The
study area is located within a half-mile radius
of Allentown Road and Branch Avenue in Camps
Springs. The predominate land use in the area is
commercial-retail and the buildings are generally
one story in height. In the 1990s the State Highway
Administration built a fly-over at Allentown Road
and Branch Avenue to relieve congestion, but then,
thriving businesses such as Pyles Lumber, went into
decline and eventually went out of business. Today,
there are only small retail businesses that no longer
provide desired goods and services in the community.
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There
is strong political and community support for
creating an arts district in this location.
The Camp Springs Civic Association requested an arts district planning study in the spring of 2004.
The
proposed arts district would directly benefit the artists
who already live and work in the immediate area and
in southern Maryland (as suggested by community leaders)
and would help to revitalize this area and the neighboring
communities.
The
feasibility analysis will build on the recommendations
of a sector plan and sectional map amendment (SMA)
that is being prepared for the Henson Creek (PA 76B)
and South Potomac (PA 80) areas. The preliminary
plan/SMA will be published in June 2005. The
draft preliminary plan/SMA recommends revitalizing
the Allentown Road and Branch Avenue study area, which
is the focus of this feasibility analysis. The draft
recommends creating a walkable mixed-use neighborhood
center with a focus on arts activities.
It proposes a redesigned street pattern to create
smaller, more walkable blocks with buildings located
up to the sidewalk, and recommends a neighborhood “Main
Street” on Allentown Road. It also proposes a
new street cross section with a landscaped median.
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