Downtown Wheaton " redevelopment " meeting March 24

A public information meeting on the proposed Lot 13 redevelopment project in Wheaton will be held Tuesday, March 24, at 6:30 PM in the Wheaton High School Auditorium. The school is located at 12601 Dalewood Drive.

Updated sketch plans will be displayed for the project, which will be a Montgomery County Government office building. This is hardly what residents and Wheaton businesses had in mind. The project will hurt Wheaton Triangle businesses by removing the convenient parking their patrons currently enjoy in Lot 13, and create dirt, noise and disruption. Government offices won't jumpstart the Wheaton economy, either. The reality is, the Powers That Be want the small businesses around Lot 13 to fail, so that they can demolish those retail buildings, and build more luxury apartments.

With Marriott actively searching for a new headquarters location convenient to Metro, why aren't these unwise plans being put on hold, and efforts made to secure the hospitality giant for Wheaton. Doesn't Wheaton deserve to have a logo other than that of a grocery store to anchor its skyline?