The Prince George’s County Planning Board unanimously voted to approve adding residential use to the former Sears site at Bowie New Town Center, off Collington Road and Evergreen Parkway. The site is zoned for retail and office use and the approved rezoning will permit residential.
The original application contemplated construction of up to 670 residential units on the 10.8-acre Sears parcel in particular, and another 130 units that were previously approved and unbuilt for the larger 246-acre Bowie Town Center. With this application, developer Seritage was seeking a total of 800 units across the latest phase of the New Town Center development, including up to 150 townhouses and, potentially, assisted living beds.
However, Bowie City Council voted on Wednesday for a conditional approval that requested the total maximum units be reduced from 800 to 600.
The Sears parcel may also host additional retail or office, or up to 150 hotel rooms, and the developer has been in talks with Prince George’s County Public Schools about whether it is feasible to use the vacant Sears building for flex space. The Bowie City Council also requested that the developer explore including some active adult units and/or affordable and workforce housing.
The details of what the new residential will entail will be submitted in later plan applications.