LA PLATA, Md. — The Charles County Planning Commission was briefed Monday on a proposed amendment to the Waldorf Station Development Agreement that would allow 70 already-approved residential units to be built earlier than originally planned — and in a format designed to expand workforce homeownership options in Waldorf.
The amendment would raise the Stage 1 residential cap from 545 to 615 units. No new homes are being added to the project. The 70 units were always part of Waldorf Station’s approved total of 798 residences — currently slated for Stage 3, the project’s final residential phase. The amendment would move them into Stage 1, provided they are built as stacked townhouses, also known as two-over-two units.
No action was taken at the May 18, 2026, meeting. A public hearing before the Planning Commission is scheduled for June 15.
A Project Years In The Making
Waldorf Station is an approved mixed-use, transit-oriented development on roughly 143 acres in the Waldorf Development District, located along U.S. Route 301 near Mattawoman Beantown Road. The project was originally approved under a development agreement dated July 7, 2020, between developer GGCal Waldorf Holding LLC and the County Commissioners of Charles County, authorizing up to 798 residential units and approximately 453,000 square feet of commercial space.
The original 2020 agreement structured the project in five stages and capped Stage 1 at 345 residential units. It also required construction of a retirement housing component — a planned age-restricted community called Aspire, under a contract signed in October 2019 with developer Bonaventure — and sufficient progress on commercial development and a hotel pad before the full Stage 1 residential allocation could proceed.
That plan unraveled in 2022. Bonaventure terminated its contract, the retirement housing component collapsed, and pandemic conditions had effectively eliminated hotel market demand — both elements tied to the original staging triggers. With 515 units already in the county’s review pipeline but only 345 permitted to move forward under the original agreement, developer GGCal Waldorf Holding LLC wrote to the county in August 2022 requesting a restructured staging plan.
The 2022 amendment condensed the five-stage structure into three stages, removed the retirement housing and hotel requirements, and raised the Stage 1 residential cap from 345 to 545 units — allowing all 515 units then under review to proceed. The total 798-unit project ceiling was not changed.
Under the current three-stage agreement structure:
- Stage 1 — up to 545 residential units + 70,000 sq. ft. commercial
- Stage 2 — commercial only, ranging from 156,500 to a maximum of 453,000 sq. ft.
- Stage 3 — remaining residential units, not to exceed 798 total, plus any remaining commercial
Those 70 units the developer now wants to move forward are currently sitting in Stage 3.
What Happens Next
Following the June 15 public hearing before the Planning Commission, the matter will advance to the Board of County Commissioners for a separate briefing and public hearing before any final action is taken. Planning staff believes the amendment remains consistent with the Charles County Comprehensive Plan — specifically its goals of concentrating growth within the Development District, encouraging mixed-use and transit-oriented development, and expanding workforce housing options.
No action was taken at the May 18 briefing.
What Is A Two-Over-Two Stacked Townhouse?
The stacked townhouse — commonly called a two-over-two — is a residential building style that places two separate dwelling units vertically on top of one another. Each unit is a complete, self-contained home. The pair of stacked units is then separated from the next pair by fire-rated walls that run continuously from the foundation to the roofline, meeting building code requirements for separate structures.
From the street, a stacked townhouse looks similar to a traditional townhome. Inside, however, the building contains two distinct households — one on the ground floor and one above — each with its own entrance, living space, kitchen and bedrooms.
The format is gaining traction nationally as a workforce housing tool because it allows developers to deliver more homeownership units on the same footprint as a traditional townhome, spreading land and construction costs across two buyers instead of one. That typically results in a lower per-unit purchase price — making ownership accessible to buyers who earn too much to qualify for subsidized affordable housing but cannot afford a conventional townhome in the current market.
In Charles County, planning staff and the developer have both pointed to the two-over-two model as an answer to what housing experts call the missing middle — the gap in the housing market between large apartment complexes and single-family homes that leaves moderate-income households with few ownership options. The Charles County Affordable Housing Report identified that gap as a priority concern and recommended expanding the variety of housing types available within the Development District.
Public Hearing Details
What: Charles County Planning Commission Public Hearing — Waldorf Station Development Agreement Amendment
When: Monday, June 15, 2026
Where: Charles County Government, 200 Baltimore St., La Plata, Md. 20646
Watch the full May 18, 2026, Planning Commission meeting on CCGTV.
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