Maryland Lags in Delivering its Share of Bike Trial

DC bicyclists got their chance to "meet the Met" (i.e. 1.5 miles of the newest section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail) earlier this month at a hula-hoop and dance-laden event hosted by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. But it will likely take residents and smart growth advocates in Maryland upwards of eight years before they get to make the acquaintance of their own little piece of hiking and biking heaven.

The Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) is an eight-mile stretch of off-road trail that runs from Union Station (almost) to Silver Spring, Maryland. Built atop the old B&O Railroad corridors, the MBT will provide the area's walkers and bikers with their own car-free connections to neighborhoods and Metro stations.

Jennifer Kaleba, Vice President of Communications for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a group dedicated to converting "unused railway corridors to biking and hiking corridors," hoped the "Meet the Met" event would give residents on both sides of the Maryland-DC border a taste of what an "integral bicycle beltway" connecting DC to Silver Spring would feel like.


A look at the 2011 Operating Budget - newly approved by the Montgomery County Council on May 27th - shows that the Trail's funding has now been doubled from its original $6 million price tag. Via the 2011-2016 Capital Improvements Program, $12.1 million will now be allotted toward the design and construction of Phase 1 and the design of Phase 2.

The bad news? Despite the 1,000 person turn-out at the DC event and the funding increase, folks on the Silver Spring side of the MBT will have to wait about nine years to take advantage of their portion of the integral beltway. And that's the new, accelerated timeline.

Just this past February, Montgomery Councilmember Valerie Ervin complained that "this project's lack of progress may signal to residents that the County is uncommitted to non-automotive modes of transportation" in a letter to Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Arthur Holmes.

In an email to DCMud, Richard Romer, Policy Analyst for Councilmember Ervin's office, explained the Councilmember's frustrations that "So little was occurring in Montgomery County" to build the trail. "After discussion, the Council allocated funding for programming design, land acquisition, and construction of the first phase of the Silver Spring Transit Center to east of Georgia Avenue (including a new bridge over Georgia Avenue), and the design of the second phase from east of Georgia Avenue along the CSX tracks and King Street to Takoma Park."

But with design concepts for the trail still in their infancy and negotiations with track land owners expected to carry on through 2014, the most optimistic estimate coming out of County work sessions is that the final trail will not be available to non-motorists until late 2018/early 2019. Washington DC, on the other hand, has been aggressively completing its share of the bike trail and expects completion within two years.

Maryland Real Estate and Development News

Ripley Street North: Changing, Slowly

After changing the project name, project architect and project design, Home Properties' Ripley Street North mixed-use development, which originally received County approval in September 2008 as Kettler's Midtown Silver Spring, will appear before the Montgomery County Planning Board this week. The developers of the modified Silver Spring residential project, designed by Shalom Baranes Architects, have been working with County staff on the design since submitting new plans in January. What had been a single, mixed-use building in the Ripley District will now become two buildings, though the total density rating magically stays the same at 5.0 FAR. The review this week could put the project team on schedule to finalize the design plans, apply for permits and to potentially begin construction within a year's time, though that would be a record turnaround in this climate.

The new plan will increase the number of residential units from 314 to 385, divided between two buildings. The larger building, 1155 Ripley Street, will ascend 200 ft. and have "townhouses and residential flats wrapping a parking garage at the lower level." A respectable 20-story residential tower will rise above, according to a staff report on the project. The smaller 80 ft. building at 1015 Ripley Street will offer a mix of uses, with loft-style residential units over approximately 5,500 s.f. of ground floor retail. The plan replaces the plan for a 19-story tower designed by WDG Architecture that, at least from initial renderings, appears more inspirational than the old design.

The changes also consolidate public space from two areas, one each on the eastern and western sides of the building, to one area on the western edge, reducing the public portion of the lot to 11,000 s.f. County staff seem to think the consolidation does a world of good in making a more active public area, describing the space along Ripley Street as an "urban meadow." A public art piece themed on Rachel Carson has been "repurposed" to the new public space design.

Donald Hague, Senior VP of Rochester NY-based Home Properties and formerly a senior executive of KSI, Inc. (now Kettler), is happy with the changes. Hague claims the design now has more efficiencies and cuts down on some of the logistical headaches created by the previous design. Namely, moving the retail into another building would allow better access for service trucks and trash removal than having retail in the base of the tower. Additionally, the original plan would have had below-grade parking that extended beneath the public right-of-way on Dixon Avenue. Now, the parking is entirely within the confines of the larger tower structure both below and above grade. The above grade parking is "screened from the public" by the townhouse residential units, explained Hague. Planning staff went so far as to describe removing the spaces under Dixon as a public benefit in its own right.

