Hi all,
Here is the notice of public hearing for the Federal Realty plans for Mid-Pike Plaza (where Toys R Us, CVS, etc. are currently located). This is another enormous development with residential/commercial that will affect our traffic, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, schools and existing infrastructure and demands on our parks and libraries, police, etc. This is in the WJ cluster. Please take a look at the plans and see if this amount of density is appropriate for our current infrastructure and schools. While there may be an additional elementary school built eventually there are no plans for a new middle or high school. If you are concerned please write to the Planning Board today. The hearing is tomorrow, Thur, Feb 23rd.
Thanks.
Paula Bienenfeld
Name of Plan: Mid/Pike Plaza
Zoning: Split Zoned CR3 C1.5 R2.5 H200 & CR4 C3.5 R3.5 H300
Preliminary Plan No. 120120020 $& Site Plan No. 820120020
Master Plan: White Flint Sector
Location: northwest corner of the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike
Acres: 24.38 acres (6.77 acres - Site Plan)
Proposed Use: Five (5) lots (2 temporary) dedication for two new roads and additional right-of-way along three perimeter roads for ultimate construction of up to 3,442,888 square feet of mixed-use development over multiple phases; phase 1 to include 605,057.5 square feet for commercial uses and 818,507.5 square feet for residential uses.
The staff report is available online via the link to the Planning Board's agenda at http://www.montgomeryplanningboard.org/ along with an approximate time that this item will be heard, or call 301-495-4600 for more information. If the approval of a final water quality plan is required, the Board will consider such plan at this public hearing.
For information about the staff recommendation or to offer comments on the plans, please contact Patric Butler via email at patrick.butler@montgomeryplanning.org, or by phone at 301-495-4561 for the preliminary plan or Joshua Sloan via email at Joshua.Sloan@montgomeryplanning.org or by phone at 301-495-4597.
Personally, I live very close to this location and am thrilled with the redevelopment plan. The housing being built will not have many school aged children as it will include a high rise building targeted to empty nesters and a loft style building targeted to 20 and 30 somethings without kids. Very few children currently live in White Flint Station, the Gallery and the Sterling. It won;t be much different at Mid-Pike.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness White Flint is being redeveloped. It's about time, I'm all for it, and I've let the elected officials know it.
won't have many school aged children???
ReplyDeleteempty nesters???
Thanks for the laugh. Does Montgomery County legislate who can get pregnant? These same hollow phrases have been used in other developments that ended up with two busloads of public school students.
Housing in the USA does not come with pregnancy restrictions. Is this development in some other country?
@AnonymousFeb 22 5:56 PM, Bruce Crispell, the demographer for MCPS, predicted ~450 elementary school age children, enough for a brand new elementary school within the cluster. Where will it be? who knows. Who will pay for it? who knows. not the developers. According to the developers the new taxes will be for $20M, no wait, make that $40M towards a new school (numbers are magic!). Because that's all it will cost to build a new school in downcounty MoCo. And when there are 100 new children, will they all be stuffed into Garrett Park ES? How about 200 new children? will the new school be built then? who knows. I couldn't get an answer. Maybe you can. Meanwhile all these kids will be stuffed into Garrett Park ES. And, Crispell, who is notorious for under-estimating school populations (witness the Clarksburg ES, which needed portables one year after it was constructed), also predicted that no new MS or HS was needed. As for 20 and 30 somethings purchasing $700k+ units with their baby boomer parents' money (as one developer told me would happen), why not take a look at downtown Rockville and see how that's working out. I understand most of those units are "leased" by companies using them for temporary visiting employee housing. Great way to build a community, right? And, having seen the 'astroturf' organization and the hundreds of thousands of PR dollars spent by developers on this project, I would get a better comfort level if you would identify yourself. Let's not forget that as part of their push, the developers hired the Clintons' PR firm. That is how far they are going to pull the wool over your eyes. So, come clean. Are the developers paying you? Are they promising you work?
ReplyDeleteI'm anon 5:56, have a full time job that has nothing to do with any developer, and as I stated I live very close to Mid-Pike. Walking distance. 3 minutes away.
ReplyDeleteI'm eagerly looking forward to the redevelopment of Mid-Pike, the building of the NB Town Center on the old driving range land next to the Metro station, and the eventual redevelopment of White Flint Mall.
I call White Flint home and am excited about its future. I'm happy that my elected representatives on the County Council agree with me.
And you still have no name. Thanks for the comment. Now bill your client.
