Watkins Mill Town Center - Urban Design

Watkins Mill Town Center will be developed in accordance with three urban design and planning principles: environmentally sound land development, Neo-traditional, transportation-oriented Town Planning, and sustainable building design.

Watkins Mill Town Center will honor sound land development principals that demand great attention to protecting and enhancing the surrounding forest and wildlife environment while creating a livable, people friendly community. It will reduce the impact on the environs by reserving large sectors of land for parks, open space, environmental protection and community recreation. Density will be concentrated in the Urban Core; residential neighborhoods will be within easy walking distance of that core as called for by advocates of Neo-Traditional Town Planning. Because the Urban Core and West End residential project is adjacent to the existing MARC station and will eventually be served by the CCT, Watkins Mill Town Center will also be an example of the best in transit-oriented design. Residents will be no more than about a 1/2-mile walk from essential goods and services or from recreation, open space or natural preserves.

The following evidences the commitment to the site's natural beauty:

More than a third of the site is preserved for forest conservation, parks, streams, trails, bicycle paths, walkways and open space
Advanced stream protection and forest enhancement projects
More than 2,000 new trees being planted
Nearly two miles of trails and paths for biking, walking and running installed throughout the site to allow for connectivity and enjoyment of the natural setting. This includes access to the adjoining 10 square mile Great Seneca Park, one of the largest parks in the state
Planting of natural grasses rather than fertilized, mowed turf near streams
Wildlife safe passage routes under the new Watkins Mill Road and
Innovative water quality infiltration systems that filter clean water back into the water table

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