Significant mixed-use projects in Bethesda, Silver Spring and other parts of the county are turning planning recommendations into reality
Silver Spring, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, approved major mixed-use developments in the county as part of its regulatory review process in 2017. These 10 development applications include plans for large projects in downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring. Here is the roundup of the 10 notable projects from 2017:
- The sketch plan amendment, preliminary plan and site plan for 7272 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda were approved in January 2017. This mixed-use project, which will incorporate office, residential and retail uses, will accommodate the Bethesda Purple Line Station, access to the Bethesda Metro station and Capital Crescent Trail. The building is designed by Shalom Baranes Associates with a podium containing parking and retail that will be shared by the office and residential towers.
- Marriott International Headquarters, designed by Gensler of Washington, DC, will occupy a site at Wisconsin and Norfolk Avenues near the Bethesda Metro Station. Planning Department staff reviewed Marriott’s sketch plan, preliminary plan and site plan applications under the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan and Bethesda Downtown Design Guidelines. The development proposes up to 1.05 million square feet of hotel and office uses, requiring an allocation of 559,000 square feet from the Bethesda Overlay Zone and a payment of $5.59 million to the park impact payment fund for park acquisition in downtown Bethesda.
- The preliminary plan for 309 homes on the WMAL property at the intersection of Greentree Road and Interstate 495 in North Bethesda was approved in June 2017. A 4.3-acre parcel on the site will be dedicated to Montgomery County Public Schools and common open space will be part of the development.
- Bradford’s Landing in Silver Spring will consist of 222 townhouses and 22 single-family detached dwellings. The site plan for Brookfield Washington’s residential development with trail connections to East Norbeck Local Park was approved in June 2017.
- In downtown Silver Spring, the sketch and site plans to convert the mostly vacant Guardian Building from offices to residences were approved in October 2017. Five stories added to the existing structure would create an 11-story building, allowing for 177 apartments and about 7,500 square feet of non-residential space on the ground level.
- Bloom Montgomery Village will transform the former Montgomery Village Golf Course into a residential community with 466 townhouses, 26 detached homes and two duplexes. The preliminary plan for the development was approved in November 2017. Three parcels within the site may be dedicated to Montgomery Parks as green space.
- Viva White Oak, a proposed 12 million square-foot development, will mix residential and office uses with a hotel, stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and a conference center. The 279-acre site is situated in eastern Silver Spring near the United States Food and Drug Administration headquarters and relocated Washington Adventist Hospital. The sketch plan for Viva White Oak was approved in November 2017.
- Hillandale Gateway in Silver Spring will be a three-building, mixed-use development at New Hampshire Avenue and Powder Mill Road near the Capital Beltway. The sketch plan, approved in November 2017, allows for 500 residential units, including 15 percent moderately priced dwelling units, and 24,500 square feet of retail floor area with a drive-thru window, related public open space, recreation amenities, hardscape, landscape and stormwater management improvements.
- Zom Bethesda proposes up to 235 multifamily units in a six-story building extending along Arlington Road between Moreland and Edgemoor Lanes in downtown Bethesda. The sketch plan for the development was approved in November 2017.
- The sketch, preliminary and site plans for Elizabeth Square in downtown Silver Spring were approved in December 2017. The nearly 3-acre site will comprise nearly 1 million square feet of development, including new senior housing, an aquatic center and recreational facilities. Lee Development Group and the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) will deliver two mixed-use towers, while renovating Alexander House.