Hague excitedly described the new, smaller building as having a "very cool" design, meant to look "like an old industrial building" with its "long and narrow" loft-style units. Each of the units in the four floors of lofts will have 11 or 12 ft. ceilings, and offer a "unique product" in the Silver Spring Market, added Hague. All residential units will be rentals, a minimum of 12.5% of units will be set aside for low-income housing. As for the retail space, Hague admitted there is no shortage of space in Silver Spring, but he hopes "when we finally get around" to building the project, the market may have improved. Here's hoping.

The larger building at 1155 will be required to reach LEED Silver certification, while the smaller structure need only meet basic LEED certification, though staff indicated the developers must make a "good faith effort" to go for Silver.

In March of last year, Hague told DCMud, "the goal would be to get the project ready to start when we think market conditions are right, but we’re not exactly sure when that’s going to be." It's safe to say "the time" was neither then, nor is it now. But maybe next year. Until then, the site will continue to be home to a vacant lot and several one- and two-story structures abutting the CSX train line in Silver Spring.


Silver Spring real estate development news

Banneker Ventures Questioned on Development Process

Pressure on Mayor Adrian Fenty heated up today as questions increased about the Mayor's developer selection process amid news that WMATA may be backing away from Banneker Ventures as a development partner. Banneker has been awarded numerous projects worth tens of millions of dollars by the Mayor's office despite its perceived lack of development experience.

Today, the WMATA board removed the Banneker project "The Jazz @ Florida Avenue" at 8th and Florida Avenue from the agenda for the real estate committee next Thursday, at which time it would have taken-up a joint development agreement for the WMATA-owned property. Today's move comes after WMATA issued a 120-day extension on the agreement in September 2009. Banneker was chosen for the project in June of 2008, but has not yet started work on the site. More than a year later it announced it would partner with Bank of America and had petitioned for government funds, advances that were to have moved the project forward. The developer had already been pledged a $7m TIF grant from the District.

The move by WMATA likely comes in response to questions raised first by this publication about justification for awarding so many projects to a team with so little apparent experience, then by the CityPaper and Washington Post about the how the relationship between Banneker's founder and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty may have affected the selection process. The two men attended Howard University and were in the same fraternity.

In addition to the WMATA site on Florida Avenue, the virtually unknown Banneker has been selected by the District on numerous multi-million dollar projects throughout the city, despite a large roster of construction and development firms available for such projects as private financing for construction was drying up. Banneker's luck began in late 2007 when it was selected by the District to be part of the $700 million Northwest One project. Around the same time, Banneker was named as a master planner on the monstrous Park Morton project (see DC's summary). Despite lack of movement in those two projects, or on its private projects (see more below) it was then selected for a string of projects such as the WMATA site in June of 2008, and by DC for the iconic Strand Theater in July of that year, then in October to head the $33m Deanwood Community Center project. In October of last year the District named Landex Corp, Spectrum Management and the Warrenton Group as developers of Park Morton. The Warrenton Group is run by a former Banneker member that has also had a contentious relationship with the city.

Park Morton raised eyebrows at the Mayor's development process for yet another reason; the District announced just last October that the Mayor had selected its team members for Park Morton in part because that development team said it controlled and would bring the Central Union Mission site into the development plan, increasing its scope. DCMud learned a few days later that the Missions' owners had never agreed to transfer their property to the development team, calling into question the District's selection process and the claims made by the development team to secure the project. Banneker is also being considered for its development offer at Hill East, a massive 50-acre parcel on the Anacostia River. Banneker's publicly-funded projects at the WMATA site, the Strand, Park Morton have yet to break ground.

In a contentious radio interview on the Kojo Nnamdi show following the announcement, Omar Karim, founder and principal at Banneker Ventures, called out the WMATA board for further delaying review of the agreement on the RFP awarded in 2008. In the interview, Karim, who dismissed suggestions that the board had legitimate concerns, argued that WMATA continued to "move the bar" on his project for "political" reasons. The Jazz @ Florida Avenue would theoretically bring 124 apartment units above 20,000 s.f. of ground floor retail and a 61-space parking garage to 3 flea market-sporting lots.

