Charles County Commissioners set a Sept. 29 public hearing on an amendment to the Waldorf Station Development Agreement that would let developers build 70 already-approved residential units sooner than planned — provided they’re built as “stacked townhouses” rather than in their originally scheduled phase.
The amendment doesn’t add any new housing to the project. Waldorf Station, a roughly 145-acre mixed-use, transit-oriented development at the intersection of U.S. Route 301 and Route 5, was approved in 2020 for up to 798 residential units and 453,000 square feet of commercial space across three development stages. The 70 units in question are already part of that approved total — currently slated for Stage 3, the project’s final residential phase.
The amendment would move them into Stage 1 instead, raising that stage’s cap from 545 to 615 units, on the condition that at least 70 of the additional units are built as stacked townhouses, also known as “two-over-two” units. Caps for Stages 2 and 3 would stay unchanged. County planning staff have said the format is intended to expand workforce and attainable homeownership options in Waldorf at a lower price point than traditional townhomes.
Developer GGCAL Waldorf Holding, LLC — an affiliate of Greenberg Gibbons — first brought the proposal to the Charles County Planning Commission in May, which held its own public hearing on June 15 before making a recommendation to the county commissioners. The Sept. 1 briefing sets up the commissioners’ own hearing later this month before they decide whether to approve the amendment.
Waldorf Station has been steadily filling in since ground broke on its first phases. The project already includes The Ironwood at Waldorf Station, a $100 million, 302-unit apartment community developed in partnership with MCB Real Estate, with 10% of units set aside as affordable housing. Its retail component has drawn national chains including Starbucks, Honeygrow, and Pollo Campero, part of a broader push to establish the site as a commercial hub along the Route 301 corridor serving Charles, St. Mary’s, and Calvert county residents.
