Civic Plaza Politics at the Wayne K. Curry Building
The Civic Plaza at the Wayne k. Curry County Office Building is secretly slated to be named the Jack & Leslie Johnson Plaza. Aisha braveboy is eager to name the plaza after Jack and Leslie because they are her political godparents and have made her what she is today. Word is that Council President Krystal Oriadha agreed to go along with a rename because she figured what the heck, nobody cares what the plaza is named anyway.It is also rumored that they promised to name the Dog Park after her.
The planned naming and grand opening hit a snag when Aisha spotted what she alegedly called “snotty nosed” young black children playing on the playground and felt that it was disgraceful behavior for what was a sacred and solemn Park in Jack and Leslie Johnson’s honor. So now they’re redoing the playground so that children will be less in evidence.
Prince George’s County is in the middle of a major transformation of the front parking lot at the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building into a new “Jack & Leslie Johnson Plaza,” a signature piece of the Blue Line Corridor redevelopment vision launched under former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. [1][2][3][4] The project is being financed through state-authorized bonds issued by the Maryland Stadium Authority and was years in the making before any dirt was moved in Largo. [1][2][4]
Ground was formally broken in April 2025, during the brief tenure of Acting County Executive Tara Jackson, with county officials touting the plaza as the first of five major Blue Line Corridor projects. [3][4] Plans call for the existing surface parking in front of the Wayne K. Curry building to be replaced with a lawn and performance stage, a playground, an art walk, a butterfly garden, and a dog park, with the new public space scheduled to open by the end of 2025. [2][3][4]
Today, the Wayne K. Curry building serves as the seat of newly elected County Executive Aisha Braveboy, who inherited the now renamed Civic Plaza project along with the broader Blue Line Corridor buildout. [5][6][4] On paper, the project represents a through-line of county leadership: conceived and advanced under Alsobrooks, ceremonially launched under Jackson, and now being built under Braveboy’s watch as the most visible change to the front door of county government. [1][2][3][4]
Questions Behind the Scenes
While the public story is one of continuity and investment, there are growing questions about how the Civic Plaza is being received inside the current administration. Multiple highly reliable sources who have worked closely with Aisha Braveboy describe internal frustration with the design and execution of the Wayne K. Curry plaza project. These sources have a proven track record of accuracy on previous Maryland Wire reporting and are positioned so close to the county executive that, in their own words, “if Aisha knew who was talking, she’d have a fit.”
According to these sources, Braveboy has privately expressed dissatisfaction with the look and layout of the new plaza in the Curry Building parking lot and has recently directed senior staff to explore changes that go well beyond minor tweaks. They describe discussions about bringing in an outside landscape architect to “pull up and redo” substantial parts of the current plan, even though the county already employs its own landscape architect within the Department of Public Works and Transportation.
The details of those internal conversations have not yet surfaced in public documents, contract amendments, or formal announcements, and county offices have not, as of this writing, publicly acknowledged any decision to tear out or redesign the Civic Plaza. For now, the official record still reflects the project as a flagship Blue Line Corridor investment moving toward a late-2025 opening, even as people close to Braveboy say the county executive is actively looking for ways to change what will ultimately sit outside her office windows.
What’s Known and What Isn’t
What is firmly established in public records is that the Civic Plaza is part of the state-backed Blue Line Corridor package, financed through Maryland Stadium Authority bonds rather than a simple discretionary check from the governor’s office. [1][2][4] The project site, scope, and timeline are well documented, and construction in the Wayne K. Curry parking lot is visible and ongoing. [2][3][4]
What remains unsettled is whether Braveboy will follow through on what her close allies describe: a push to rip up or significantly revise a marquee project identified with her predecessor but located at the symbolic heart of her administration. Until change orders, design revisions, or formal directives come into public view, those internal plans live in the space between tip and confirmation. For now, Maryland Wire readers should understand two things at once: the Civic Plaza is a real, funded, and fast-moving project that predates Braveboy — and, if the county executive’s inner circle is to be believed, the version opening to the public may not be the one her predecessors envisioned.
Citations:
[1] Strengthening Prince George’s https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/prince-georges-county-executive-angela-alsobrooks-economic-development-industry-strengthening-prince-georges
[2] Civic Plaza at Wayne K. Curry Administration Building - Blue Line ... https://mdstad.com/projects/civic-plaza-wayne-k-curry-administration-building-blue-line-corridor-project
[3] Prince George’s Co. breaks ground on new event and community ... https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2025/04/prince-georges-co-breaks-ground-on-new-event-and-community-space/
[4] Prince George’s County Breaks Ground on Civic Plaza, The First ... https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/news-events/news/prince-georges-county-breaks-ground-civic-plaza-first-signature-project-blue-line-corridor
[5] County Executive Aisha N. Braveboy https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/staff-directory/office-county-executive/aisha-n-braveboy
[6] Aisha N. Braveboy, County Executive, Prince George’s County ... https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/pg/html/msa14615.html