MONTGOMERY
COUNTY PLANNING BOARD APPROVES MOU WITH DEVELOPMENT PARTNER, REQUEST FOR
COUNCIL APPROPRIATION
SILVER
SPRING, MD
– The Montgomery County Planning Board voted unanimously to adopt an agreement
with its private development partner to lay the groundwork for SilverPlace – a
project slated to include a new Park and Planning headquarters, condos, rental
units, retail and open space at Georgia Avenue and Spring Street.
The non-binding agreement
(formally known as a memorandum of understanding) establishes the roles and
responsibilities of the Planning Board and the development team in the
project’s initial stages, which involve developing a design concept for and
working out the details for moving forward. More detailed and substantive agreements are expected later.
The Board also voted to request a
special appropriation from the County Council to begin the design phase and
convene the charrettes with stakeholders. The funding request may be up to $4.9 million and will cover the cost of
the project’s schematic design.
“The most important element is
the requirement for a fresh look at the design of the entire public-private
project through a series of charrettes,” explained Planning Board Chairman
Royce Hanson.
“The charrettes will match design
talent with public perspectives to produce a concept that meets the
Commission’s need for a headquarters and sets a new standard for public
buildings and urban open space. We also want to provide an exemplary housing
development that accommodates a wide range of incomes, respects and fits well
into the neighborhood while exceeding environmental standards.”
At the charrettes, architects
will begin putting ideas to paper and obtaining input for initial design
proposals from outside experts, community members and staff who will eventually
move into the headquarters. The community charrette portion of the design is
expected to take up to four months. The
total design of the project is expected to take 10 months.
Under the proposal, the Park and
Planning Commission will negotiate a future agreement to sell part of its
property to the private development team to build the residential and retail
components of the project. Another agreement will spell out the range of costs
and fees associated with design and construction.
To address the lack of affordable
housing in the county, SilverPlace will include a minimum of
30 percent affordable residences.
Like all new or proposed public projects in Montgomery County, SilverPlace will
meet “silver” or higher environmentally friendly standards set forth by
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
In 2005, Park and Planning officials released a
competitive request for proposals for the SilverPlace project. Among the three
development teams who responded with a proposal, SilverPlace, LLC was ranked
the top contender. During the competition for the project — for illustrative
purposes only — development teams submitted conceptual architectural
renderings for the site. The Board has made no decisions on the design or placement
of buildings.