Who Will Shine in a New Wheaton? Our Take on the Proposed Public Subsidy for B.F. Saul

A few months ago, I walked into the Emanuel Christian Library to talk to Wheaton small business owner Jose Gonzalez. For years, Jose has sold a variety of Christian books, compact discs, and DVDs in the Wheaton Triangle.

I asked Jose for his take on the small business community in Wheaton and the prospects for its survival given developer B.F. Saul’s plans to redevelop the Triangle, which include new offices, a hotel, and high-rise apartments. “It’s because of all of us small business owners that Wheaton shines,” Jose said.

At first, I assumed B.F. Saul and Montgomery County shared Jose’s point of view. The new Wheaton Sector Plan, a planning document outlining the area’s future, champions Wheaton as a shopping destination with ethnic restaurants and “unique local small business offerings.” In its project bid, B.F. Saul argues that small businesses like the Showcase Aquarium and The Little Bitts Shop must be preserved. The County’s project goals reference eclectic small businesses as one of Wheaton’s strengths and a basis for attracting new businesses and residents.

Yet inexplicably, as B.F. Saul and Montgomery County race to finalize a redevelopment agreement in the next few months, I still have no idea what their commitment is to help small businesses and the broader community shine in a revitalized Wheaton. Adding insult to injury, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett yesterday proposed to support the Wheaton Redevelopment Program and B.F. Saul with more than $40 million dollars of public taxpayer money to realize the project and defray its costs.

I recognize the challenges of balancing the financial realities of redevelopment planning in a down economy with accommodating the needs and concerns of a community that has fallen on hard times. Yet, somewhere along the way, consequential discussions about fairness and shared prosperity became eclipsed by B.F. Saul’s vision that has framed legitimate concerns regarding the negative impacts of its project as of secondary importance.

Small business owners and Montgomery County families deserve to know how their livelihoods will be protected before a public subsidy is approved for the project and before a final redevelopment agreement is signed. More than 500 County residents and small businesses have joined the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton, calling for important investments including a fund to help small businesses survive years of construction, a plan to relocate and enhance community services set for displacement in the Mid-County Regional Services Center, and local job sourcing of new employment opportunities related to the redevelopment.

We need your help to make the Wheaton redevelopment project a model of equitable development in the DC region – now more than ever. Join the customers of Wheaton’s beloved small businesses who have signed our petition for community benefits. If you live in Montgomery County, click here and sign our new online Change.org petition to join our cause.