B.F. Saul Withdraws Wheaton Redevelopment Plan

Private developer B.F. Saul has withdrawn from Wheaton redevelopment plans.

The Washington Examiner reported that Montgomery County officials were not surprised.

The Montgomery County Council on an office building shared between county government and Maryland-National Parks and Planning Commission on Parking Lot 13, instead of staying with the original plan for B.F. Saul to develop a platform with offices and a hotel. 

"The loss of B.F. Saul is a blow to the revitalization of downtown Wheaton, but it says more about them than it does about Wheaton," wrote Just Up the Pike blogger Dan Reed.

In a letter to the county's Department of General Services and the Montgomery County Council, B.F. Saul's Senior Vice President Robert Wulff explained why the company was pulling out:

This comparatively small site and opportunity does not match Saul's corporate growth strategy so we must reluctantly withdraw our name from consideration to be part of a County partnership to develop Parking Lot 13.  

Saul applauds the Council's commitment to redevelop downtown Wheaton and we are confident the County will have no problem attracting a high quality private sector partner to develop Parking Lot 13. 

However, Saul remains bullish on Wheaton and believes there is a role for Saul in determining Wheaton's future. 

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