American Planning Association and National Association of County Planners honor achievement of White Flint Sector Plan goals through new development in North Bethesda
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is this year’s recipient of an Award of Excellence from the American Planning Association (APA), County Planning Division, and its sister organization, the National Association of County Planning (NACP).
The award in the Planning Project category recognizes the Pike & Rose neighborhood developed by Rockville-based Federal Realty Investment Trust as realizing the goals of the White Flint Sector Plan. This plan aims to transform the parcels bordering Rockville Pike into pedestrian-friendly clusters of housing, offices, stores, restaurants and civic amenities. Pike & Rose is the first project approved and built in North Bethesda following the adoption of the new Sector Plan.
Review the Montgomery Planning Department’s award submission online.
“We are thrilled to be honored with this award for one of the most transformative planning efforts in the County,” says Planning Department Director Gwen Wright. “The White Flint Sector Plan represents the transition from car-oriented suburbs into livable, urban-style communities with access to transit. Pike & Rose exemplifies this exciting change and sets a high bar for the mixed-use developments to come.”
The 24-acre Pike & Rose replaces the 1960s Mid-Pike Plaza at Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike and is located within walking distance of the White Flint Metrorail station. The development, which began opening in summer 2014, is one of the first projects in the nation to transform a functioning strip center into a vibrant, walkable neighborhood of apartments, offices, stores, restaurants, open spaces and amenities.
“This award confirms our philosophy of placemaking on even the most challenging sites,” says Evan Goldman, vice president of development for Federal Realty, which is also responsible for Bethesda Row. “We are proud that the initial phase of Pike & Rose has surpassed our expectations in creating the ‘there’ in North Bethesda with a vibrant, new center of activity.”
The Award of Excellence will be presented on Sunday, April 19 at the County Planning Division’s Annual Business Meeting during the APA National Conference in Seattle, Washington.
About the White Flint Sector Plan
Approved by the County in 2010, the White Flint Sector Plan outlines ways to transform the areas along Rockville Pike into thriving, mixed-use centers with new buildings, parks and streets. The planned 3.5 million square feet of offices, housing, restaurants, retail and amenities are designed to serve diverse constituencies within the metropolitan Washington, DC area.
The planning effort involved a high level of cooperation among developers, residents and County staff, including an unusual partnership among the area’s landowners and formation of a grassroots community advocacy group. Infrastructure needed for the redevelopment is being funded by a 10 percent ad valorem property tax. This taxing mechanism is the first of its kind in Montgomery County.
About Pike & Rose
Part of a shift to smart growth in the suburbs, Federal Realty’s Pike & Rose is the first project to be built under the new zoning and land use guidelines of Montgomery County’s White Flint Sector Plan. The 24-acre development is located at the key intersection of Rockville Pike and Montrose Parkway in the heart of Montgomery County. Pike & Rose is designed to be a pedestrian-oriented, urban-minded, mixed-use neighborhood central to the area’s revitalization efforts, and will comprise 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, 1,605 residential units and a 177-room boutique hotel at full build-out.
Its initial phase, largely completed in 2014, centers on the newly built Grand Park Avenue. Phase 1 includes an 80,000 square-foot Class A office building, a 174-unit midrise rental apartment building, a 319-unit high-rise rental apartment building and a pre-existing retail building that was renovated as part of the project. Added to this mix are the 8-screen iPic movie theater and a 240-seat live performance venue run by the Strathmore music center, called AMP, which opened in March 2015.
The second phase of Pike & Rose, due to be completed in 2017, will add another 340,000 square feet of retail, 462 more apartments and 104 luxury condos set atop the 177-room Canopy hotel run by Hilton. The neighborhood incorporates the best of what Federal Realty has created at its other mixed-use properties across the country, all located amid a carefully orchestrated environment of plaza parks, creative common areas, street festivals, farmers market and more.