Tom Sherwood, resident analyst at NPR, asked Karim how many contracts he had received prior to Fenty taking office, to which Sherwood ultimately answered his own question with "none." Asked specifically about his experience, Karim answered that he had solid development experience at a large firm prior to starting Banneker, but would not name the firm or elaborate on the experience. As for Banneker's experience, Karim could only cite that his firm held an office building in Silver Spring and an unspecified site in which he "has been in conversations with Safeway about developing." At the time of publication, Safeway was unable to confirm or deny these conversations.

So what about that Silver Spring office building? That would presumably be 814 Thayer Avenue. Banneker purchased the site in May of 2006, submitted plans later in the year, and in July 2007 obtained Montgomery County Planning Board approval of a preliminary plan for a 52-unit residential building, a plan that was reviewed in November of 2007. The next step would be site plan approval, but, to date, the team has not even submitted a site plan to the planning staff for certification. Banneker will need a certified plan before the group can file for any construction permits for the property, making the September 2010 ground breaking date seem, at best, optimistic.

The 5-story Thayer project, designed by Sorg & Associates, would entail construction of a 53-unit condominium, in place of National Association of the Deaf office building. Joshua Sloan, a staff reviewer at the MNCPPC, provided an update on the project, "my understanding is that they want to amend their proposal, but I have not seen anything. I suppose it is "officially still pending." Sloan and his comments are the last stop before Banneker can proceed, a process which "can take a week or a year...depending on the Applicant’s response time to comments."

Banneker's website also boasts the Pattern Shop Lofts on the Waterfront, a project led by Forest City Washington that has not yet broken ground. Banneker registered with the District government as a small, minority-owned business in 2005.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Silver Spring Calls for More Residential Downtown

In addition to a new library and a new multi-modal transit center, and soon to be new residential project across the street, Silver Spring may get itself a development partner for yet another mixed-income rental housing near the intersection of Fenton and Bonifant Streets. Yesterday, the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs released a request for qualifications (RFQ) for developers interested in forming a public-private partnership to build housing on 0.75 acres of County-owned property abutting the site of the proposed Silver Spring Library.

The County estimates that space would have the capacity for 120 units in 120,000 s.f. In return for a 99-year lease on the space, the County requires any developer to provide 30% of units at moderately priced levels, 30% as workforce housing and 40% as market rate units. The project would need to provide some on-site parking, but the County is encouraging creativity to minimize the need for parking, such as shared parking and flex car programs. The County also asks that the developer provide space for ground floor retail in the new building.

A few little hiccups make the site a little more complicated than most. First, the housing project cannot be built prior to the construction of the new library and any plans have to be coordinated with the library developer. Officials expect work to begin on the library site in mid 2010, though library construction will not start until officials have reached agreement on final design for the building, including how to incorporate the Purple Line, station and all, into the site. Second, some of the right-of-way for the proposed Purple line traverses the housing site as well, so any developer would need to work with the Maryland Transit Authority to make sure any development does not interfere with any potential future transit facility.

So if all that doesn't put a dent in your interest, submissions are due March 26, 2010 at 2 PM, a short list will be announced in April 2010, with follow-up details required by late May 2010.

Silver Spring real estate development news

Silver Spring Church Goes Residential

Developer Lakritz Adler has presented its first plans to turn a decaying church into a large residential project in Silver Spring across from the new downtown library. The DC developer is working with the First Baptist Church on Wayne Avenue to build a roughly 200-unit apartment building and replacement church for the congregation.

