Prince George’s County

Image: Cheryl Cort

With 15 Metro stations, 8 MARC commuter rail station, parks, rivers, and farmland, and its older urban communities adjacent to the job center of DC, Prince George’s is a place of great potential.

We work with public officials and community leaders to support economic development through well-designed, mixed-use, transit-oriented development, which will build the county’s tax and employment base, and provide increased retail and housing choices

Our Work in Prince George’s


Rise Prince George’s 

Rise Prince George’s is an emerging group of county residents and allies advocating for policies and practices that build a shared, sustainable prosperity by creating safe, walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented communities. Learn more >>>

Zoning Code Rewrite

Prince George’s County has been working for six years to rewrite and implement its outdated zoning code. The zoning regulations were adopted by the County Council in 2018, but implementation through the Countywide Zoning Map amendment required another two years. The zoning rewrite offers an updated modern zoning and subdivision regulations. The revised regulations could help the county better link jobs, transit, new development and existing neighborhoods to create more livable, walkable, transit-oriented communities. Learn more >>>

Past Campaigns


  • Regional Medical Center: Our two-year campaign demonstrating the accessibility and health benefits of a transit station location paid off in 2013 when the county selected a walkable site next to the Largo Town Center Metro. As of summer 2015, the project is processing though needed approvals, including a certificate of need from the state of Maryland, before further plans move ahead.
  • Plan Prince George’s 2034: Plan Prince George’s 2035, the proposed 20 year general plan for Prince George’s County, could get the county on the right track if we can translate the sound planning ideas and good intentions into reality. We commend the planning board for the bold draft Plan Prince George’s 2035. But we worry that still permitting large-scale “suburban centers” on undeveloped land will jeopardize our county’s long-term sustainability, lead to worse traffic, and take away needed funds for investing in our existing neighborhoods and at Metro stations.

Latest Happenings


Reba Watkins - CSG petition delivery. Photo by Aimee Custis

Over 1,000 Prince George’s Residents Request Placement of New Hospital at Metro Station Petition Presented to County Executive Baker

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UPPER MARLBORO – Today, the Coalition for Smarter Growth delivered a petition to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, urging him to choose a Metro station site for the planned Regional Medical Center. Over 1,000 Prince George’s residents signed the petition. "The petition demonstrates how many people in our county want the new medical center at a convenient Metro site,” said Coalition for Smarter Growth staff representative and Cheverly resident Reba Watkins, who delivered the petition. “As a Prince George's resident, this issue is important to me. Right now, without a car, I have to go to Bethesda or D.C. for quality, convenient care. We can do better." The petition adds to growing consensus that the new hospital should be located at a Metro station site.
Westphalia developer floats bus plan to lure FBI to Prince George’s County

Westphalia developer floats bus plan to lure FBI to Prince George’s County

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A $3 billion Canadian real estate firm plans to begin work shortly on what may be Prince George’s County’s largest development since National Harbor, and it is pulling out all the stops to get the FBI to build a headquarters there as a focal point. The Walton Group, one of North America’s largest land developers, purchased the 479-acre Westphalia Town Center project along Pennsylvania Avenue near Andrews Air Force Base in February of last year, and says it will begin construction this month. The first phase of the project calls for 347 town homes, more than 400 apartments, 450,000 square feet of retail and a 150-room hotel. Under previous ownership, the project stalled because of the recession, loan defaults and a conviction on extortion charges for one of the project’s principals. But after buying the property for $29.5 million in February of last year, Walton chief executive Bill Doherty said he is three-to-four weeks from beginning construction. “This is a very real project. We’re moving fast. This is happening,” he said.
Largo Metro pylon

The Regional Medical Center belongs at a Metro Station

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All Prince George’s County residents have a vested interest in getting the decision right about where to locate and how to design the new county and state-supported $650 million Regional Medical Center with a workforce of more than 2000 employees. To leverage the most competitive healthcare benefits and economic development opportunities, we need

Testimony before the Prince George’s County House Delegation in Support of PG 420-13: School Facilities Surcharge

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Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. Our organization works to ensure that transportation and development decisions in the Washington, D.C. region, including the Maryland suburbs, accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural and historic areas. We urge you to

Where will Prince George’s hospital go?

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Smart growth advocates have applauded Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III’s commitment to support new projects near the county’s 15 Metro stations, but as the county executive considers the best place to put a new $650 million regional hospital, he is making them nervous. Baker plans to hold a forum Feb. 28 at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex to begin vetting four possible sites for the hospital. Two of them, the shuttered Landover Mall and the newly built Woodmore Town Centre, are nearly three miles from a Metro station in locations that require pedestrians to cross a Capital Beltway interchange. To the pro-transit crowd that has backed Baker as he presses the federal government on the importance of locating agencies near Metro stations, choosing either site would be a mistake.