Silver Spring Development News

[NorthaBmore]

Originally Posted by Infoman

I don't like the way Tyson is so spead out!!!

It's not really spread out, it's actually pretty dense... the problem is that it is impossible to walk around because the streets are too big!

[DaviddesJ]

Originally Posted by Infoman

If you really think about it, If SS would have approved everything that came in it's direction SS would be a pretty big place (WAY BIGGER THAN TYSON CORNER)...Including: The Dream Mall proposal, The I-95 or freeway that would have cut through Downtown Silver Spring [I think], and dozens of others)...

If you really think about it, if SS would have approved everything that came in its direction SS would be bankrupt with huge public dollars poured into projects that never achieved their claims.

[Silver Springer]

The more I see of this building the more I like. It looks better than many of the buildings planned on similar constrained lots in downtown D.C.

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009
Developers eye parking lot for office building
Project planned for Georgia Avenue would offer 190,000 square feet of [LEED SILVER RATED] ‘Class A' space in downtown Silver Spring
by Jason Tomassini | Staff Writer

A new building planned for a Georgia Avenue parking lot is expected to bring "Class A" office space to downtown Silver Spring, which planners hope will jumpstart more upscale development from builders who own nearby properties.

Planners for a proposed project at 8621 Georgia Ave., adjacent to a property owned by Lee Development Group, presented plans last week for a 13-story, 190,000-square-foot building that would include mostly office space and two street-level retail storefronts. A site plan will be submitted to the Montgomery County Planning Board this month.

The building will be designed for "Class A" office space, the highest-quality space available, with environmental features, on-site parking and a modern design, planners said.

"There's a dearth of Class A office space in Silver Spring," said Jason Goldblatt, executive vice president of Potomac-based developer Willco Companies. "We hope to attract a large association or other offices out of [Washington], D.C., into Silver Spring."

The most recent Class A office space built in downtown Silver Spring was the office at 8515 Georgia Ave., which followed the Discovery Communications office building opening in 2003.

The search for a tenant for the building is already underway with hopes of bringing in an anchor tenant, possibly from downtown Washington, D.C., to fill out the majority of the space, Goldblatt said.

"At its fastest" the building could be opened in two and a half years but with at least a year spent gaining regulatory approvals and uncertain market conditions, that would be unlikely, Goldblatt said. Despite planners initial encouragement that Silver Spring could support upscale office space, the recent economic downturn could make finding a tenant more difficult.

"If you asked us a year ago, we'd say absolutely but now the market is tough," said Richard Donnally of the project's architect, Gaithersburg-based Donnally Vujcic Associates. "… We are hopeful when that fear goes away, it will be different."

There are currently 10 properties offering more than 4 million square feet of Class A office space in the 20910 ZIP code, which includes the Silver Spring central business district, according to statistics from the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development. There are 131 properties offering lower class space at only 2.5 million square feet, however.

There is a 6.6 percent vacancy rate for Class A office space in Silver Spring, considerably lower than rates for other classes. The Class A vacancy rate is also among the lower rates in the county, said Gary Stith, director of the Silver Spring Regional Center.

The average rate for Class A office space in the 20910 ZIP code is about $33 per square foot.

The building is planned for the maximum allowable height of 143 feet. A six-story parking garage – two levels below ground, four above – will provide 275 spaces for tenants, just 60 percent of the maximum because the site is near the Silver Spring Metro station.

"The neighbors want to have fewer cars, we want to have people using mass transit," said Barbara Ditzler, president of the nearby Woodside Park Civic Association and among the few residents that met with planners Jan. 6.

Cars will enter the garage through an alley on the east side of the building, which will also serve as a shared loading area for trucks servicing the office building and whatever project Lee Development Group plans to build on the adjacent property.

Originally, the plan was a joint development project between Willco and LDG but when the two companies could not agree on a project, the property's ownership was split.

LDG President Bruce Lee said he anticipates an office building for the other part of the parcel, which is currently a surface parking lot. That space would also be designed as Class A, to go along with 8621 Georgia Ave. and the existing Class A space at the LDG-owned office building at 8601 Georgia Ave., Lee said.