According to Josh Adler, Managing Partner of Lakritz Adler, the developer has been working with the church for three years to develop a site plan, which should begin construction by late next year, replacing the 80-year old church with a 5-6 story apartment building and church along Fenton Street, between Bonifant and Wayne. Assuming approval by the county, the residential project would be the largest for the developer and its first church development, both on a small downtown site, which Adler says led to a challenge that other firms turned down for being "too complicated." But Adler says his firm was contacted by the church for the undertaking and found a good match, despite the novelties. "I can't say we've built a church before; but they have a church architect, Dimensional Dynamics, a Pennsylvania firm which has an expertise in that area." For the residential piece, the team has selected Torti Gallas of Silver Spring. While plans remain just that, Adler expects the project to include about 30,000 s.f. of ground floor retail, replacing what is now largely a surface parking lot. If things move expeditiously, Adler predicts construction could start two years from now. If all goes well, Lakritz Adler and First Baptist will erect a 5 story building (grading to 6 stories on the lowest portion of the site) along Fenton Street, with retail along the front that rounds the corner on Wayne, with a residential entrance on Bonifant. Current designs specify a concrete structured first floor for retail, a garage below, and a 4-level wood-framed residence on top, topping out at 60 feet measured from the highest elevation. Adler sees ultimate approval as likely. "We're not asking for any variances or exceptions. We've had a number of community meetings in the past month, as well as with Park and Planning Staff; we've gone in with a meaningfully smaller building than we are allowed to build there, and have tried to design it in a way that the community approves of." First Baptist, he adds, has been an active part of the design process. Located directly opposite the upcoming Purple Line station and new Silver Spring library, Adler says of the land "its a very important site, I don't think anyone could argue that it is the single best multifamily site in Silver Spring today." The developer promises the building will be worthy of the location. "It will be built accordingly, with lots of amenities, a nice roofdeck, and a business center. I would compare it to Ellington on U Street, the same kind of quality level. The very high end of residential quality for Silver Spring." The first plans for the site, created in 2007, were for an office building, but that changed with the shifting market. "It seemed like the office market was better at first, but our view is that residential market is starting an upswing" said Adler. While the team is building under the presumption of rental apartments, he notes that the project could of course go condo down the road. "The plan is for rental, but nothing is stopping us from switching in the future."

Silver Spring commercial real estate news

Fillmore Sounds Like Music to Silver Spring

Silver Spring's downtown will soon be the heart of an Art and Entertainment District as Montgomery County swaps a shuttered JCPenney for the Fillmore Music Hall, inspired by the original Fillmore in San Francisco. Courtesy of Live Nation music company and Lee Development Group, the venue will sit on Colesville Road between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street, across from the AFI Silver Theater and down the street from Discovery Communications. In an interesting swap, Lee, which owns the building, will build the new music hall for the county, and both the state and county will contribute $4 million toward construction. The developer will give the Fillmore property (valued at $3.5 million) to the county in exchange for land use allowances on an adjoining property at 8615 Georgia Avenue, currently planned to include a hotel and office buildings. The Fillmore will be a historic reuse project, maintaining the exterior of the old department store that has been vacant for almost 20 years. The new theater could have capacity ranging between 500 and 2,000, depending on the type of performances. The design for the project is by Hickok Cole Architects which is also behind the design for Lee's planned hotel and commercial buildings at Georgia Avenue, which will back up to the Fillmore. The project planned for Georgia Avenue will bring a 12-story Class A Office Space and a 14-story 3 Star Hotel to the 72,000 s.f. of land. The developer indicated the team was deep in the planning stages for the commercial and hotel project and had not yet been through any Planning reviews. In November, the County approved the exchange, with assurances to the developer that the County will pay the developer for any costs it might incur resulting from interceding zoning changes that affect the office and hotel project. The exchange is an aberration from the normal process by which a developer's plan is approved contingent on community benefits. In this case, Lee is building the theater (the community benefit) and promising to give away land without prior project approval for the proposed hotel and office. To offset the risk of not receiving approval and having to adjust designs for the commercial development, Lee received promises from the County that it would pay development costs due to any new regulations imposed on the Georgia Avenue Property. Construction for the music hall could begin by the end of this year, setting the Fillmore Music Hall for a grand opening in late 2011. The County expects a $700,000 yearly profit from the venue. Photo by Lizzie Turkevich. 

Silver Spring commercial real estate and development news

Ripley District Moving On Up

Silver Spring's Ripley District, once home to a derelict strip of parking garages and auto body shops, has had its share of growing pains in the economic downturn, but signs of progress are sprouting up in the form of construction and design reviews for area projects. The Ripley District, a triangular parcel of downtown Silver Spring between Bonifant Street, Georgia Avenue and the B & O Railroad, is one of Montgomery County's reinvention projects in an effort to bolster real estate development and the growth of Silver Spring. Planned residential and commercial projects are in various stages of development, one building is almost finished, others are waiting on the sidelines.

