The Community Legacy Revitalization Plan 

The Legacy Plan emerged from community responses to the public presentations, and was guided by input from the City Council, the Planning Committee, M-NCPPC Planning Staff, and the public.

The Legacy Plan includes a range of specific recommendations for organizational and operational projects and programs, recommends economic development support and other public actions, and presents ideas for physical improvements. Overall, the Legacy Plan is centered on improving quality of life, creating opportunities for residents and other stakeholders to get involved in shaping the future of their City, increasing housing opportunities, improving the quality of existing housing, strengthening the existing commercial cores, attracting private investment with public improvements, and expanding information access to overcome negative perceptions and promote the City’s assets and programs.

The Legacy Plan builds upon the identified strengths of Hyattsville, including its residents and organizations, strong neighborhoods, and available transportation network. The plan addresses social challenges such as low home-ownership levels and misconceptions of crime, as well as the physical issues related to vacant property and high speed travel corridors. The plan also addresses the perceived barriers, both geographic and cultural, between different parts of the City.

Physically, the preferred Legacy Plan recommends new residential development in the short-term, that will lead to increased support for other uses including retail and office development in the long-term.

The City should focus its initial efforts on attracting high-quality residential development in the form of single-family city homes and condominiums, to increase the variety of housing types available in the City and increase the collective purchasing power of residents. To ensure that homeownership is attainable, the City should also promote homeownership assistance and increase financing opportunities for homebuyers. Higher density housing will include high-end amenities to attract young professionals and families to the area and will include market-rate housing units.

The City should also reaffirm its commitment to enhancing the overall physical appearance of commercial and residential streets with new community beautification and greening efforts. Physical streetscape improvements are designed to improve safety, slow vehicular traffic, create a more suitable environment for pedestrians, and help attract private-sector investment.

Download the Community Legacy Revitalization Plan (4.2 mb, compressed PDFs)