Giant Food Coming to South Lake

Representatives for the South Lake development on 301 and 214 updated the city council on the ongoing project and announced Giant Food would be anchoring its commercial center.

The project, controversial for its size and a $30 million public tax increment financing deal, has attracted resident concerns in recent months following significant forest clear cutting on 301. Many residents were caught off guard by the amount of lost green space on the fast-growing 301 corridor.

The project comprises 1,360 new housing units, including 563 town homes, 364 single family detached units, with the remainder multi-family apartment units. The price point for the multi-family units will be market rate, approximately $1600 – $2400 a month in rent.

The project also includes 550,000 square feet of new commercial retail. The developer is aiming to attract higher end food and store options, including the new Giant.

The development comes alongside the massive Liberty Sports Park, completed earlier this year, which is fast becoming a sports tourism hub. Three new hotels at South Lake will accommodate travelers to the sports center.

The South Lake project was first approved in 2019 by the previous city council and the Prince George's County Council. It included a $30 million dollar tax offset designed to subsidize the project's infrastructure costs.

Council Members Michael Estève and Dufour Woolfley opposed the tax deal when it was debated. They argued the deal was an unnecessary giveaway and unfairly saddled the project's costs on taxpayers who would also be dealing with worsening traffic and new burdens on local services.

South Lake was annexed into the City of Bowie at the time of the execution of the tax agreement. The tax revenue generated from the project would mostly serve to pay down infrastructure bonds before covering the cost of additional local services. The project is expected to start showing a return to city tax payers in approximately 30 years.

"Developers will tell you development is great because it means new tax revenue for local governments. Obviously, that's not the case when we give the tax money away," Council Member Estève stated at the time.

Council Member Woolfley raised the point that the project's total costs, running in the hundreds of millions of dollars, meant the development wouldn't likely teeter on $30 million in infrastructure costs. He repeatedly questioned city economic development staff on the claim that the deal was essential to the project's solvency.

The project came before the new city council for final approval in 2020 and enjoyed strong council support, with the only dissent coming from Council Members Estève and Woolfley.

Members of the council majority supporting the project argued at the time that opposing the project could open up the city to a lawsuit. Others argued the new development could bring desired amenities and stores, such as the new proposed Giant.

Not all residents have agreed with those arguments. At a 2020 hearing, one member of the public stated, "Nobody could show the math that made [the tax agreement] a necessary investment. It was a massive favor to a connected developer, nothing more."

Still, other residents are pleased with the prospect of new retail closer to home, with some south Bowie residents expressing support for additional, needed grocery stores.

"South Bowie is a food desert," one resident expressed at a council hearing. "We need more stores, especially with healthier food options."

One way or another, big changes are coming to the south Bowie 301 corridor, with the new Giant playing a major role. The developer's representatives expressed hope the store would be up and running by the end of 2023.

The whole development is expected to continue through the next several years depending on the state of the national economy and fluctuating interest rates. Housing demand in the region remains strong despite economic headwinds with new townhomes regularly listing above $500,000.

The update can be viewed on the city's Youtube Channel at 38:22.