Silver Spring Development News

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

I know what you're saying, but unfortunately it is a suburb b/c of reasons aside from it's own development level, it's proximity to a place orders in magnitude more important. It's not on the development level of places such as Oakland or Jersey City that are hard for me to look at as suburbs, but it's built up plenty. It's not suburban, that's not what I said. The definition of suburb may have changed. It's an edge city, but isn't prominent enough for me to exclude it from being a suburb like parts of arlington and alexandria are.

I still disagree, maybe decades ago but not in it's current form. Urban District or even edge city as most would call it is a more fitting term than suburb. Also when I think of Baltimore, Philly or New York I don't think of Oakland and Jersey City as being on the same level. Some would argue that much of Jersey City’s growth came from its spatial relationship with Manhattan; it just never took off the way NYC did and got some of the crumbs left over. By your definition of a suburb Jersey City would be exactly that. I definitely don't think of Arlington’s corridors or Alexandria as suburbs, in fact Alexandria is an independent city and it's total growth did not\does not rely on Washington. Much like Georgetown It would have probably been a sizable city if D.C. didn't exist

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

The feeling across the borders is not mutual. As you said yourself, we're leeching off the land that you guys gave to be apart of DC and we're competing with you all. We're sprawly, internet capital, more concentrated educated ppl, more biotech..blah, blah, whatever you can say to feel superior.

All of the above are facts. One friend calls Maryland the darkside and another told me he didn't want to get mugged in Bethesda after inviting him for a night out, enough said.

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

Silver Spring will keep developing more and more and more, and people's idea of it will change even more, I think sooner or later it will lose the stigma you're thinking about, but I still think it's a suburb and I don't at all think of it as a Rockville or an Oakton.

My problem is this...you keep calling places like Silver Spring a suburb and people will continue to treat it like a suburb, it makes it that much harder to get the height and density needed to curb sprawl and create great places. The reason why height limits are strict and developments aren't as great as they could be is because people like you still have the mentality that it is still a suburb, so for someone on an a site dedicated to urbanity I would hope you would change your tune unless you prefer sprawl.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

And keep up the good work updating us on Silver Spring development.

Will do.

[Silver Springer]

Discovery Communications World Headquarters


Description:
This project is located on the 3.4 acre "Silver Triangle" formed by Georgia Avenue, Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue in the core of the Silver Spring Central Business District (CBD). As amended, the project includes 545,420 square feet of office development. The sole occupant is the headquarters of Discovery Communications. The building is L-shaped: the Colesville Road wing is ten stories and the Georgia Avenue wing is seven stories. Two public open spaces are provided: Discovery Garden and the Discovery Plaza near Georgia/Wayne Avenues. An art wall is provided along Colesville Road.



Status

Completed

Architect: The Smith Group

MNCPPC Staff Contact:
Glenn Kreger, (301) 495-4653, e-mail

Applicant:
Discovery Communications, Inc. Contact: Ms. Barbara Henry, (301) 771- 5814

Opportunities for Public Participation:
Completed

Planning Board Review Process & Case Number:
Project Plan - #9-90002A, Site Plan - #8-00032

Planning Board Action:
Approved on July 19, 2001

comments

[TampaMike]

So, Silver Sprongs is like an technology and entertainment city.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by NewPortRicheyGuy

So, Silver Sprongs is like an technology and entertainment city.

Yes, Silver Spring is.

[Silver Springer]

Discovery Creative Technology Center


Description:
This renovation and reuse of the former Caldors Department Store accommodates the technical staff of Discovery Communications who have a long term lease with the applicant. Uses include Discovery's computer operations, in-house production and editing facilities, a videotape library, business offices and possibly accessory studio uses.



Status

Completed

MNCPPC Staff Contact:
Glenn Kreger, (301) 495-1304, e-mail


Applicant:
Kennett Street Venture, L.C., Thomas Woodhouse, (703) 845-9805

Opportunities for Public Participation:
Completed

Planning Board Review Process & Case Number:
Project Plan - #9-94001A

Planning Board Action:
Approved on June 24, 1999

comments

[Silver Springer]

1200 Blair Mill Road


Description:
This 0.77-acre site at the corner of East-West Highway, Newell Street and Blair Mill Road is zoned CBD-1. The applicant proposes to construct a 96-unit condominium building with 44 below-grade parking spaces. The proposed building would be 90' in height and would have its main entrance would be on Blair Mill Road.


Status

Preliminary Plan and the Project Plan approved

MNCPPC Staff Contact:
Robert Kronenberg, (301) 495-2187, e-mail


Applicant:
1200 BMR Associates
c/o Perseus Realty
2099 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202)741-1892
Attention: Woody Bolton (John Wood Bolton, Jr.)


