The Largo Plaza Mess Deepens
Questions Grow Over Delays, Redesign Plans, and Political Symbolism at the Blue Line Corridor Project
By Barry O’Connell
What was supposed to be a signature public gathering space in Largo is rapidly turning into one of the most politically awkward development stories in Prince George’s County government.
The Civic Plaza project outside the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building was promoted as a centerpiece of the Blue Line Corridor redevelopment effort. The plaza was designed to include a lawn, performance area, playground, art walk, butterfly garden, and dog park as part of a broader redevelopment strategy financed through state-backed bond funding tied to the Blue Line initiative. Area would be reserved for a mausoleum where the Johnsons would be buried when they go to ttheir eternal rewards. ([themarylandwire.substack.com][1])
Construction moved forward publicly under former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Acting County Executive Tara Jackson before being inherited by current County Executive Aisha Braveboy. ([themarylandwire.substack.com][1])
But now the project appears stalled in controversy.
Residents have increasingly noticed fencing around portions of the completed playground area with “keep out” messaging while county officials reportedly discuss whether elements of the site are “unsafe” and may require reconstruction. According to sources familiar with the project, the artist and designer associated with the work disputes those claims and does not believe the site requires the dramatic level of reconstruction now being discussed.
No formal public engineering report has yet surfaced establishing catastrophic structural defects requiring wholesale redesign.
That has fueled another theory now spreading rapidly through Prince George’s political circles.
The Naming Problem
Months ago, this publication reported that insiders were quietly referring to the project as the future “Jack and Leslie Johnson Plaza.” ([themarylandwire.substack.com][1])
That reporting triggered immediate backlash among politically aware residents because former County Executive Jack Johnson and former Councilmember Leslie Johnson were both convicted in the sweeping federal corruption scandals that once humiliated Prince George’s County nationally. Federal prosecutors described the Johnson operation as part of a broader culture of extortion, bribery, and evidence tampering. ([Department of Justice][2])
The details remain infamous in Maryland political history.
Federal investigators alleged that as the FBI arrived with a search warrant, Jack Johnson instructed Leslie Johnson by telephone to destroy a $100,000 check from a developer and conceal cash inside the home. Prosecutors said Leslie Johnson flushed the check and attempted to hide nearly $80,000 in cash in her undergarments. ([Department of Justice][2])
For many longtime Prince George’s residents, the idea of placing their names on a taxpayer-funded civic plaza near the seat of county government was politically radioactive from the start.
And that is where the timeline begins to look increasingly strange.
According to multiple county insiders, momentum around the project appeared to change sharply after the proposed Johnson association became public discussion.
What had been moving aggressively toward completion suddenly slowed.
The playground area became fenced off.
Questions about “safety” began surfacing.
And now there is growing internal discussion about redesigning major portions of the project altogether.
The Blue and Gold Question
At the same time, another political layer has emerged around the redesign discussions.
Multiple county insiders now claim that portions of the plaza may be reworked using blue-and-gold visual themes closely associated with Sigma Gamma Rho, the sorority closely tied to influential figures within the current Prince George’s political structure.
Critics inside county politics increasingly joke that the county government is being turned into a “Sigma Gamma Rho color palette project,” with blue and gold appearing repeatedly in branding, staging, event presentation, and visual design choices.
Those criticisms have now attached themselves to the Largo plaza debate.
The Fight Over The Blue & Gold
Rumor has it that Jack and Leslie Johnson want nothing to do with “some hot ass Blue & Gold mess. “ Leslie Johnsonis reportedly said that she was AKA which made her D9 royalty so make the park Pink & Green or leave it be.
To be clear, there is presently no publicly released county design memo stating the plaza is officially being converted into a Sigma Gamma Rho-themed project. But the rumor is spreading widely enough inside Prince George’s political circles that it is becoming part of the public conversation surrounding the redesign effort.
And politically, perception matters.
Because if county taxpayers now believe:
1. the original project was effectively a stealth tribute to two convicted political figures,
2. the backlash forced officials to pause or rethink the rollout,
3. and the redesign is becoming a politically symbolic blue-and-gold remake tied to current power structures,
then the Civic Plaza risks becoming something far larger than a delayed construction project.
It becomes a metaphor.
A metaphor for how Prince George’s County government still struggles with the intersection of public money, political loyalty, insider culture, and symbolic patronage.
What Happens Next
At this point, several unanswered questions remain:
Has the county formally determined the playground is structurally unsafe?
If so, where is the engineering report?
How much additional taxpayer money will be required?
Were redesign discussions underway before the naming controversy became public?
Was there ever an official proposal to associate the plaza with Jack and Leslie Johnson?
And who ultimately decides the visual identity and symbolic messaging of the project sitting directly outside county government headquarters?
For now, the fencing remains.
The playground sits largely unused.
And what was once marketed as a triumphant symbol of the Blue Line Corridor renaissance increasingly looks like another Prince George’s County political drama still waiting for full public explanation.
[1]:
[2]: https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/md/news/archive/PGCountyCouncilwomanLeslieJohnsonSentencedforConspiringtoObstructCorruptionInvestigation.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Prince George’s County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson …”
Ok this is CRAZY.