ALL BUSINESS Entrepreneurs got their start at Bowie State. A-3
Gazette-Star
NEWS: Women find place to chat — and vent — in Upper Marlboro. A-4
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Tax credit eyed for Oxon Hill complex
25 cents
Bowie backs unique plan for senior housing
Welcome home
Oxon Hill apartments would feature mixed-income housing
n
BY
SPORTS: Riverdale Baptist grad earns QB of the Week honors for Bowie State. B-1
Proposed facility would let loved ones live in same complex, officials say n
KIRSTEN PETERSEN
BY
STAFF WRITER
EMILIE SHAUGHNESSY STAFF WRITER
Some Oxon Hill residents say a new mixed-income apartment complex would be a welcome addition to the area, but without a special tax credit, developers say the proposed project may not come to fruition. The proposed apartment complex, called Livingston Forest, would be located off of Livingston Road near Indian Head Highway in Oxon Hill. The site is currently a wooded area that was once the location for a failed condominium project in 2007, said C.J. Tyree, the vice president of development for the Cleveland-based developer PIRHL. The complex would include 72 rental units in two fourstory buildings. Tyree said the majority of the units would be restricted to families earning between $40,000 and $60,000 annually, while the rest would be rented at market rate. “This will be a much needed, new asset to this community,” Tyree said. “It will bring new housing to the community at a very high level and quality.” Tyree said the core financing for this project depends on an award from the Federal LowIncome Housing Tax Credit program. The credit would be an incentive for investors to sign on to the project, which would cost approximately $23 million to develop, Tyree said. “If we don’t win that, this project pretty much goes away,”
fter nearly 40 years of providing elementary and middle school education, Grace Christian School held its first homecoming Saturday in a community event parents said was long overdue. The K-8 school housed within Grace Baptist Church has several sports teams, but instead of being centered around a game, the school’s first homecoming served as a way to connect with community members and thank teachers and staff for their hard work, said Grace Christian parent Darlene Holmes
See APARTMENT, Page A-7
See SCHOOL, Page A-8
Bowie senior citizens and their loved ones could live side by side in a proposed assistedliving facility and a recent Prince George’s County zoning decision could speed up the development by months. The Bowie Council has dedicated 20 percent of the 466-acre Melford property off U.S. Route 301 to senior housing, and de-
veloper St. John Properties has found an interested tenant in Atlanta-based Thrive Senior Living, said Robert Antonetti Jr., land-use counsel for St. John. Thrive’s proposed model would provide both assistedliving options for seniors and “semi-independent” apartments for healthy loved ones to live nearby in the same complex, Antonetti said. The semi-independent residents would have access to shared facilities or services like laundry, he said. Bowie City Manager David Deutsch said the combined as-
See SENIOR, Page A-8
Safety scrutinized at popular Largo Bowie school marks 40 years amusement park PHOTOS BY EMILIE SHAUGHNESSY/THE GAZETTE
(Above) Morgan Skinner (left), 12, of Upper Marlboro helps Leslie Holmes of Bowie make cotton candy Saturday at Grace Christian School’s first annual homecoming. (Below) Danita Cobbs with Ellicot City-based About Faces Entertainment paints the face of a young participant at the homecoming.
BY
A
After fight, Six Flags officials say Halloweenthemed event will continue n
EMILIE SHAUGHNESSY STAFF WRITER
BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Some Prince George’s parents say they no longer feel comfortable taking their children to Six Flags America in Largo for the Halloween-themed Fright Fest after a violent altercation Saturday night that has left one teenager in a coma. Harry Bond, a spokesman
for the Prince George’s County police department, said one juvenile was in critical condition and another was treated and released from the hospital after an incident at the amusement park. The cause of the injuries remains under investigation, Bond said. No arrests were made at the scene, Bond said. Zina Pierre, a spokeswoman for the mother of the juvenile in critical condition, said the youth is a 15-year-old who attends DuVal High School in Lanham.
See PARK, Page A-8
Brandywine school rallies behind cancer-stricken student Gwynn Park High School hosts community cookout, athletes wear custom headbands to show support n
BY
KIRSTEN PETERSEN STAFF WRITER
Alexandria “Alexx” Herndon said she was excited to cheer for the Yellow Jackets when she started her freshman year at Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine. But now, Herndon’s peers, teachers and administrators are rooting for her as she faces an opponent of her own — cancer. “My family, friends, the cheer squad, the football team are really my motivation,”
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
Herndon said. Herndon, 16, of Accokeek, now a junior at Gwynn Park, said she was looking forward to joining the cheerleading squad in 2012, but her knee gave out during her tryout and the swelling would not subside. She said she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that often develops in teenagers. “I was actually sad, but I never showed it because the doctor told me it was treatable,” Herndon said. Herndon was homeschooled during five months of chemotherapy treatments and part of her knee and femur were replaced with a titanium rod, she said. The cancer went into remission and she recovered in time to return to Gywnn Park for the final
See STUDENT, Page A-7
NEWS B-8 A-2 B-7 B-4 A-9 B-1
ATHLETES IN TRAINING County residents prepare for 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
A-7
1932781
quarter of her freshman year, she said. Herndon said she was able to attend Gywnn Park for most of her sophomore year, but in January she found out the cancer had returned and spread to her lungs. She spent the summer completing rounds of chemotherapy and has missed only a few days of junior year so far, Herndon said. While her health prevents her from becoming a cheerleader, Herndon said she is still involved as the team’s manager, she said. “Even though I can’t participate, I can participate by helping with the cheers and the dances and being on the sidelines and rooting for them,” Herndon said.
Volume 17, No. 40, Two sections, 20 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
Alexandria “Alexx” Herndon, 16, of Accokeek speaks with former Gwynn Park High School Assistant Principal George Thayer. KIRSTEN PETERSEN/ THE GAZETTE