The Prince George's Sentinel

The Sentinel Prince George's Drawing above article show a well dressed. Black family, man woman and young boy on a building site with home debris and a hole. Behind them is a bulldozer with a seated operator and smoke coming from it's stack. To one side is a high rise building and a sign reading "Lakeland Urban Renewal Area, High-Rise Living for University Faculty and Senior Citizens". The boy is tugging at the man' sleeve. The headline reads "Is this where you used to live, daddy?" During a meeting in 1973 College Park officials announced HUD funding of the Lakeland Urban Renewal project. That evening was a celebration which included residents of the neglected all Black community. Lakeland residents, many of whom had been relocated from their homes which had been torn down were displeased with the proposal. They saw nothing for them. Another meeting two weeks ago was not a happy event. At that developer, Leon Weiner shared his plan for the community. The information was greeted with protests from residents. Rather than a development of single family homes favored by the community Weiner's plan features six single family homes, a high rise for University of Maryland faculty members and another for senior citizens along with some townhomes and finally some low income housing units. One whole area of the community would remain vacant. Residents noted that the plan was set without input from them. They even questioned the selection of Weiner for the project. Early in the project it was clear urban renewal was too big an endeavor for a small city. By that point it was too late to halt the project. Costs snowballed. The original price tag was $1.3 million that grew to $2.9 million and now rests at 10 million. Things went down hill for the community too. In 1968 the city's urban renewal director assured the them of "retaining the community's sprit and identity" "This is a project of urban renewal, not Negro removal." In 1970 the city administrator assured a reporter "No one (in Lakeland) will be displaced." The current urban renewal director reported 67 families had already been moved out and 44 more will be leaving. There is a history of broken promises. Lakeland was not a slum. There were some substandard homes, and poor and unpaved roads. The fault of the city. Lakeland was a vital community with a history. It would be forever torn apart by Weiner's plan. If that night of promise in 1973 was the city's finest hour the finalization of the Weiner's plan in two weeks will be College Park's worst.