Thursday, April 4, 2013
Find out when Montgomery County Council committees are planning to discuss changes for Wheaton redevelopment.
Montgomery County Council committees are scheduled to discuss Wheaton redevelopment on Friday, April 12, at 9 a.m., and Wednesday, April 24, at 2 p.m., according to an agenda available on the Council's website. The committees will consider amendments to the county's CIP (capital improvements program) budget regarding the government office building and town square proposed for Parking Lot 13 in Wheaton. A revised plan would set up the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission headquarters in a new building at 2424 Reedie Drive, across the street from Lot 13. The Council's Government Operations and Fiscal Policy committee and the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development committee will meet jointly on both days. Six …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
In addition, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett is recommending against moving county agencies from Rockville to share space with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Wheaton, citing high costs.
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is still on track to move its headquarters from Silver Spring to downtown Wheaton, but perhaps not to Parking Lot 13 as previously proposed. Instead, Park and Planning is looking across the street, to take over the site currently occupied by the Mid-County Regional Services Center at 2424 Reedie Dr. in Wheaton, according to a project description form submitted in March. (See attached PDF) If this goes forward, Montgomery County likely would receive the Park and Planning headquarters site at 8787 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, in a land swap, said Greg Ossont, deputy director of the Department of General Services. Leggett: $67 Million More Would Be Needed to Move County Agencies to …
Monday, April 1, 2013
Montgomery County's executive says the move would cost too much, The Washington Examiner reports.
The redevelopment vision for the new Park and Planning headquarters in Wheaton included proposals to relocate certain Montgomery County agencies under the same roof. But County Executive Isiah Leggett says moving the departments of permitting services and environmental protection from Rockville to Wheaton would be too expensive, The Washington Examiner reports. What would be the estimated cost for the move? $67 million more than the $65 million already planned for the headquarters building. Read the full story at The Washington Examiner.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
A letter to the Montgomery County executive from a Wheaton advisory committee asks for more transparency for the project's timeline and funding for small business assistance.
The Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee sent a letter to Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett Wednesday, sharing concerns about the redevelopment project planned for parking lot 13 in Wheaton. "There is a high degree of frustration in the community due to uncertainty about the project timeline and hence, how that correlates to funding for Bill 6-12," the letter reads. Bill 6-12, which the County Council approved last year, provides for assistance to small businesses who are negatively affected by a county redevelopment project. However, the assistance program that the bill creates has not yet been funded. In the letter (see attached PDF), WUDAC asks for more transparency on the progress of the redevelopment project, funding for …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee discussed the plan's moving parts Tuesday.
Questions remain regarding the siting, scope and size of the Wheaton redevelopment project involving a new Park and Planning headquarters. The Montgomery County Council discussed the project with county officials and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission during a closed session Tuesday, Pete McGinnity, manager of the county's Wheaton Redevelopment Program, told the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee later that day. "It was to discuss the acquisition of private property," McGinnity said of the closed session. It's not yet clear what changes could be coming, but the County Council expects to receive amended project description forms from Park and Planning for introduction on March 19, said Adam Fogel, chief of …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Montgomery County Council is tentatively scheduled to receive an update on Wheaton redevelopment plans on March 12.
Find out when construction is expected to finish.
It's hard for anyone passing through Wheaton's downtown area to miss the massive structure rising from the ground at the corner of Reedie Drive and Georgia Avenue. When completed, the 17-story building will include a Safeway grocery store and apartments. The Safeway grocery store, under construction across from the Wheaton Metro Station, is anticipated to open late this summer, according to a report from the Wheaton Redevelopment Program. The apartments above the Safeway will be completed by this fall, the report said. The new mixed-use facility will also include a SunTrust bank, Bergman’s drycleaner and a Starbucks, Patch reported in October. This photo gallery features views of the Safeway building from different places in Wheaton. Where…
Patch looks back to what was going on around this time last year with plans for the Wheaton library and recreation center project.
Montgomery County is almost ready to begin the design phase for the combination Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center project on Georgia Avenue. And the funding is in place, thanks to a budget decision last March by two Montgomery County Council committees. [Stay informed about news in Wheaton by signing up for a daily newsletter and breaking news alerts from Wheaton Patch.] At their joint meeting on March 5, 2012, the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development and the Housing and Human Services committees voted to advance planning and design funding for the project to fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014, as proposed by Councilmember Nancy Navarro. This decision (later affirmed by the full council) represented a two-year …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Volunteer representatives from three advisory boards will meet regularly with the architects during the design phase.
Montgomery County is almost ready to begin the design phase for the combination Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center project on Georgia Avenue. "We're just bringing our architect on board," said Ernest Lunsford, division chief for Building Design and Construction in the Department of General Services. The county has chosen Grimm + Parker Architects to design what will be the county's first combined facility for a library and recreation center. Lunsford said Grimm + Parker is "ideally situated" for the project because the firm has experience designing both libraries (Rockville Memorial Library) and recreation centers (White Oak Community Recreation Center) for the county. But before design can begin, the county's libraries and …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Community applies to become enterprise zone as delegates propose additional tax breaks.
Local economic officials are working on an application to classify Glenmont as an enterprise zone, while delegates to the Maryland General Assembly have proposed legislation enabling Montgomery County to grant additional tax credits, in an effort to revitalize the Glenmont community. “I grew up in the Wheaton-Glenmont communities, and it pains me to see the eyesore that the shopping center has become,” said Del. Ben Kramer, who proposed the bill at the suggestion of Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro. “This would bring life and vitality back to Glenmont," he said. The application to make Glenmont an enterprise zone was submitted through the existing state measures, said Kramer. If approved, Glenmont would become the fourth …
AntonFisher
5:54 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Randall - Thanks for taking the time and contacting HOC. That is great to hear. I hope when they reveal the developer, a plan is revealed as well. I hope we hear, as promised, before summer begins. more ›