New investment is pouring into College Park, seeking to turn this town known for undergrads and traffic into an urban hub for all ages. As part of that transformation, the famous Knox Boxes student neighborhood is transforming from the ground up.
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College Park's Knox Boxes are just a memory. All photos by the author unless noted. |
For decades, the Knox Boxes epitomized the University of Maryland's image as a party school. The cluster of 25 low-rise 1950s-era brick apartment buildings was just south of the campus, behind the
seedy bars and pizza joints on Route 1.
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The same intersection (Guilford Drive and Hartwick Road) in 2006. |
For many undergrads, a Knox Box apartment was their first taste of living on their own, and the small backyards and proximity to other neighbors made for comfortable college living.
But they were also cheaply built and poorly maintained. During my freshman year at Maryland,
two students died in separate Knox Box fires.
As Maryland became known more for academics than basketball riots, the university and the City of College Park started looking at ways to
redevelop the Knox Boxes.
Getting multiple landlords to sell was difficult, but by 2013, a single owner had purchased most of the Knox Boxes. That year, the city
approved a plan from developer Toll Brothers, usually known for suburban McMansions, to replace the Knox Boxes with Knox Village, a luxury student apartment complex for over 1,500 students.