Planners will discuss approved and proposed projects, and encourage community feedback about transportation, parks and placemaking at event being held at Walter Johnson High School
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is holding a community meeting on December 14, 2015 for the Rock Spring Master Plan. The planner-led event will be held at Walter Johnson High School (6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda) from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss the goals of the Rock Spring Master Plan and development in the planning area.
RSVP for the December 14 meeting.
This meeting builds on the October 28 community meeting, which focused on development projects planned for Rock Spring. Already approved for the area is 1 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 210,000 square feet of new retail, a 200-room hotel and more than 800 residential units.
At the December 14 meeting, staff will discuss an approved mixed-use project on the Ourisman Ford site as well as potential plans for the Wildwood Medical Center site. In addition, planners will present possible ways of transforming Rock Spring Drive and Fernwood Road into more hospitable boulevards. Attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback during break-out sessions focused on transportation, recreation, parks and placemaking.
View the Rock Spring Master Plan Scope of Work presented to the Planning Board on October 8.
Background on Rock Spring
Once considered a premier office location, Rock Spring has been particularly hard hit by the current downturn in the office market. Single-use business parks without access to transit, like Rock Spring, are struggling with the highest office vacancies. The current office vacancy rate in Rock Spring is 23.7 percent, higher than the County’s overall vacancy rate of 15 percent. In recognition of the changing preferences of employers and their workforce for locating in transit-served locations with a dynamic mix of uses, this planning effort will explore ways to reimagine Rock Spring.
The 1992 North Bethesda/Garrett Park Sector Plan recommended some mixed-use zoning in the Rock Spring area, and one residential development of 386 multi-family units has been completed and a new 168-unit townhouse project is under construction. Much of the property in Rock Spring was converted to the Employment Office (EOF) zone when the Countywide rezoning became effective on October 30, 2014. The Rock Spring Master Plan effort will allow for a more detailed and nuanced assessment of the area’s zoning.
In addition, the 1992 Sector Plan also recommended construction of the North Bethesda Transitway to connect the White Flint area with Montgomery Mall via Old Georgetown Road and Rock Spring Drive. The Transitway is included in the approved 2013 Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan (CTCFMP) and provides a framework for re-evaluating Rock Spring.
Challenges confronting the Rock Spring planners include:
-Reinventing an auto-centric suburban office park.
-Identifying opportunities for improved connectivity.
-Examining places for public use spaces and amenities.
-Introducing residential and retail uses into predominately non-residential development to create a mixed use environment.
-Identifying sustainable environmental measures.
-Analyzing the impact of potential new residential development on the public schools.
-Evaluating infrastructure needs for the area.
Learn more about the Rock Spring Master Plan.
For more information about the Rock Spring Master Plan, contact the planners:
Don Zeigler, tel.301.495.4638, email Don.Zeigler@montgomeryplanning.org
Michael Bello, tel. 301.495.4597, email Michael.Bello@montgomeryplanning.org
Stay connected with the latest information about the Rock Spring Master Plan:
www.montgomeryplanning.org/rockspring