Georgia Avenue Groundbreaking Delayed Again

Groundbreaking for Guardian Realty's 13-story residential tower at 8711 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring was delayed yet again because of the developer's indecision in choosing a general contractor, according to multiple (frustrated) sources. The project had been set to break ground at the end of January, but fell victim to Guardian's protracted pursuit of lower bids.

Guardian had no comment when contacted for this story.

Described as far back as 2008 as being on the "fast track," the project has flagged in recent years. Originally conceived as a 13-story Class A office tower, with ground-floor retail space, the project was switched to residential after the down economy made leasing difficult. (Location might also have been a factor - potential tenants who declined to lease at 8711 include corporate titans Northrup Grumman, Siemens, and Hilton, who all took offices elsewhere in the area.)

Developers anticipate a heightened demand for housing in the area after Walter Reed merges with the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. The site plan amendment, which left the original building's footprint almost entirely unchanged, was approved by Montgomery County planners in April 2011.

The new plan calls for 160 units in a thirteen story, 143-foot tall building on the 0.87 acre parcel, plus a bit of retail space (halved from 4,500 in the original plan). The WDG-designed building, which will open onto the forthcoming Fenton Street extension, also features a laudably adventurous "public arts plaza" designed by local artist Martha Jackson-Jarvis. The main feature of the plaza is a 75-foot "wave wall," a sort of flowing mosaic sculpture of varied textures that will "undulate like waves." Another, smaller, mosaic wall and a series of three-dimensional sculptures rounds out the space, and a mid-block pedestrian mall will connect the plaza to nearby Georgia Avenue.

At the April 2011 hearing for the site plan amendment, Brian Lang, representative of 8711 Georgia Avenue Parking Lot LLC, described the project as "liven[ing] up" a particularly "dark and dreary" stretch of Georgia Avenue. But before that happens, they'll have to actually build it.

Silver Spring real estate development news

Silver Spring - Georgia Avenue Switches from Office to Residential

Design had been fleshed out, brochures were been inked, and the PR machine for Silver Spring's office tower at 8711 Georgia Avenue had been ambling along. At least until this past January, when plans were scrapped as Guardian Realty filed an amendment to eliminate the office plans and replace it with 160 residential units, keeping retail space. The hearing is scheduled for April 21st after the extension was granted in mid-January of this year.

Under the working name of 8711 Georgia Avenue Parking Lot LLC, the name passed down from original owner Zalco Realty Incorporated onto Guardian Realty Investors after the site was sold in 2007, Zalco intended to create a 13-story class A office building with a slice of retail two blocks from the Metro. Without a working tenant and with demand for residential rentals at an all time high as a result of the housing crunch, developers have now switched to residential.

"The owner [Guardian] tried to find someone to occupy the office spaces before it was built, but in this economy, it is difficult to find a tenant," said Yun Kim, senior designer for WDG Architecture, the design firm for the project. "Converting the proposed building from an office space to residential makes more sense in this economic climate."

The April 21st hearing is to review the change in use, said Robert Kronenberg, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Planning Board. "The building footprint will stay approximately the same. The amount of retail on the ground floor with remain the same. The difference is just in the changeover from office to residential." The change of plans would delay the North Bethesda based developer from a late 2011 early 2012 start.

A development in Silver Spring on a similar timetable is Silver Spring Park, formerly Moda Vista Residences, the Fenton Group LLC development in the former Fenton Street Market space that will make way for a 59,870 s.f., 60-foot-tall Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel with 110 rooms, a 28,170 s.f. office building, and a 58-unit apartment building. Groundbreaking for Silver Spring Park is projected for spring of 2011.

Silver Spring, Maryland Real Estate Development News