Nearly a year after a five-alarm fire caused $39M in damages at Wood Partners' College Park apartment project, the developer is reviving the effort.
The 275-unit project at 4700 Berwyn House Road, originally branded as Fuse 47, has now been renamed Alloy by Alta. Wood Partners expects to deliver the building's first units in winter of 2019.
The April fire came after the apartment had already begun pre-leasing for an anticipated July delivery. Nobody was seriously injured, but the fire caused the most damage in the Prince George's County Fire Department's history, PGFD said at the time.
The apartment building had been constructed with wood, a material that has become increasingly attractive as a way to save money for developers facing rising construction costs, even given the fire risk. Regulations only allow wood-frame buildings to rise seven or eight stories high, so high-rise D.C. projects tend to be built with steel or concrete.
The building's amenities will include a pool deck with grilling stations, a fire table and cabanas, a clubroom with billiards, shuffleboard and a wet bar, and a co-working-style library with a coffee bar, conference room and four private office spaces. Its units will have stainless steel appliances, quartz counters and moveable kitchen islands.
“This project was designed to redefine the meaning of living in College Park and give residents the option of luxury-style living. We created an environment that fosters interaction amongst students and young professionals," Wood Partners Director Scott Zimmerly said in a release.
Wood Partners declined requests for further comment.
The project sits near the University of Maryland's campus, across Route 1 from student housing projects University View and The Varsity. It is about half a mile from College Park's $180M hotel that opened in September.
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