Offices or Housing: What's Better for Redevelopment?
Just Up the Pike blogger Dan Reed says adding new homes is more important.
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Is relocating government offices to Wheaton a crucial step in jumpstarting redevelopment?
Absolutely not, writes Dan Reed on his Just Up the Pike blog, disagreeing with Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, who has championed moving the county headquarters of the Park and Planning Commission to Wheaton.
Reed argues that office workers do not spend much money on local businesses and that a better solution would be to focus on residential build-up, as the Wheaton Sector plan does by calling for 6,600 new homes in downtown Wheaton.
Another good thing for Wheaton, Reed adds, is the new campus of the dual-language Ana G. Mendez University in Wheaton Plaza because it will bring evening and weekend traffic to businesses in the area.
Read the full story on Just Up the Pike.
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Montgomery County Government National Park Planning Commission
8787 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD
AntonFisher
2:56 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Smart growth incorporates retail, office, and residential developments in urban centers. This approach induce activities in an area throughout the day. If it was all residential, then activities will only pick up only in the evening and on weekends. On the other hand, if offices exist in an area, that will give a boost to activities during business hours, especially around lunch time. All studies have proven that office space is essential to creating smart urban areas.