ReplyDelete@AnonymousFeb23 5:31PM, thanks for the clarification. I too live within walking distance of the WF Sector. I walk to Mid-Pike. Do you? By your elected representative, as you live so close, you are referring to Roger Berliner (D). Berliner has said 30 percent of his campaign contributions comes from developers, and that he caps it at that amount. Regarding the "eventual" redevelopment of the White Flint Mall, that is happening NOW. The mailing from their real estate attorneys just went out this week showing the plans for the residential/commercial/retail square footage. There is no "eventual." The only thing that will be "eventual" is the infrastructure required to support this unsustainable over-the-top development. When we started down this path we were told we would get public transit to support this amount of density (~20k-30k new residents alone); that disappeared very quickly. Not gonna happen. Oh wait, maybe in 2035 we will get BRT on the Pike. Green spaces? Have you seen the spanking new "green space" in the Whole Foods area development? not one blade of grass.
ReplyDeleteAnon here again. Yes Paula I do walk to Mid-Pike frequently, although there quite honestly isn't too much there now that I desire to patronize. I also walk to Whole Foods, White Flint Mall, and Montrose Crossing.
ReplyDeleteI've attended community meetings about the redevelopment of Mid-Pike and quite frankly I loved what I saw. Yes I know it was the developer that hosted the meetings. It's my opinion that their plan is a good one for our neighborhood and for the County as a whole. I look forward to living in an urbanized area that has a lot of things to do within walking distance of my front door. It's the main reason I moved from another part of the County to White Flint a few years ago. I saw the redevelopment of the area coming, I liked the fact that there is a Metro station here, and I felt that White Flint provided me with the opportunity to live in an urban area without leaving Montgomery County. It's exactly what I was looking for.
When I mention my elected representatives I include Mr. Berliner as well as all of the at-large members of the Council.
When I say the eventual development of the mall, I'm referring to the published report in the Post that it will take about 30 years before all of it is complete.
One last thing. Sorry to disappoint you Janis, but I have no client to bill. I'm just a homeowner in White Flint that's looking forward to the development. No conspiracy theory for you to get all worked up about here, but I do look forward to your next comment about my lack of a name.
Good. So what are you so afraid of that you don't publicly support this project? Let us know and add that to your bill.
DeleteBTW, the residential buildings that are planned for the first phase of the Mid-Pike redevelopment are not, according to the developer, condos. They are rentals. So no $700K units being purchased by 20 and 30 somethings with their boomer-parent's money. The same is true for the building that LCOR is about to break ground on across from their Wentworth House. All residential units on that land (NB Town Center) will be rentals as the land is owned by Metro and leased to LCOR for 99 years (I think it's that long).
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Feb 25 8:46 AM they are not condos because in this market the developers had to change their plans from sale to rental (or "lease" as they call it these days). Please see my two latest posts. This is the true 'Operation Fast and Furious' as all the develoeprs scramble to build in the Phase I before the traffic mitigation goes into effect.
ReplyDeleteRegarding holding meetings at the developer's offices, completely apart from whether you agree with their plans, this is a complete abdication of the job of the county government and planning board, to hand over ownership of the sector plan to the developers. That is exactly what happened. It is the taxpayers who pay the Planning Department to represent us; not the developers. The Planning Board members abdicated their government function by handing over the planning to the developers. Of course the Planning Board is chosen by the County Council, so clearly it was fine with the members of the Council -- all of them.
We agreee to disagree. You don't like the development plans. I do. It's about time Montgomery County encouraged development. I feel it's a sound economic choice and will make our county more competitive within the metro area when it comes to attracting business and jobs. We live in an urban area and I firmly believe this is the kind of smart growth we need.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, we are 'urbanizing' because the developers and the planning dept. keep beating that drum. It is propaganda, plain and simple. When did we have that conversation in the county? As for smart growth, did you ever notice the main spokespeople for that live in the ag reserve? Real smart growth should require it be sustainable in hard numbers. That is not happening at WF. Real smart growth would require the appropriate infrastructure. What we are getting here, as anyone at MoCo DOT would be more than happy to tell you, is density that cannot be supported by the infrastructure. As for the schools, GP ES is brand new now. Similar for WJHS. They are going to be bursting at the seams very shortly. -- not "eventually." I enjoy urban life too. This is not that. This is a giant shopping mall turned inside out with tens of thousands of people stuffed on top of it. The lack of imagination regarding tenants is pathetic, you can see that with the new tenants in the NB Marketplace that is up already. All national chains, no great local restaurants. I will stop here but I would urge you to take a hard look at the reality v. the propaganda we are being fed.
ReplyDelete