"We really don't look at it as direct competition because downtown Silver Spring has such great opportunity [for office tenants]," Lee said, praising the cooperation between LDG and Willco in developing the land. Lee said LDG would not begin planning the site on Georgia Avenue until a lead tenant is leased.

LDG also owns the future site of a Fillmore music hall at 8650 Colesville Road, the back of which will be roughly adjacent to the back of Willco's office building. A parcel of land closer to Fenton Street, between the proposed Willco site and the Fillmore site, will likely be a hotel, Lee said.

Facing Georgia Avenue, the project will offer a large glass and steel façade that Donnally said will be on par with the aesthetics of the Discovery Communications building nearby. In addition to the sidewalk, the building set-back will include a small public use space just outside the lobby of the building that could include artwork.

Planners are seeking a silver rating by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, a step up from county requirements for new development. The main "green" feature will be an environmentally-friendly roof that will include two terraces for tenants' use and year-round plants to aid a rainwater management system.

The larger of the two retail spaces will face Georgia Avenue with planners eyeing an upscale restaurant to occupy the space. The other retail space will front an alley to the west of the building and could include a travel agency or other service-oriented vendor, Donnally said. There is about 6,000 square feet of retail space in all and both spaces will have two-story ceilings.

"Willco won't lease retail space to something that is not attractive to the tenants," Donnally said.

[Infoman]

Cool!!!

[sovman]

Originally Posted by Silver Springer

The more I see of this building the more I like. It looks better than many of the buildings planned on similar constrained lots in downtown D.C.

I think that this building looks absolutely fantastic. Do you know what else they're planning for that parking lot (it's going in the really big lot right next to the Lee Building at the corner of 97 and 29 right?... i'm assuming it's not gonna take up the whole parking lot, since it's such a huge lot)

[bamboo stick]

Originally Posted by sovman

I think that this building looks absolutely fantastic. Do you know what else they're planning for that parking lot (it's going in the really big lot right next to the Lee Building at the corner of 97 and 29 right?... i'm assuming it's not gonna take up the whole parking lot, since it's such a huge lot)

There are no plans for that parking lot right now. It may be years before LDG decides to go ahead with anything next to their signature building. It certainly won't be before the Fillmore gets finished and up and running.

[sovman]

booooo... it's right in the middle of town! I say we should force them to do something!!

[Silver Springer]

Frush: Md. shouldn't fund ICC
New session to also consider alcohol, hotel bills

The proposed Intercounty Connector toll highway linking Montgomery and Prince George's counties has been under construction for more than a year, but opponents continue to try to thwart the progress of the $2.4 billion, 18.8-mile project.

A bill to prohibit the state Department of Transportation from financing the ICC was among the business-related bills filed last week in the first few days of the 2009 session of the Maryland Legislature. The bill was filed by Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville, a longtime opponent of the ICC.

The ICC, which has strong support from many business executives and leaders as a way to ease traffic congestion, is expected to be completed in five phases by late 2011.

The project has made "enormous progress" in the past year, said Fran Counihan, a spokeswoman for the ICC. The first phase is already one-third completed and others are in various stages, she said.

"We are on target to be completed on schedule," Counihan said.

Frush's bill had not attracted any co-sponsors or been scheduled for a hearing as of Thursday afternoon, according to the state's Internet site.

Other business-related bills filed last week included proposals to increase alcoholic beverages license fees in Anne Arundel County and provide a greater share of revenue from hotel taxes to the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Tech Council of Maryland and numerous other business groups are advocating for issues such as reining in spending, while maintaining a high level of support for higher education and transportation infrastructure. The state faces a tough environment, with a budget shortfall next fiscal year that could reach $2 billion, and more employee layoffs are expected.

"At the top of our list is making sure that Maryland stays competitive," Kathleen T. Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland chamber, said last week in a video message on the group's blog. "This means no additional funding mandates. This means no additional new spending on programs and certainly to keep Maryland's tax structure competitive with other states."

The Tech Council is calling on state lawmakers to double funding for the biotechnology investment tax credit to $12 million a year.

"It's a highly successful program," said Richard A. Zakour, executive director of MdBio, a division of the Tech Council. "A number of companies exist because of it."

