Over 100 Riverdale Lots May Be Condemned for Purple Line

A preliminary list from the Maryland Transit Administration includes over 100 addresses in Riverdale that may be partly or fully condemned to facilitate the construction of the Purple Line.

The document, obtained by the Washington Post through a freedom of information request, features nearly 500 parcels along the planned 16-mile light rail track between Bethesda and New Carrollton.

Many properties would be only condemned temporarily during the construction process, the Post reports, while others would lose just a small slice of their lots to the project

About 74 homes and businesses — including a dozen or so in Riverdale — would be totally condemned, going by the latest estimate. Officials emphasized that the list could change as more detailed design work is conducted over the next year.

The full rundown includes at least one property on each of the following Riverdale streets: 

• Rivertech Court
• River Road
• Tuckerman Street
• Paintbranch Parkway
• Kenilworth Avene
• Patterson Road
• Powhatan Street
• Riverdale Road
• 57th Avenue
• East-West Highway
• 63rd Avenue
• 64th Avenue
• 66th Avenue
• 67th Place

The Post's story also quotes two small business owners on Kenilworth Avnue whose addresses may be affected: Myman Onyejiaka, who runs a tax preparation business, and Hario Hernandez of La Flor de Puebla Bakery.

For more, view the full story.