Prince George’s County, a jurisdiction with nearly 1 million people that borders D.C., has lagged behind other parts of the region in drawing investment, and its leaders see transit-oriented development as a key way to reverse that trend.

But real estate executives and economic development leaders speaking at Bisnow‘s Future of Prince George’s County event last week said two factors have held back the surge in investment they are seeking: major delays on the planned Purple Line transit project and new rent control policies.

“What we need are more large activation projects,” Yoke Management Partners partner Chris Grant said at the event, held at St. John Properties‘ Melford Town Center in Bowie.

“We need the Purple Line to happen. We need some transit-oriented development things to really just happen. And once those things happen, there’s investors all across the country who would support and invest.”

He added that projects have been stalled by challenging market conditions as well as local regulations, and the county needs more tailwinds to get construction moving and draw investment.

Prince George’s has been an outlier among D.C.-area jurisdictions in receiving investment, according to a 2023 Urban Institute report on the region’s capital flows. The report found that all D.C.-area jurisdictions are in the top third of the 100 largest U.S. counties in overall investment, except for Prince George’s, which is in the bottom half.

Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp. CEO David Iannucci said the county has received far less investment from the federal government than other D.C.-area jurisdictions.