of the town hall, Adam Rashid, lead developer from TPA Group and a Prince George’s County native, shared the five foundational pillars guiding its initial vision: entertainment, education, health and wellness, housing and innovation.
Developers emphasized that the massive project is a blank slate. Rashid said residents are looking at a 10-year timeline but stressed that the sheer scale of the site leaves enough room to build something that appeals to everyone.
“We will be able to deliver something for everybody — that’s always a hard thing to do,” Rashid said. “But on a project like this, at a scale like this, we really do feel that we have the opportunity to do that.”
Many of the presubmitted questions focused on specific amenities: Will the site include outdoor trails, horse paths, upscale grocery stores or an indoor sports complex? Residents also asked if there would be employment opportunities for local youth.
The short answer that the panelists gave to nearly every question: With such a massive footprint, nearly anything is possible.
Kenneth Fishe, an Upper Marlboro resident who attended the town hall, wrote in an email to The Banner that he appreciated learning about the concept for the site.
“It’s an exciting opportunity, and I think most people in the room wanted to leave feeling informed and energized about what’s next,” Fishe said.
But he would have liked it if the meeting had included time for live questions, noting that many community members took the time to show up in person.
“I wish the event had been more of a ‘here’s what’s coming’ session, rather than a reading of predetermined questions,” Fishe said. “Many of the questions covered the same ground, just worded differently.
“Honestly, much of that information could have been presented in a well-designed presentation or fact sheet and shared online beforehand.”
Rashid added that the project will provide an additional economic boost by creating construction jobs.
District 6 Councilwoman Danielle Hunter said her office will set future town halls and hopes to implement a community liaison specifically assigned to the development.
Wanda Durant said a dedicated website for the development will launch soon. She concluded by reminding residents that this town hall is just the beginning.
“I just want you guys to know that this is not it,” Durant said. “I implore you to stay engaged, because we are very intentional about us being partners in this endeavor, and just stay connected.”
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.