MD accelerates development (right); Transit friendly planning for Route 9; Riverside leads CA housing push; NYC advances LIC upzoning; TOD potential around India’s metros (left top-to-bottom)
Article of the Week
MARYLAND—Governor Moore Signs Executive Order to Increase Housing Production and Make Housing More Affordable Across Maryland
Press Release, Office of Governor Wes Moore | September 3, 2025
Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order to accelerate housing development by streamlining use of state-owned land and cutting permitting timelines. The order directs multiple agencies to identify lots suitable for transit-oriented development, coordinate across departments, and expand opportunities to increase density and improve housing affordability statewide.
NJ TOD News
NJ TRANSIT to Take Over Operation of River LINE From Independent Outside Contractor
Kristin Antonello, TAPinto Bordentown | September 4, 2025
NJ TRANSIT plans to take over direct operation of the River Line from contractor Alstom by the end of 2025. The South Jersey light rail line has struggled with delays, cancellations, and limited service since 2023. The agency says the move will allow it to better address the line’s investment needs.
OLD BRIDGE—Beyond the Tracks, TOD for New Jersey’s Bus Riders
Staff, NJTOD | September 3, 2025
NJ TRANSIT’s Route 9 Corridor study envisions bus-based TOD with new housing, retail reinvestment, and pedestrian upgrades. The plan highlights Old Bridge Park-and-Ride, Old Mill Road, and Franklin Lane as key sites for development along the corridor. Bus Rapid Transit could serve as an additional tool to help support future growth.
JERSEY CITY—Lions Group Eyes 360-Unit Journal Square Rental Tower With $90 Million Aspire Award
Joshua Burd, Real Estate NJ | September 2, 2025
Lions Group will break ground on a 34-story tower in Jersey City, backed by a $90 million Aspire Program tax credit supporting mixed-use, transit-oriented projects. The site, three blocks from the Journal Square Transportation Center, will be redeveloped from a surface parking lot into 360 units, including 72 affordable homes, and ground-floor retail.
TRENTON—Trenton’s Clinton Lofts to Have Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Tom Warnick, ROI-NJ | September 2, 2025
On September 4, Trenton marked the opening of Clinton Lofts, a 30-unit apartment building by DRM-Trenton Urban Renewal LP and a 2025 Smart Growth Award winner. The project revives a long-vacant site near the Trenton Transit Center and Roebling Market, advancing the City’s Roebling-Gateway Redevelopment Plan.
Transit and Equity News
CALIFORNIA—Riverside County Leads California in Apartment Building Boom, Housing Affordability
Josh Friedman, CalCoast Times | September 5, 2025
Riverside County delivered 4,200 apartments in the past year and has more than 20,000 in the pipeline, outpacing the state and keeping prices below those in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Ample land, high-density zoning, and infrastructure investments like Metrolink have fueled the growth.
GEORGIA—City Announces 11-Acre Development Plans Next to MARTA Transit Hub
Josh Green, Urbanize Atlanta | September 4, 2025
The City of Atlanta released a Request for Qualifications to redevelop an 11-acre site next to MARTA’s planned Ben Hill BRT Station, slated to open in 2030. Plans call for 100 mixed-income, for-sale homes, with 30 percent reserved as affordable housing. Submissions are due October 10.
ARIZONA—City of Tucson Breaks Ground for 66 Affordable Housing Apartments
Press Release, City of Tucson | August 27, 2025
Tucson has broken ground on Sugar Hill on Stone, a 66-unit affordable housing project along a planned BRT corridor. Part of the city’s $50 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, the project will serve households earning up to 50 percent AMI. Completion is expected in October 2026.
Regional and National TOD News
CALIFORNIA—El Cajon Receives SANDAG Grants to Improve Streetscapes and Traffic Safety, Revamp Parkway Plaza and Add Housing
Karen Pearlman, East County Magazine | September 4, 2025
El Cajon received four SANDAG TransNet Smart Growth Incentive Program grants totaling more than $5.2 million for streetscape, zoning, and planning projects. Funding will advance the El Cajon Boulevard Streetscape, expand the Mixed-Use Overlay Zone, and create the Parkway Specific Plan to enhance development around the Arnele Avenue trolley station.
CONNECTICUT—Plans to Remake Rail Facilities in New Haven, Stamford Begin to Advance
Staff, CTNumbers | September 4, 2025
Connecticut selected Gilbane Development and MURAL Real Estate Partners to redevelop land at New Haven Union Station. The transit-oriented project includes 470 apartments—118 affordable—and 28,000 sq. ft. of retail, with phases completing in 2028 and 2031, as part of a statewide strategy to develop land around transit hubs.
WASHINGTON—The Sound Transit Board Signals a Return to Parochialism
Doug Trumm, The Urbanist | September 4, 2025
Sound Transit faces a $20–30 billion shortfall that threatens its voter-approved ST3 light rail expansion. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell supports growth around stations and faster approvals, but without new funding, the agency may delay projects or cancel Seattle’s planned second downtown tunnel.
NEW YORK—City Planning Commission Approves Long Island City Rezoning
Aaron Ginsburg, 6sqft | September 3, 2025
The NYC City Planning Commission has approved the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, which will rezone a 54-block area of Long Island City’s waterfront previously zoned for industrial use. Updated zoning will allow mixed-use, high-density development, enabling the construction of up to 14,700 homes, including 4,300 permanently affordable, and more than 3.5 million sq. ft. of commercial and industrial space. The plan now advances to the City Council for final approval.
PENNSYLVANIA—Philadelphia Transit Cuts Portend ‘Mayhem’ for Commutes and Regional Economy
Sri Taylor, Bloomberg | September 3, 2025
SEPTA cut service after lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal, affecting 700,000 daily riders. An impact analysis warns that the cuts could cost Greater Philadelphia $6 billion in earnings, 76,000 jobs, and $20 billion in housing value while damaging ties with major employers like Comcast and Penn Medicine.
International TOD News
INDIA—India’s Top Cities Poised for 106 Million Sq. Ft. of Transit-Oriented Real Estate
Staff, ET Infra | September 3, 2025
A CBRE report found India’s eight largest cities could add 106 million sq.ft. of new development around metro, rail, and bus stations. Delhi leads with 32 million sq. ft., followed by Mumbai and Chennai, and the report recommends higher floor area ratios and compact urban growth plans to unlock this potential.
REPUBLIC OF KOREA—Eunma Apartment to Be Reborn a 49-Story Complex With Nearly 5,900 Units
Choi Eun-nam, The Korean Post | September 3, 2025
Seoul’s Eunma Apartment redevelopment in Gangnam moves forward after the Urban Planning Committee lifted the 35-story height cap. The revised plan will create a 49-story mega-complex near Daechi Transit Station with 5,893 units, including more than 1,000 public housing units for rent and sale, along with two new parks and a library.
CANADA—What’s the State of Student Housing?
Kathryn Johnson, The Gateway | September 2, 2025
Students face housing instability with short-term leases, steep annual rent increases, and limited incomes. To improve affordability, three University of Alberta alumni launched Elev, an app streamlining rentals, while the City of Edmonton introduced a $15 million Downtown Student Housing Incentive to encourage new affordable housing construction.