Redevelopment Highlights: Small Business Survey Results Coming Soon

The Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee (WRAC) held its . Peter McGinnity and Rob Klein, who are both on the county staff for the Wheaton Redevelopment Program, provided updates:

Wheaton Redevelopment on Lot 13

The county’s redevelopment plans for Wheaton will begin with an office building on Parking Lot 13 in the Wheaton Triangle, but the building’s future occupants need to sort out a few things first.

The Maryland-National Parks and Planning Commission is still working on a framework for a Memorandum of Understanding with the county’s Department of General Services. Creating the MOU will be a major step, Klein told WRAC members, because the County Council will not allocate money until it is done.

Streetscape Improvements

Construction continues on Price Avenue to . According to McGinnity, the county will wait until fall to plant trees along the sidewalks.

No Bids on WMATA Property

Bidding closed June 15 for a 3.8-acre parcel owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. WMATA got no takers for its minimum bid price of $10 million. Klein said the county is encouraging WMATA to combine its land at 11507 Georgia Avenue with the neighboring parcel where the BB&T bank building sits, north of Blueridge Avenue.

July Meeting Preview

County Council Vice President Nancy Navarro is scheduled to come to WRAC’s July meeting.

McGinnity anticipates that the results from the small business survey in Wheaton will be ready by mid-July. The survey was sent to approximately 285 small businesses, with a 30 percent response rate.

WRAC will not meet in August.