Redevelopment Authority Announces $1.7 Million in Funding for its Commercial Property Improvement Program

Largo, MD — The Redevelopment Authority of Prince George’s County (RDA) has $1.7 million in available funding for its Commercial Property Improvement Program (CPIP) and is now accepting applications for funding. The CPIP was established to assist owners of shopping centers and main street retail space with exterior façade, place making, lighting and major building systems improvements that enhance retail competitiveness and viability.  

The CPIP will require a 50% applicant match for all program funding awarded to approved shopping centers and retail space for eligible improvements. Therefore, applicants must be able to pay for half of the total project cost in order to apply for the CPIP funding. The minimum grant is $50,000 for $100,000 in total project cost and the maximum grant is $350,000 for $700,000 or more in total project costs.

The CPIP will utilize the Retail Center/Assessment Matrix in the 2017 Prince George’s County Competitive Retail Market Strategic Action Plan to prioritize and select shopping centers and retail space for CPIP funding. The goal is to select applicants with the strongest market potential for investment. Commercial space occupied exclusively by places of worship or non-retail uses will not be funded.

While CPIP will reimburse up to 50% of approved construction costs as costs are incurred and documented, architectural design and permit costs will not be reimbursed until after construction is completed. In addition, construction on the approved project must begin within 90 days after grant approval and must be completed within 180 days after approval.

“This funding will provide a wonderful opportunity for shopping center owners and retailers to enhance their properties to improve aesthetics, and make targeted safety improvements,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks. “Our County’s shopping centers are home to critical services and retail options that residents need and they deserve retail options that are of a high quality.  This improvement funding source will benefit center owners, residents and the County as a whole and especially those located inside the Beltway, which is a focal point of my Administration.”

A mandatory pre-submittal conference will be held on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 10:00 am at the Redevelopment Authority Offices, located at 9200 Basil Court, Suite #504, Largo, MD 20774. Interested parties should e-mail their RSVP for attendance to the pre-submittal conference to: ldsmith@co.pg.md.us

For more information about this program, please e-mail Ms. Roz Clemens: rbclemens@co.pg.md.us

Media Contact:  Alexis Revis Yeoman (301) 883-2760 or (301) 758-5300 (cell); aryeoman@co.pg.md.us

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December 17, 2018 

For Immediate Release

Statement of Prince George’s County Council Member At-Large Mel Franklin in Support of the First Step Act

Contact: Mel@melfranklin.net

Upper Marlboro, MD – Today, Prince George’s County Council Member At-Large Mel Franklin (D-Upper Marlboro) issued the following statement in support of Senate Bill 2795, known as the “First Step Act,” criminal justice reform legislation pending today before the United States Senate:

“The First Step Act would provide meaningful, bipartisan progress from the federal government towards reducing repeat offenses by returning citizens and reducing our prison population, making all of us safer.  The more that our citizens returning from incarceration can find workforce training, employment, and a productive place in our society, the less likely they are to re-offend and return to prison, creating new victims in the process. I urge Congress, including our Maryland members of the U.S. Senate and House, to expeditiously pass this law without weakening it.”

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More about the First Step Act (S.B. 2795) – Information provided by the 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center (www.2020club.org)

The First Step Act makes retroactive the reforms enacted by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences at the federal level, affecting nearly 2,600 federal inmates. It also allows well-behaved inmates to cut their prison sentence by an additional week for each year they’re incarcerated. The change applies retroactively, which could allow as many as 4,000 federal prisoners to qualify for release the day that the bill goes into effect. The bill allows inmates to get “earned time credits” by participating in more vocational and rehabilitative programs. Those credits would allow them to be released early to halfway houses or home confinement. And the bill bans the shackling of women during childbirth and provides women prisoners with essential sanitary products and requires that inmates are placed closer to their families.

100 years ago today, “the war to end all wars,” as it was called, World War I, ended and the veterans who fought in it came home. Of course, World War I didn’t end all war and a much larger conflict was to come, but the men and women who we honor as veterans were there every time to fight for our freedoms and to ensure that the greatest nation on earth would not perish and would continue to live on. Today, National Harbor and the Peterson Companies unveiled beautifully sculpted statues honoring all five of our nation’s military branches. Please visit them when you have a chance. They are a fitting tribute to our men and women in uniform, right here in Prince George’s County.