Maryland officially opened the door to development proposals last week on roughly 4 1/2 acres of state-owned land at the MARC train station near Bowie State University as it seeks to address a housing shortage and spur transit use.

State officials also suggested the future development partner could tap into an Amazon fund that has committed more than $2 billion so far to affordable housing projects in regions where the e-commerce giant has offices.

The site is one of two surface parking lots that surround the stop on the MARC Penn Line, the most popular of two Maryland Transit Administration commuter train lines connecting Baltimore and Washington, D.C., making it an easy starting point to commute to either metro area.

The Maryland Department of Transportation is seeking a “qualified development partner” to coordinate with the state on a master site plan that will emphasize affordable housing, Gov. Wes Moore announced last week in a news release. Bowie State also is involved, as the historically-Black university could be poised to expand its campus closer to the station area.

“This project represents Maryland’s continued commitment to sustainable growth, economic opportunity, and housing near transit,” Moore said in the release. “We are building a foundation for a connected, inclusive and thriving community that serves current and future generations.”

Though the request for proposals states that Amazon “has not made a commitment to the project,” state transportation officials have held preliminary discussions with the company about tapping its affordable housing fund. They’re encouraging developers to pursue it as a financing option if selected.

Amazon’s East Coast headquarters, known as “HQ2,” is in Arlington, Virginia, between two Metro subway stops, roughly an hour and fifteen minutes from Bowie State using the MARC and Washington-area transit system.

“Amazon has committed $3.6 billion to help create and preserve affordable housing in our hometown communities,” Amazon spokesperson Callie Galván said in an email. “Throughout the National Capital region, we’re investing in developments where families of various income levels can thrive near jobs, transit, and essential services.”

Last fall, state transportation officials released a vision plan for the areas surrounding six Penn Line train stations, which were developed originally as park-and-ride commuter stops surrounded by surface parking.

Typical transit-oriented development sites, like at the Owings Mills Metro station, consolidate parking into garages to free up space for housing and retail uses, with the goal creating a dense community where people can walk or take public transit for most daily tasks instead of relying on a car.

Officials selected the Bowie State and Odenton stations as the first two to pursue because they already had the zoning and buy-in from local governments. At Bowie State, officials had even drafted mockups for what the site could look like, including an option with 177 residential units and another with 308.

“We’re not married to those options,” said David Zaidain, MDOT’s chief of real estate and transit oriented development. Rather, the options provide “ideas about what could be feasible, and [are] also reflective of the bigger principles we want to do here.”

There’s also a “different twist” with this solicitation, Zaidain said, as the state wants the selected developer to pitch in with certain station improvements — things like making the platform larger — as MARC ridership grows with more development.

The state transportation department has so far budgeted $1.5 million to advance planning for the site, including considerations for public infrastructure.

The future transit-oriented development site could be part of a much larger initiative in the area that could further boost MARC ridership. The station area is immediately south of roughly 93 acres of wooded land owned by the Prince George’s County government that officials are also seeking to develop.