The County approved designs for the Midtown Silver Spring residential building in September 2008, but developer Home Properties is back with altered plans, a new project name - Ripley Street North - and a new architect - Shalom Baranes Architects. The team submitted amended plans earlier this month, and the developer expects to go before the Planning Board shortly after their February meeting with the Design Review Committee. The new plans, though still tentative, would increase the total number of residential units by 50 to 396 and, of the total, 49 will be moderately priced. Though the team has made several adjustments to areas including public use space and building setbacks, the planned structure maintains a 5.0 FAR density rating. According to Elza Hisel-McCoy a Coordinator within Montgomery County Planning Department's Development Review Division, depending on the comments from the Design Review Committee, the Planning board could review the project six weeks to two months thereafter. More information will be available once the DRB makes recommendations and the Planning Board staff issues a review, likely to come this spring.

Hisel-McCoy added that another planned residential project, the Lessard Group-designed 1150 Ripley, formerly know as 1050 Ripley, has all of its approvals, but there have been no signs of forward motion so far. The approved Washington Property Company plan is for a 306,000- s.f. residential building that will include 318 rental units including 48 moderately priced dwelling units and 7,000 s.f. of commercial space. Evan Feldman, a Development Manager for Washington Properties, indicated that the team is working on financing right now, but expects to begin construction in April of this year, despite the lack of a general contractor. Once construction begins, Feldman expects the first units to be available in 18 months and the entire project to deliver in 21 months. 

For some actual progress in the district, Division One Architects, the minds behind the Lacey, have been working on a brand new headquarters building for ALC, Inc., which will sit on the southwest corner of Ripley Street at Georgia Avenue. The three level building includes a ground floor restaurant and walk up office space with green features like a sodded roof and north and east oriented facades to capture all that natural daylight. The project should deliver by April or May of this year. The County's efforts to re-brand the Ripley District are crawling along, but the development movement so far looks promising for the future. 

Silver Spring real estate development news

The Ever-Shrinking Galaxy

A long time ago (2005), in The Galaxy far, far away (Silver Spring), Scott Copeland, owner of RST Development, began pushing the idea for a 328-unit, 700-parking space condominium development through the Montgomery County application process.

The Galaxy isn't the first project undertaken by RST Development in the Silver Spring neighborhood bounded by Eastern Avenue, 13th and King Streets. In 2004, RST converted the vacant, 15 story office building at 8060 13th St into Gramax Towers, a 182 unit apartment complex. Copeland's company began planning the renovation of the Williams and Willste buildings—two abandoned office buildings on the north side of Eastern Avenue, into the Aurora Condominiums that same year.

In 2005, in the wake of these successful projects, The Galaxy of downtown Silver Spring was born. But by early 2008, the condo market in Silver Springs was not what it used to be and the A.R. Meyer's & Associates - designed condo project shrunk in to a more modest, 241-unit complex with 430 underground parking spaces.

Fast forward to the not-so-distant future date of December 3rd, 2009 and the Montgomery County Planning board is expected to approve two new amendments to The Galaxy development plan - the first splits the project into two phases and the second reduces the number of parking spaces.

The good news, according to Montgomery County Senior Planner, Sandra Pereira, is that "there will still be 3,366 s.f. of ground floor retail." She adds that Phase 1 of the project will not only include "a five story building, but also recreation and public use space" which adds up to 25,816 square feet of space for the public.

A public parking component has been at the center of The Galaxy plans from its beginning. But RST's newest amendment will once again reduce the amount of available parking spaces - this time from 430 spaces to 368. Pereira assures us that this change is quite minor when compared to past amendments and that public parking will still be a component of the development but will now be "divided so that 160 spaces are public and 208 are private."

Despite the assurances, it's noteworthy that the only feature of the Galaxy project to experience a growth spurt in the recent months is the percentage of available moderately priced dwellings units (MPDUs).

In an effort to strengthen an application for 9% tax credits, RST Development went before the Montgomery Housing Opportunities Commission (MHOC) in September for approval to transfer 27 project-based vouchers from the Gramax Towers to The Galaxy. Susan Yancy from the MHOC confirms that "101 Galaxy units" available in Phase 1 of the development "will be offered at an affordable, 30% AMI rate," meaning that roughly 42% of Galaxy's 241 rental units will be available as MPDUs. That's quite a jump, considering RST's original 2005 plan only met the minimum MPDU requirement of 12.5%. And what was once being billed as a swanky new condo development is now going all rental.

