Parking Study Delayed Until County Chooses Wheaton Developer

The Montgomery County Council included the parking study in the FY13 budget to address fears of displaced customer parking during redevelopment construction.

Montgomery County's executive branch plans to select a developer for Wheaton before conducting the planning study that the county council allotted money for in the fiscal year 2013 capital improvements program. Steve Silverman, the director of the Department of Economic Development, said that the study could take place before the end of the fiscal year. The selection of a developer for Wheaton may be announced before the end of January. The council included the parking study in response to concerns that construction on parking lot 13 in the center of Wheaton would harm the small businesses that rely on the parking spaces to attract customers. The council set aside $650,000 for the parking study, a bus bay feasibility study and local job …

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County Drops Bus Bay Feasibility Study for Wheaton Redevelopment

The Montgomery County Council had allocated money for the study in the FY2013 budget.

Montgomery County government is not going to proceed with a feasibility study for redeveloping the bus bay area in Wheaton, in the triangle between Reedie Drive, Georgia Avenue and Veirs Mill Road. That's what Steve Silverman, director of the Department of Economic Development, told members of the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee at their January meeting. "We've made a determination at this point to move on," Silverman said. Last year, the Montgomery County Council approved $650,000 for various studies as part of the Wheaton redevelopment package, including the bus bay feasibility study. The study's inclusion in the budget came after the council rejected a proposal for private developer B.F. Saul to build a platform over the bus …

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Commentous

9:05 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013

You're right that Wheaton needs a 24-hour presence around Lot 13 for the area to be the centerpiece of redevelopment, but the County already decided against it, instead putting up an agency in which workers will leave as soon as the workday ends. The plan endorsed by WRAC/WUDAC would have placed residents there, which could have provided a significant foot presence in the day AND at night. The …   more ›

Wheaton Public Safety Group Updates from County Councilmembers

Working group seeks to improve quality of life in Wheaton.

  A Wheaton Public Safety Working Group tasked to study ways of "improving public safety, quality of life, and perceptions of downtown Wheaton as it relates to revitalization efforts” met with several local officials in July, according to an Aug. 8 memorandum from Montgomery County Council Vice President Nancy Navarro (D-District 4) and Councilmember Hans Reimer (D – At Large). The Working Group is comprised of Wheaton residents, business owners, civic associations and representatives from government agencies, including, but not limited to: Mid-County Regional Services director Ana Lopez van-Balen, a police representative from the 4th District, Wheaton Urban District Advisory Board and Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee members, …

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August Construction Watch: Costco

Keep track of construction progress of the Costco at Wheaton Mall, and snap your own photos to share on Patch.

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Council's Redevelopment Plan Includes Coalition's Revisions

The revised language adds small business and job creation opportunities.

What did the Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton get out of Tuesday's straw vote at the Montgomery County Council? Compare the language originally included in the council staff proposal and the revisions proposed by the Coalition and adopted by the council. Changes are in bold. PROPOSED LANGUAGE: "The Executive will brief the Council regarding the outcome of these studies before the Executive resumes negotiating the terms of any General Development Agreement."  PROPOSED REVISION: "The Executive will brief the Council regarding the outcome of these studies and any planning or negotiations regarding job opportunities and training as well as small business protections before the Executive resumes negotiating the terms of any …

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WUDAC Airs Frustration About Council Redevelopment Vote

Councilmember Hans Riemer attended the meeting to answer questions and present ideas for moving forward with Wheaton redevelopment.

  Anger and disappointment pervaded Tuesday night’s meeting of the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee, hours after the Montgomery County Council tentatively approved a Wheaton redevelopment plan that would build a new Park and Planning headquarters in downtown Wheaton--instead of the platform that WUDAC and County Executive Isiah Leggett supported. Committee members took out their frustration on Councilmember Hans Riemer, who came to delicately explain how the council’s budget decision was only a part of Wheaton revitalization and why the council needed WUDAC members to stay involved going forward. “I know this has been contentious, but I really believe that we’re going to get a better and faster implementation” for Wheaton …

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Commentous

8:15 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012

Elizabeth, I like your ideas and appreciate that you took the time to speak at the WRAC meeting (where I was just a spectator). I'm not sure the community or the WRAC members feel that they have a say anymore. I think many are frustrated and/or burnt out after what happened so they may not feel like fighting that much anymore. I can only speak for myself and I feel that the Council feels they did…   more ›

County Council Focuses Redevelopment on Park & Planning Headquarters

The Montgomery County Council held a straw vote in favor of a plan for Wheaton's downtown that funds a new M-NCPPC headquarters office building and a town square.

A new headquarters for Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission on Parking Lot 13 will be the centerpiece of public investment in Wheaton’s new downtown, as the Montgomery County Council voted this morning to push the public-private partnership with developer B.F. Saul and County Executive Isiah Leggett’s plans for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority bus bay site into the background. “The council is not discounting that particular component of the revitalization process, simply changing the phasing of it so that we can have a bit more certainty in a market that right now, obviously, is quite tight and uncertain,” Council Vice President Nancy Navarro said. Over the past few weeks, Montgomery County Council staff…

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Randall Spadoni

11:33 pm on Saturday, May 4, 2013

Danila, you should add your Acros idea to the engage Montgomery forum on Wheaton Redevelopment. I love the idea! http://engage.montgomerycountymd.gov/wheaton-redevelopment   more ›

Dual Wheaton Redevelopment Plans Debated During March WRAC Meeting

Montgomery County Council will vote on Wheaton Redevelopment funding on April 10.

In their first meeting since the release of senior legislative analyst Jacob Sesker’s alternate $55 million redevelopment plan, members of the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee (WRAC) invited two county officials—Greg Ossont, deputy director of the Department of General Services and Adam Fogel, chief of staff for Councilmember Nancy Navarro—to help clarify the future of Wheaton’s redevelopment. The committee also discussed changes to the WRAC charter and some impending improvements to Price Street. Rob Klein, of the Department of General Services, opened the meeting with a review of recent redevelopment issues, including announcing that Lowe Enterprises plans for the “Computer Building” located at 11141 Georgia Avenue are moving …

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The Wheaton Five: March 14

Here are five things to know in Wheaton today.

1. Today's forecast: Partly sunny, with highs approaching 80 degrees. 2. Put your dancing shoes on for Ron & Amy’s Beginner’s Ballroom Dance Class! 3. Find out all the details of the Wheaton Redevelopment plan recommended by the County’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee. 4. Check back with Patch later today for a St. Patrick’s Day preview. 5. Are you following us on Twitter? Have you liked us on Facebook? Stay connected with Patch throughout the day and get updates on breaking news events.

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