 Proud Owners, Mike and Tyra Harris, are excited to bring PJ’s to Bowie.
PJ's Coffee of New Orleans will soon open in the Fairwood community. The PJ's owners are hoping to fill a community need as the space was a former Starbucks in the Fairwood Green Shopping Center. The Business Development Section worked with the owners to secure permits for the opening. The coffee shop is scheduled to open in early spring.
 RC’s Ribs and Soul will open to serve customers early to mid-April.
RC’s Ribs and Soul is a new eatery opening this spring on Temple Hills Road in the Clinton community. DPIE staff worked with the proprietors of RC’s Ribs and Soul to open the restaurant which will serve soul food and grilled foods among other southern cuisine. The restaurant is preparing to open its doors in the coming weeks.
DPIE’s Third Party Program
As development continues to expand throughout the county, DPIE encourages applicants to use DPIE’s Third Party Program, especially for large commercial projects. Currently, there are four programs under DPIE’s Third Party Program. DPIE’s Third-Party Plan Review Program enables owners and developers of large-scale commercial projects to retain an outside third-party team to complete reviews of their project plans. It is estimated that third-party plan reviews can save up to 75% of the typical plan processing time.
Additionally, DPIE’s Peer Review Program, a lower cost option as compared to the Third Party Plan Review Program, allows owners and applicants to select DPIE Certified Peer Reviewers at their own cost to expedite the plan review process instead of County staff. Using Peer Reviewers can reduce the plan review and approval timeframe by up to 50%. Peer Reviewers can be retained for various types of building and site development projects. Under the Third Party Plan Review and Peer Review programs, the entire project must be reviewed and approved before construction starts. Although the above programs are not mandatory, all Fire Protection Systems must go through DPIE's Third Party Plan Review for Fire Protection Systems.
DPIE's Third-Party Inspection Program (TPIP) establishes a building inspections procedure that utilizes qualified, third-party professionals in addition to the County’s Quality Assurance Inspectors to conduct and document field inspections of commercial building construction projects, commercial alterations/additions, and other specified projects permitted by DPIE. The use of third-party inspection teams is based on their ability to expedite project inspections resulting in the timelier issuance of a project use and occupancy certificate when justified. Any project over $200,000 will be subject to DPIE’s Third Party Inspection Program (TPIP).
For more details on each of these review programs please visit the following links:
DPIE's Peer Review Manual
DPIE's Third Party Plan Review Manual for Fire Protection Systems
DPIE's Third-Party Inspection Program Manual
The Redevelopment Authority of Prince George's County has $900,000 in available funding for exterior façade and other building system improvements to enhance retail competitiveness, aesthetics, and viability. Selected applicants must be owners of shopping centers and main street retail properties. The application deadline is Thursday, April 16, 2020 by 12:00 pm. For more information, please e-mail Mr. Victor Sherrod: vsherrod@co.pg.md.us
Green Book Pilot
The Office of Central Services (OCS) is launching a pilot for the Prince George’s County Green Book, scheduled to go live on April 15th. The Green Book is a digital guide for County-based Small Businesses (CBSBs) and Minority Business Enterprises (CBMBEs), designed to connect them with Prince George’s County Government procurement opportunities. The county website will link to a portal called The Prince George’s County Business Highway, “Driving Small Business Opportunities,” whereby businesses can access the green book. Stay tuned.
 CHANGING THE USE OF A BUILDING
If you are changing the use of a building you will need to get a building permit. For example, if you are opening a coffee shop in a prior retail space, opening a restaurant in a prior pre-packaged foods store, or changing to an assembly style business which increases the occupancy load. When submitting your application, make sure to submit for a Commercial with New Use (CUW). Do not submit a Construction Interior (CI). This will cut down on considerable time in your ability to occupy your business premises.
COMPLETING ePlan TASKS
Tasks are assigned by the Plan Reviewer to the permit applicant. When you are finished, you must click “Submit.” Once you click “Submit,” you will no longer have access to your task, and applicants will no longer have the ability to upload files. You MUST click SUBMIT to make the ePlan process move forward; otherwise, your ePlan will NOT advance to the next step.
SUBMITTING A BUILDING PERMIT
A building permit is required for the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, connection, demolition or razing of any building or structure; the change of an exit and modification of equipment regulated by the county building code. There are some exceptions, for a list of those building types please visit DPIE Building Permits.
RENOVATING YOUR HOME AND LARGE-SCALE PROJECTS
DPIE has a Homeowners and Mega Projects Suite located on the first floor of 9400 Peppercorn Place. The suite was designed to assist homeowners with small residential projects and to facilitate the permitting and development of large-scale projects. Upon visiting the suite, a case manager is assigned, and a review schedule is defined for each project.
 
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