Politics & Government

Redevelopment of Downtown Is in Beginning Stages

A serious overhaul is years away, but a few large projects are already in the pipeline.

Although downtown will look much the same for the rest of 2010, several major changes are already in the works to create a new Wheaton in the near future.

B.F. Saul, the development company awarded a deal to remake county and WMATA land at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Veirs Mill Road, will formalize the arrangement this fall and begin working on concept plans for the land and adjacent surface parking lots. The Montgomery Parks and Planning Board and the Wheaton Redevelopment Committee will schedule work group meetings over the next few months to work out the details of a document that will guide redevelopment for the next 20 years.

Closer on the horizon is the planned renovation of Safeway, which already passed through the initial planning review this spring.

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An update to Wheaton's Master Plan, last overhauled in 1990, with an amendment in 2008, is currently in progress after a public hearing in late July. A master plan does not define any specific redevelopment but instead reworks zoning and outlines design guidelines for future projects.

For the Wheaton business district, the idea is to spur new development by allowing for higher density in smaller projects. Given the current makeup of property owners in the downtown area, planners believes this will revitilize the area while protecting smaller businesses.

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Sandy Tallant, head planner for the new Wheaton Master Plan, said changing the zoning regulations from the existing central business district zone to new commercial/residential zones (known as CR zones), would allow developers an option to build higher in certain locations downtown without assembling land from multiple owners. Aside from Westfield's properties and the Veirs Mill block southeast of Ennails Avenue, many parcels are small and owned individually.

"It's an encouragement [for individual owners] to invest in their property, to either refurbish it as it is now, or to actually add another floor or tear down what they have for a larger building," Tallant said.

But until developers put in specific requests, there is very little the county can do — except to offer its own land to get the process started.

Back in January, the county, through the Department of General Works, offered several parcels throughout the central business district for a public-private partnership, including several parking lots and Wheaton Veterans Park, as well as the bus bay and parking lot next to the Metro owned by WMATA.

The selection of B.F. Saul to redevelop the land immediately to the south of Reedie Drive at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Veirs Mill Road is still in the early stages, although the next few months will be crucial in deciding what kind of development will occur on this piece of prime real estate.

Along with architects Torti Gallas and Partners Inc. and civil engineers Loiederman Soltesz Associates Inc., B.F. Saul must figure out how to create a landmark building that is transit-oriented and incorporates the bus bays within or near the area. So far, in broad terms, plans have focused on an office building or mixed-use building with significant public space.

The final concept will be decided with the input of the county, WMATA and community representatives, said Pete McGinnity, business manager of the Wheaton Redevelopment Program.

McGinnity likened the process to the way downtown Silver Spring began its own redevelopment, choosing a developer first before a specific project.

"For years what was happening was developers were coming in with very specific and concrete ideas of what was going to work there. And it turned out the ideas weren't that good or they didn't have the financial capacity or the community hated it," he said.

"Ultimately, the county decided rather than look for a specific project, to try to identify the developer that has the capacity to do something, but is willing to work more with us and with the community for something everybody can live with."

Meanwhile, the renovation and expansion of the Safeway site on Georgia Avenue moves closer to breaking ground, after a successful initial review in April. The Safeway site is the only development project so far that has taken advantage of the 2008 amendment that allows for taller, denser development. The 18-story building will include apartment housing and additional parking for both residents and shoppers.

Testimony during the public hearing on the Wheaton Master Plan in downtown Silver Spring last month broadly supported the sector plan's goals of a more walkable, updated downtown.

But representatives from a few neighborhoods had some concerns about the plan as it exists now.

Residents of the Kensington View neighborhood, immediately north of University Boulevard and west of Veirs Mill Road, worry that the sector plan will destroy the residential character of the neighborhood.

"The last planning chair called our area 'low-hanging fruit,'" said resident Stephanie Savolaine, a member of the Kensington View Civic Association.

The civic association agrees with Chris Lindsay of the Lindsay Ford dealership on Veirs Mill that changes in the current right-of-way on Veirs Mill Road would create more problems than true walking connections for residents north of the business district.

On the other side of the mall, residents of Kensington Heights were concerned that the draft plan's more permissive height restrictions on mall property and the property where First Baptist Church of Wheaton currently stands would create environmental and aesthetic issues for community members. Testimony from members of the Kensington Heights Civic Association suggested expanding the current green barrier between the mall and the residential neighborhood.

Land owned by Westfield, including the ring road around the mall parking lot, is most likely to be unchanged, however, especially with the confirmation of Costco as a new anchor store.

"They've invested $150 million in the mall as it is right now," McGinnity said. "And they are looking for a return on their investment."

The Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee meets on the third Wednesday of each month at the Mid-County Services Center at 2424 Reedie Drive.

Listen to local business owners talk about redevelopment in downtown Wheaton.


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