Opportunities for Public Participation:
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on a future site plan.

Planning Board Review Process & Case Number(s):
Preliminary Plan #1-06006 and Project Plan #9-06001

Planning Board Action:
The Preliminary Plan and the Project Plan were approved on October 10, 2005.

Notes from M-NCPPC Staff Contacts:

comments
Last I heard the developer wants to flip the property so it may never see the light of day.

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

Stop playing it is a suburb, one that we need more of.

i agree 100%, NoVa.

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by Silver Springer

Exactly! Urban areas 99% of the time are destinations it doesn't work the other way around. And No longer are the surrounding areas dependent upon the inner city as you think. If D.C. somehow disappeared tomorrow Silver Spring wouldn't collapse instantaneously because of that. It is self dependent. Quite frankly Silver Spring is no longer a suburb like most people think, that was decades ago and it's time most people got over that.

Alright, let's cut to the chase here. Silver Spring is a SUBURB, SilverSpringer. It's a suburb of the nation's capital. Nothing more, nothing less. It's no different than what Towson, Owings Mills, Ellicott City, and White Marsh is to Baltimore. Now, if we're talking about Columbia, i would consider them a city in many aspects; but Silver Spring? A CITY? You can't be serious......lol.

[NovaWolverine]

I'd put it ahead of many of those, and eventhough it has a very nice urban walking area, I don't think it's significance is great enough to not be a suburb. If it doesn't have the significance, than it should have the development, and it's development isn't quite there yet. It's in a funny little area but it's still a suburb, the vast majority of it.

[NovaWolverine]

But to each his own I can see why people think otherwise, in the end it's fine.

[DCKenny]

How is Columbia consider a city?

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by DCKenny

How is Columbia consider a city?

well, you have to ask yourself a couple of questions before you can answer that question. first, which city is it considered a suburb of, baltimore or washington? i would have to say neither. columbia's population is 102,000 or something like that which leads into my second question. What suburb (and this is MY personal thinking on the issue) have you ever heard of having a population of more than 100,000 or so? i could be wrong on this issue, but i've never heard of any. how about you guys?

[pepperjack]

Alexandria hasn't been independent in terms of growth for at least 100 years. The entire area is non-profits, association headquarters, and government contractors. Non of which would be anywhere near the place if it wasn't a stone's through from DC. Without DC, it would be maybe a smaller version of Savanah (at best).

DC is a giant monster consuming hundreds of smaller, independent towns and almost overnight turning them into suburbs. It doesn't matter how long they've been cities with their own identity and character, they pretty much become dictionary definitions of suburbs. Places with their own city identities as recently as 25 years ago like Frederick and Leesburg, now are throughly DC suburbs.

As for height, I think Silver Spring is quite lucky with the DC height restriction. It has nothing to do with whether people call it a suburb or not. It's almost entirely due to location--if you examine the areas of height (I hesitate to even call it that) in DC, it's Roslyn, Crystal City, Silver Spring, Bethesda. Places that all physically touch the District boundary. If there was no height resitrction inside city limits, those places would be almost exactly the same as Towson, Ellicott City, except maybe a little larger in terms of population.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by MasonsInquiries

Alright, let's cut to the chase here. Silver Spring is a SUBURB, SilverSpringer. It's a suburb of the nation's capital. Nothing more, nothing less. It's no different than what Towson, Owings Mills, Ellicott City, and White Marsh is to Baltimore. Now, if we're talking about Columbia, i would consider them a city in many aspects; but Silver Spring? A CITY? You can't be serious......lol.

I think you’re confusing incorporated with unincorporated areas. Silver Spring is not a municipality, it has no mayor etc but neither does Columbia so I'm not sure what you’re getting at. From the places you’re comparing it to and your views it doesn’t read like you have ever been to Silver Spring. Towson is the county seat of Baltimore county, it exits as the government body so it would be there whether or not Balitmore city was there. Even places that call themselves cities or towns are far smaller than Silver Spring's CBD alone. Also (maybe I should have made myself clear) when I say Silver Spring I'm talking about the downtown area and the entire area considered as Silver Spring is 280,000+, that is the same size of a city like Buffalo,NY and far larger than Columbia.

