Metro, Amazon, Urban Atlantic, and Prince George’s County officials break ground on affordable housing development at New Carrollton

(Photo: Representative from Metro, Prince George's County, Amazon, Urban Atlantic, and Eagle Bank break ground on The Margaux at New Carrollton)

Metro, Amazon, Urban Atlantic, and Prince George’s County officials today broke ground on The Margaux, a new 291-unit housing development at New Carrollton that will offer modern, transit-oriented housing at below-market rates.

The Margaux is part of a larger 2.3 million square foot, mixed-use joint development partnership between Metro and Urban Atlantic. This is one of several projects to break ground at the site, which also include office space, retail, additional housing, and Metro’s new Maryland Office Building, all anchored by a multi-modal transportation hub. New Carrollton offers convenient access to Metrorail, Metrobus, Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Train Service, Prince George’s County TheBus, and the future Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Purple Line.

Amazon provided $25.4 million in low-rate financing to Urban Atlantic for the project through the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, a more than $2 billion commitment to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable homes through below-market loans and grants to housing partners, traditional and non-traditional public agencies, and minority-led organizations. Amazon has committed $125 million in below-market capital to expedite development of affordable homes so that moderate- to low-income families in the National Capital Region can afford to live in communities with easy access to employment, schools, healthcare, education, and other amenities.

Units at The Margaux will be affordable for individuals and families in the workforce making less than 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). Examples of these types of earners are often teachers, law enforcement, emergency response workers, hourly employees and others. These are residents who play a crucial role in the community, yet don’t quality for subsidies and whose wages haven’t kept pace with escalating rents. According to a 2019 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household nationally spends 13 percent of their income on transportation costs—the second highest expense after housing. This percentage increases and creates greater economic hardship for households making 80 percent of AMI and below.

Taking part in the groundbreaking were Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks, Prince George’s County Councilmember Dannielle M. Glaros, Metro Interim GM / CEO Andy Off, Managing Partner and co-founder of Urban Atlantic Vicki Davis, Amazon Housing Equity Fund Director Catherine Buell, and representatives from Eagle Bank.

“The Margaux is now an exciting part of Metro’s proud legacy of transit-oriented development, supporting the region’s economy and a safe, reliable public transit system for generations to come,” said Metro Interim GM/CEO Andy Off. “Metro has the most robust joint development program in the nation, and the transformation underway here at New Carrollton – housing, new business, and improved transit options including the Metrorail station that is currently being rebuilt and modernized – shows the positive impacts these partnership have for Metro customers and the entire region we serve.”

“We are so proud to break ground on another historic project in New Carrollton,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks. “The Margaux is yet another symbol of rising opportunity for all Prince Georgians. We want to thank WMATA, Urban Atlantic, the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, EagleBank, and County Council Member Dannielle Glaros who all made this project possible. We have been collaborating for years to get to this day and we look forward to celebrating future successes at this very site in the years ahead.”

“These new units at the Margaux represent a tremendous public-private partnership, and it’s this type of investment that Amazon believes will truly move the needle on the issue of affordable housing,” said Catherine Buell, director of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. “The private sector has an important role to play on the issue of housing affordability, and through innovative solutions like our partnership with WMATA, we’re helping to bring people closer to more opportunities, services, and a better quality of life.”

“The Margaux is part of the transformation of the most connected multimodal transit station at New Carrollton into an exciting place to live, work and play,” said Vicki Davis, Managing Partner of Urban Atlantic. “We are proud to join with our long-term partners at WMATA, Prince George’s County, and EagleBank to bring new housing that is affordable to our community’s frontline workers. Through Amazon’s support, we are creating a nationally replicable model for private sector investment in housing that is affordable to the workforce in the best transit locations.”

“EagleBank is dedicated to supporting our community by providing financing for affordable housing projects so that everyone has equal access to housing,” said Ryan Riel, EVP and Chief Real Estate Lending Officer at EagleBank. “The Margaux housing development will support the creation of additional affordable housing supply in Prince George’s County. It has been a pleasure working with the development team and we look forward to continuing our partnerships in the affordable housing space.”