A 393-unit multifamily project in College Park with ground-floor retail anchored by a nearly 15K SF Trader Joe's has hit one of its last milestones before opening.

The Aster apartments, developed by partners Bozzuto, Terrapin Development Co. and Willard Retail, are offering move-ins beginning this month, according to a press release.

"We are incredibly grateful to be developing and building such an extraordinary new community in our own backyard, Bozzuto President and CEO Toby Bozzuto said in a statement. "Together with our partners, it is our hope that we can continue to add to the vibrancy of College Park."

The development, located at 7150 Baltimore Ave., includes 61K SF of retail in total. It replaced a Quality Inn and Plato's Diner. The project won tax credit financing from College Park amounting to $4M over 15 years, The Diamondback reported.

Additional tenants include Bandit Taco and Roots Natural Kitchen, both of which are opening their first Maryland locations, plus Crunch Fitness, The Joint Chiropractic, Inspire Nail and All Care.

The residential portion of the development also includes 16K SF of amenity space, including coworking lounges and an outdoor pool.

The development is the latest in a string of projects remaking College Park, especially along the Route 1 Corridor now commonly known as Baltimore Avenue.

Among them are two massive Gilbane projects. Most recently, Gilbane broke ground on the Atworth College Park in May, thanks in part to financing from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund.

The 451-unit development located near the College Park Metro station received $56.3M from Amazon, which is focusing investment on transit-oriented development. Under the terms of the financing, units will remain affordable for those making up to 80% of area median income for 98 years, Bisnow reported.

That project is expected to begin occupancy in spring 2024, according to a spokesperson for Gilbane. Another Gilbane project, the 296-unit, 978-bed Tempo, is scheduled to welcome students Aug. 19 and 20, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a 788-bed, $140M student housing project from Greystar began construction last fall and is scheduled to be completed around the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

Looking further ahead, Brandywine was selected by the University of Maryland last year to lead development on a 5-acre, $300M development in the Discovery District. Located at the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and Campus Drive, the project includes 250 multifamily units, 550K SF of office space and additional retail, according to plans released last year.