No offense, but it seems you guys are stuck on a much generalized definition and the old ways of thinking. Sectors of a metropolitan area independent of the major city are still a new phenomena and I suppose it will take time for a correction and more people to realize this. I've taken social and urban geography courses and we never referred to places like Silver Spring simply as suburbs, uptowns, urban districts and edge cities were the common terms. Even Montgomery County has light pole banners saying "Celebrate Silver Spring's Urban District" and many developers have referred to it as an extension of D.C. and more like it than the county it resides in.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by pepperjack

Alexandria hasn't been independent in terms of growth for at least 100 years. The entire area is non-profits, association headquarters, and government contractors. Non of which would be anywhere near the place if it wasn't a stone's through from DC. Without DC, it would be maybe a smaller version of Savanah (at best).

DC is a giant monster consuming hundreds of smaller, independent towns and almost overnight turning them into suburbs. It doesn't matter how long they've been cities with their own identity and character, they pretty much become dictionary definitions of suburbs. Places with their own city identities as recently as 25 years ago like Frederick and Leesburg, now are throughly DC suburbs.

As for height, I think Silver Spring is quite lucky with the DC height restriction. It has nothing to do with whether people call it a suburb or not. It's almost entirely due to location--if you examine the areas of height (I hesitate to even call it that) in DC, it's Roslyn, Crystal City, Silver Spring, Bethesda. Places that all physically touch the District boundary. If there was no height resitrction inside city limits, those places would be almost exactly the same as Towson, Ellicott City, except maybe a little larger in terms of population.

I'm confused by your post. As for height restrictions in D.C. they don't regulate jurisdictions outside the District. It is more NIMBYism that keep the buildings barely worth considering as high rises. There is nothing "quite lucky" about the building heights in Silver Spring, take it from someone who lives in the area. FYI the recent amendment of a maximum height of 200ft for buildings within 800ft of the metro station keeps new buildings lower than the ones that were built in the 80's and early 90's.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

I'd put it ahead of many of those, and eventhough it has a very nice urban walking area, I don't think it's significance is great enough to not be a suburb. If it doesn't have the significance, than it should have the development, and it's development isn't quite there yet. It's in a funny little area but it's still a suburb, the vast majority of it.

Like I said before, no one is putting Silver Spring on the same level as the District of Columbia, but many agree that its significance is more than just a suburb and the connotations associated with that word. You can’t call a subdivision with single family homes a suburb and use that same word for Silver Spring when you’re trying to characterize places. It's funny you don't consider Jersey City a suburb of NY by your argument.

As far as spatial location Silver Spring is a community outside D.C., when characterizing the area suburb is an inappropriate term that someone who is even blind can see.

I guess it comes down to the your knowledge of the area and how it compares to other places. You guys can believe what you want but I will take what developers, government and residents have said over people on an internet forum.

[Silver Springer]

8021 Georgia Ave


Description:
developer has proposed the adaptive reuse of the buildings designed by Arthur Heaton on Georgia Avenue in South Silver Spring. The 1.88 - acre site is zoned CBD-1/South Silver Spring Overlay Zone. It was placed on the Locational Atlas and Index of Historic Sites in 2005. The applicant proposes approximately 210 dwelling units (including 27 MPDUs), public use space and amenities, and 200 parking spaces in a 90' tall building (measured from the the mid-point along Burlington Avenue). The proposed project preserves and rehabilitates portions of two of the existing buildings on site. The pedestrian entrances for the new project will be along Georgia Avenue.



Status

MNCPPC Staff Contact:
Robert Kronenberg, (301) 495-2187, e-mail


Applicant:
Cypress Realty Investments LLC
C/O Union Realty Partners, Inc
1228-31st Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
(202) 682-1001
Attention: Mr. Doug Cooper, e-mail


Opportunities for Public Participation:
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed Project Plan and the Preliminary Plan applications. In the future, there will also be a site plan review process.

Planning Board Review Process & Case Number(s):
Preliminary Plan #1-20060080 and Project Plan #9-20060020

Planning Board Action:
None to date.

comments
Residents are pushing for some common sense changes like adding a retail component, since it will be across the street from the 500 seat Montgomery College Performing arts center.


The National Dry Cleaning Institute, Silver Spring - 1927

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by Silver Springer

8021 Georgia Ave

The National Dry Cleaning Institute, Silver Spring - 1927

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!! The preservation of the "old" mixed with alot of the "new". I love the look of this project in general. It's really going to blend in with the other projects there.

[Molo]

Silver Spring is a city, not a suburb.
It's like Richmond, Towson or Wilmington...maybe larger.
There's nothing urban about anything in northern VA. (All highway and midrises)

I think it has a suburb feel like Annapolis.
Now Columbia is a suburb...probably 60% Bmore--40% DC. Hell, the entire Howard county is for that matter. Buses don't even go there, let alone trains.

I group all these suburbs together...Huntvalley, Fairfax, Columbia, Arlington, Owings Mills, Alexandria, Woodlawn.

Silver Spring can hold its own.