Another bill expected to be debated by legislators will be one that imposes harsher penalties on businesses that improperly classify employees as contractors. Some business leaders say such a new law is redundant and unnecessary.

This report originally appeared in The Business Gazette.

[bamboo stick]

Originally Posted by sovman

booooo... it's right in the middle of town! I say we should force them to do something!!

Maybe Hilton will consider moving to downtown Silver Spring. Now that would be something. Can you imagine the building they'd have to construct?

[md4li4e]

City place can use ANOTHER makeover it is quite dead and you're only attracted there by the outside stores (moby dick that billiards place the simply wireless store) but it is dead on the inside. Alot of random cheap stores that, dont get me wrong here, are owned by immigrant "business" owners. Its crappy then you have teenagers hanging around just wanting to start something. It's just like wheaton but dead-er! Its just that there's Moco police sitting outside City Place so there's less crime whereas in wheaton they have security w/ flashlights.......FLASHLIGHTS!!!!

[md4li4e]

sorry, sorry thought page 46 was the last page.....(cough)..yea..so... carry on....

[sovman]

Speaking of City Place (again), I wonder if/when they're ever gonna build that office building on top. Silver Springer, perhaps you have any info on that?

[bamboo stick]

Originally Posted by sovman

Speaking of City Place (again), I wonder if/when they're ever gonna build that office building on top. Silver Springer, perhaps you have any info on that?

I assume they haven't found tenants and have gotten caught up in the credit crunch. If you haven't heard anything in the news or seen anything in person, that's probably what's happening.

[sovman]

I've assumed as much, but I haven't heard much about it for a long while (since the summer of 2007 I think?) so I wasn't sure what was going on. It went to the planning board, but I don't remember what happened... all I remember was they were concerned about redoing the sidewalks or something

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by sovman

Speaking of City Place (again), I wonder if/when they're ever gonna build that office building on top. Silver Springer, perhaps you have any info on that?

#1, they want lease approx 84,000 square feet where the old theater is, it will be converted into office space (I still think an entertainment type venue like Dave and Busters would be perfect there).

The brokers are targeting a tenant in DC looking for cost savings in rent and a place with amenities, mass transit etc.

BAE systems is vacating approximately 300,000 sq/ft owned by Lee Development up by the intersection of Georgia and Connecticut I think. That's actually equal to the size of City Place Office Tower. I just don't know if BAE systems will wait that long. Silver Spring may lose another large tenant because nothing large enough is available, heck even any new Class A office space period.

Sometimes it pays to build spec, you never know when a large company looking for space is going to pop up.

[sovman]

I found the memo from the planning board meeting in the summer of 2007 here... On page 12 they have an early rendering of the proposed office tower. I think I remember them discussing the possibility of having the top two floors step back from the floors below to let more light in to the street, or something of that nature.

[hpal3]

A Bethesda developer has made an offer to county planners that it says could expedite construction and save the county $20 million on the proposed SilverPlace planning headquarters in Silver Spring, but the County Council and Planning Board want more proof of the offer's merits before negotiations can be considered.

Guardian Realty, which owns a property at 8711 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, sent a letter Feb. 3 to county officials expressing interest in building SilverPlace, a mixed-use project that will include the new headquarters for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The new headquarters is currently planned to be built on the site of the current M-NCPPC headquarters at 8787 Georgia Ave., about a block away from Guardian's property.

"Guardian believes its options are superior, allow the M-NCPPC to occupy the new building quicker, is more risk-adverse, and provides M-NCPPC a very competitive alternative to SilverPlace," said the letter sent to the Montgomery County Council, County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson.

In October, the Planning Board approved a site plan for a project at 8711 Georgia Ave., a 13-story building including 152,000 square feet of office space and ground-floor retail.

The design would accommodate the already-approved site plan for SilverPlace, said Tony LaBarbera, managing director at Guardian. The existing SilverPlace plans would house 400 employees in about 158,000 square feet of office space in a three-story building containing the new Planning Board hearing room and a seven-story tower with meeting rooms, a library and public space.

LaBarbera said Guardian could save the county $20 million because the county could purchase and construct the building now, taking advantage of a weak market.