Whether or not construction will ever begin on the four story, 46-unit second phase of development remains to be seen. No date for Phase 2's construction has been set. That said, RST Development is pushing forward into the subcontracting stage of Phase 1 despite the setbacks in the market so far. 

Silver Spring commercial real estate news

Silver Spring Library Design Final Forum Saturday Night

Design of the new Silver Spring Library, attracting lovers and loathers alike, is nearing its final design, and the public will have one last chance to influence the outcome when the final of numerous public design meetings takes place tomorrow at 1pm, at 8901 Colesville Rd.

Officials expect work to begin on the site in mid 2010, though library construction will not start until officials have reached agreement on final design for the building, including how to incorporate the Purple Line, station and all, into the site.

Work on the new library, at the corners of Fenton, Wayne and Bonifant Streets in downtown Silver Spring, has been underway for more than a decade, for a site that will incorporate the library and likely a residential building next door.

The 7-story building will be multi-purpose, with an art center, library, and county office building. The building is being designed by Lukmire Partnership, a locally-based leader in library design.

Silver Spring Library Nears Design Completion

The new Silver Spring Library has taken another step toward realization, with the release of initial designs born out of the county's design process. Officials expect to break ground, at least for site preparation, in the summer of 2010. Library construction has not yet been scheduled.

Work on the new library, at the corners of Fenton, Wayne and Bonifant Streets in downtown Silver Spring, has been underway since at least 1999, when Montgomery County approved an initial budget. The northern half of the site, on Wayne Avenue, will hold the library and Arts Center, the southern half will be reserved for future housing.

The 7-story building will be multi-purpose, with the first two floors designated, for now, as an art center with a combination of functions such as classes, offices and an art gallery. Floors 3, 4, and 5 will hold the library, and the 6th floor is set aside for county offices and possibly Health and Human Services office space. The top floor, stepped back, will hold meeting rooms for the library. Design specifications also call for a LEED-certified green roof and garden; plans for the 2nd-story pedestrian bridge from the parking garage to the library were scotched as being against Montgomery's urban planning guidelines.

The most interesting element may be the underside of the building, since the site is traversed by the proposed track of the Purple Line, and has been designated as one of the light rail stations, raising the main body of the library well above street level. "Anyone attending the design meetings would recognize that this is a challenging building, working with the purple coming right through" said Williams Evans, project architect for the Lukmire Partnership, which is responsible for the overall design. Lukmire specializes in such challenges, however. "Our firm is probably one of only a handful of firms that have done as many libraries as we have, 35 or 36, to date" said Evans.

Initial site planning was performed by RTKL, and interior design will be completed by the Sandra Ragan Studio. County standards require LEED Silver certification for the building, but Evans says the team is trying to achieve a Gold rating; though the Silver rating is required as a minimum to earn the county's Certificate of Occupancy. " That gets you up in the morning", Evans says of the requirement.

The final public design meeting will take place November 7, at 1pm, in the library at 8901 Colesville Rd.

Outdoor Market Coming to Silver Spring

Silver Spring will soon have its own Eastern-Market-style street market, the Fenton Street Market. With two inaugural weekends this fall (September 12th and October 3rd) the market will be open every Saturday, beginning Spring of 2010. The Market owes its existence largely to Hannah McCann, a Silver Spring resident of 12 years who saw the empty lot on the busy corner of Fenton St. and Silver Spring Avenue and thought it was “a shame that nothing happens there." After a few phone calls she had a "Yes" from the property owners and eventually worked with Montgomery County to figure out the rest.
Development of downtown Silver Spring has meant new energy and new businesses, making it hard for some to compete. Ergo, McCann says there is concern that "some of the smaller businesses will be priced out by the new business.” Her plan for the market is to bring unique vendors to the area with the hope of encouraging new small businesses to move into Silver Spring to accent those currently serving the community.
McCann hopes to have a mix of crafts, art, antiques and services, like a Henna artist and an orchid seller who teaches repotting, but has been working with the founders of the Eastern Market and is following their advice to be open-minded about the type of vendors. Timed to correspond with the nearby farmer's market, Fenton Street Market could become a natural next step in a Silver Spring Saturday afternoon.

McCann said she is trying to take care of licenses and insurance and to keep booth space inexpensive. Both 10 x 10 and 10 x 20 booths are available and range from $15 to $25 a day. And really, where else can you rent space at that price this side of Kabul.