Under Guardian's offer, all M-NCPPC employees could transition to 8711 Georgia Ave. once the building is constructed. LaBarbera said this would eliminate the costs of gradually transitioning M-NCPPC employees during the construction of the new headquarters, which under current SilverPlace plans could take more than a year.

"Both the [planning] commission and the public and most importantly the taxpayers should be interested in saving money," LaBarbera said in a phone interview Friday. "We already have this building planned, approved and ready to go."

The County Council held a public hearing Tuesday to discuss an $87 million appropriation to the fiscal 2009-2014 Capital Improvements Program to build SilverPlace. The council's Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee will hold multiple hearings on the funding before a final vote by the full council.

LaBarbera said construction could begin on his project as soon as five months after the appropriation receives its final approval, with occupancy from employees by mid-2011. In a development schedule approved Dec. 4 by the board, construction for the existing SilverPlace proposal is expected to begin in July 2010 and the seven-story office tower will begin occupancy in April 2012.

At the public hearing, both Hanson and councilmembers said Guardian needed to provide further proof and more detailed analysis on how they could save the county time and money on the project before the offer could be seriously considered.

Hanson said Tuesday the only material he received from Guardian outlining their offer is a bar chart, which was "incomplete and inadequate." Hanson asked the council if Park and Planning made the same claim that they could develop a project "better, faster and cheaper" than another alternative, "Would you trust us if all we offered was a bar chart?"

"At the minimum we would expect a cost breakdown and a response to requirements to show that the design could meet the space needs of staff, and we would expect to see about as much detail for their proposal that [Park and Planning] has presented regarding its proposal," Hanson said following the meeting.

County planning officials twice requested the additional information from the company with deadlines between November and this week. The company missed both deadlines, Hanson said.

"We certainly can provide additional information," said Harry Lerch, a lawyer representing Guardian who testified before council Tuesday.

"I think if they can provide the numbers we want we should give it serious consideration," said Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park.

LaBarbera said if the county accepts Guardian's offer, it would have the option of developing the entire 3.24-acre SilverPlace site as residential property. Currently, the residential portion of SilverPlace will include 300 multifamily housing units.

After negotiations for the residential portion of the site between the Planning Board and private developer SilverPlace LLC broke off in early November, it was decided that the land would be sold in the future to a private developer when market conditions were favorable.

Planners have said in the past they hope the sale of the residential portion can help offset some of the costs of the headquarters, an opportunity improved by Guardian's offer, LaBarbera said.

The current design for SilverPlace was determined in June through a series of community workshops, called "charrettes," and was approved by the board Aug. 31. However, Guardian would build the headquarters according to the site plan currently approved for 8711 Georgia Ave.

"A change in location would change the design in the headquarters building," said Daniel Hertz, the project manager for SilverPlace, in a phone interview Thursday, later adding "right now, the only design we have in front of us is the charrette plan."

Staff Writer Janel Davis contributed to this report.

[sovman]

My guess is that Guardian Reality is only doing this because they can't find anybody else to lease office space in their new tower? I personally hope that the planning department doesn't do this and they build it how it was planned at the current site.

[Silver Springer]

Developer denied alley ownership
Builder seeking options after complaints at hearing over Fenton Village project
by Jason Tomassini | Staff Writer

In a contentious planning hearing Thursday, two Fenton Village property owners and a developer argued over the impact of a large mixed-use project proposed for the neighborhood, with the county Planning Board rejecting the developer's request to build over alleyways currently serving nearby businesses.

In a hearing that lasted about an hour, property owners told the board that developer Robert Hillerson's request to take over public alleys that tenants use for loading and trash removal would be problematic enough to force them to sell their properties.

"If this alley is abandoned and Hillerson gets his way, it would be devastating," said John Kalivas, whose mother, Athena, has owned the property at 902 Thayer Ave. for more than 50 years. "This property is our main source of income and the tenant would have to close down business."

As part of construction of Studio Plaza, which is proposed for the county-owned Parking Lot 3 at the corner of Thayer and Silver Spring avenues, Hillerson would build over Kalivas' loading area within the parking lot. Hillerson also would demolish a back portion of the property to create a new loading area.