The market's hours for the public are 9 AM to 2 PM. Free parking is available in public lots across Fenton Street. Vendors should plan to arrive at 7 AM.

Downtown Silver Spring Site Shoots for Green Office Building

In a plot to lure tenants away from downtown, DC, Potomac-based Willco Companies is developing a 13-story, 190,000 square foot, class A office building in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, at 8621 Georgia Avenue (the corner of Colesville Rd). The goal is to achieve LEED silver status with a green roof (increasingly common in new office buildings in DC). Is there a demand for class A office space in times like these? Willco will certainly find out...

Replacing what is currently a parking lot, the building will top out at the maximum allowed height, 143 feet, and will provide 275 parking spaces in its five-story parking garage - one level below, four above ground. Proximity to the metro was a factor in the plan which offers 40% fewer parking spaces than allowed at max; an effort to promote mass transit and reduce local traffic. The remaining 8 stories above the garage will be the office space.

In addition to trying to secure an anchor tenant to fill the majority of the office space, Willco is trying to bring in a restaurant and another service-oriented retailer for the planned 6,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor (featuring two-story ceilings). Richard Donnally, the lead architect on the project and Senior Principal at Donnally Vujcic Associates, indicated that the developers are in talks with a "few firms," but nothing is secured and in writing. Ditto on the restaurant.

The team has submitted its site plan to the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Planning. Wes Capps, an Engineering and Construction Supervisor at Willco, said they anticipate a 2011 completion date assuming the approval process moves along without any issues.

New Condo Report: The Argent

Argent Condos, 1280 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
The sales center at The Argent, Perseus Realty LLC's $37 million Silver Spring condo building, has opened its doors and DCmud was among the first to peruse some of its 96 for-sale units. The Argent is something of a curiosity in DC metro area because, as other similarly minded residential developments in the area have converted to rentals, The Argent is forging ahead in a condo market gone south. Home Properties' 1200 East West Highway building, directly across the street, is under construction and hoping to finish up early next year - advertising only rental units - while the Portico, once envisioned as a condo, is now leasing. Other projects in the area have simply failed to materialize.

Nonetheless, the developer is hoping to combat any possible sticker shock by dropping prices on units once scheduled to start in the low $400s. As of today, a 636 square foot studio is going for $247,900, while prices top out at $553,900 for 1435 square two-bedroom with den. The building’s sole three-bedroom unit, located on the second floor, is priced at $570,900, measuring in at 1426 square feet. Those prices increase by roughly $3,000 the higher you climb in the building’s nine-stories - but don’t hold your breath for amenities while you’re up there.

"There’s a rooftop terrace. It’s walking distance to the grocery store and all the different shops…Unfortunately, there’s no pool [and] no exercise room,” said one of the sales

representatives working the project. The JSA Inc.-designed development is rounded out by a plaza/sculpture garden, fronting on East West Highway, that was designed by local artist Mary Ann E. Mears. The building opened on May 22^nd.

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Argent Resurrects Condos in Silver Spring

A lot can change in two years. But since beginning construction in 2007 at 1200 Blair Mill Road in Silver Spring, Perseus Realty, LLC’s plan for the building nearing completion at the site, The Argent, seems to be much the same as it was pre-economic doldrums. Representatives of the developer have told DCmud that the project will “definitively be condos” – a first (and perhaps last) for metro area development in 2009.

The $37 million, JSA Inc.-designed building will boast 96 units - ranging from 600 square foot efficiencies to 1,430 square foot two-bedrooms – on nine stories. Part and parcel with the Argent’s "urban oasis" atmosphere are amenities including art deco flourishes, nine-foot ceilings, an “elegant rooftop patio,” a front desk receptionist and a 4,200 square foot public park on the grounds, featuring landscaping by Mahan Rykiel Associates and a sculpture from local artist Mary Ann E. Mears.

“We’re planning to open with decorated models by the end of May. There’s not a certain date, but that’s what we’re shooting for,” said Barbara Causey of the Mayhood Company.

The Argent and its development team are apparently not brushing off the state of the market entirely; initially priced in the $400,000s before construction, Causey says that Perseus is currently reevaluating their asking price for a piece of the development, and "expects [final prices] in three to four weeks."

In the meantime, Clark Construction is working diligently at the site in order to have the building up and running in time for what is sure to be a (not so) brisk summer sales season.

Silver Spring real estate development news