At his property Thursday night, Kalivas pointed out a red line drawn just five feet from the his property line, marking a roughly 30-foot-long proposed loading area that Kalivas said would make loading impossible.

When faced with the prospect of losing part of her property, Athena Kalivas broke down before the board.

"He is a big fish and I am a little fish," Kalivas said through tears. She said she bought the property after immigrating to the United States in the 1950s and her husband died in the property shortly after.

"Hillerson thinks I'm old, senile and crazy; I'm not crazy!" she yelled during her testimony.

Hillerson's attorney, C. Robert Dalrymple, said his client needed an approval of the alley abandonment by the County Council before subsequent development plans could be completed. If the alleys were approved by council, they would only be handed over upon the Planning Board's approval of a site plan.

Hillerson has already purchased the land from the county to build Studio Plaza, but the parcel does not include the alleys.

Studio Plaza is designed for 577 residential units, 61,000 square feet of retail, 175,000 square feet of office space, 152 underground public parking spaces, 877 private parking spaces, a 41,000-square-foot plaza and a new private street connecting Thayer and Silver Spring avenues.

The Planning Board eventually ruled that the abandonment of the alleys would have a negative effect on the businesses and if Hillerson resolves the issues with property owners, the abandonment can be approved as part of Studio Plaza's project plan.

Mike Gerecht, who owns CD Publishing at 8204 Fenton St., currently loads materials over about a three-foot gap from the existing parking lot to the second floor of his building. Hillerson's proposal would take away that area and require Gerecht to load onto the first floor of the property off Fenton.

Hillerson has offered to pay to install an elevator in Gerecht's property that would ease loading, but Gerecht said blocking Fenton with loading trucks would be a detriment to the community.

"We have a lot of problems with this plan but they have not been willing to talk to us at all," Gerecht said.

Dalrymple showed the board an agreement signed by an attorney representing Kalivas saying the proposed changes to the property were sufficient.

"We thought they were on board," said Dalrymple, who grew contentious with the board throughout the hearing and was yelled at by Athena Kalivas after the hearing. "If they say an attorney wasn't authorized then that is a problem."

Other property owners near Studio Plaza have also signed off on the plans, Hillerson said.

"You have one family that is significantly impacted," said Hillerson, who declined to comment after the hearing. "Your impression is that there are a lot of people opposing this."

Board members said agreements between parties were not their concerns, only the impact of the land use.

"I don't think this board will allow you to deprive these people of access to the back of the buildings," said board vice chairman John Robinson, "You better figure out a way to get access to the back of these buildings or you are going to have a problem."

[Silver Springer]

This was low even for the gazette!


Silver Spring plan stumbles over ‘angry and old' landlord

Momentum for the Studio Plaza mixed-use project in Silver Spring has stalled over the objections of a self-described angry old landlord who said she would be run out of business by its developer's proposal to build over an alley behind her property.

Developer Bob Hillerson has a deal with Montgomery County for his Fenton Village complex and the backing of its planning staff to build over a network of alleys next to a public parking lot just east of Georgia Avenue. But the impassioned objections of 85-year-old Athena Kalivas prompted the county Planning Board last week to recommend that the County Council defer action on the alleys until approval of the project and site plans for Studio Plaza.

The widowed property owner complained that Hillerson would force her out of business because his use of the alleys for the project would deny rear access to the Thai Market, a small café that rents space from her at 908 Thayer Ave. Kalivas and her children said that there is no room for Hillerson's proposal to create a loading dock for the market and two other businesses.

"I'm not senile," Kalivas told the board. "I'm angry and old."

She and her family have owned a stretch of properties for 50 years and insisted that the county protect access to the alley under the Studio Plaza plan. Hillerson proposes to construct four buildings, including a possible hotel, under a plan that would include 174,805 square feet of office space, 60,862 square feet of retail and 428,128 square feet of residential space with 603 units.

The board voted unanimously to recommend that the council not act on the alley abandonment issue until approval of the Studio Plaza project and site plan to ensure that rear access of surrounding property owners is protected. Board member John Robinson suggested that the site plan might require a setback of 10 to 20 feet between existing properties and Studio Plaza to make room for deliveries and trash trucks.

The board has tentatively set April 16 as the hearing date for the project plan.