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| View of the proposed development looming over single-family homes next door |
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| The property is bordered by Sligo Avenue, Fenton Street and Gist Avenue |
The Montgomery County Planning Board will consider the sketch plan at its April 5, 2018 meeting. Planning staff, not surprisingly, is recommending approval of the plan with conditions. One nearby resident who wrote to planners opposing the project included an obituary of former Council president Kathryn E. Diggs, who presided over some of the zoning decisions that allowed such non-compliant buildings as this office tower to pop up in low-density areas across the county.
Not only do our developer-controlled Board and Council keep the Diggs residents-be-damned spirit alive, but they are running the County economy into the ground, by surrendering jobs to our competitors in the region. Heckuva job, Brownie!
Such a shame that someone running for office has no understanding of the future of business. This isn't the 1980's and office space isn't the future.
ReplyDeleteYou show a complete lack of understanding in the Discovery deal, where the county had no control of the business merger or the move from Silver Spring. This area had no chance EVER of keeping their location and to suggest otherwise is not only factually inaccurate but part of your attempt to deceive voters with crazy conspiracy theories.
9:14: You're the one without "understanding" of either topic. "Office space isn't the future?" LOL. Where is Amazon HQ2 going to be - in a large circus tent?
DeleteThe County had TOTAL control to keep Discovery from moving its business operations to Knoxville. Unfortunately, the Council did not have the knowledge of how business works in 2018, nor how to create a climate that attracts business, since 2002. If they had spent the time they lost on kangaroos, vending machine snacks and teen tanning beds since 2014 on Discovery, maybe we wouldn't have a gaping economic development wound in the middle of downtown Silver Spring right now.
How is Downtown Silver Spring a "low-density area"? If the original building is "non-compliant", then why are you complaining about it being re-purposed?
ReplyDeleteAs usual, your rants are self-contradictory.
10:40: As a carpetbagger, you might want to walk the area or use Google Street View to learn that this office building is surrounded on three sides by single-family homes in a tree-lined suburban environment.
DeleteWhy would any sane person look for advice on business development from some random guy who apparently has had no job in 12 years, if ever?
ReplyDelete10:42: My business and employment experience is well known - what's yours? Trolling the websites of Montgomery County's hyperlocal news pioneer posting nasty comments? And only for pizza money and a dingy free apartment provided by your bosses in the MoCo political cartel? Sad!
Delete"The trend toward Montgomery County becoming the bedroom community for burgeoning job centers elsewhere in our region continues..."
ReplyDeleteOnly if you ignore the huge amount of office space that is currently under construction and proposed in downtown Bethesda. I guess this is why you have your four separate blogs, so you can avoid these inconvenient facts.
"our impotent County Council let Discovery Communications slip out of their fingers, while they were busy debating a ban on circus animals."
I wouldn't expect someone like you who has apparently never held a job, to understand the concept of multitasking.
11:23: Marriott is simply moving from North Bethesda to downtown Bethesda. No major corporate tenant has been found for any other office project recent or future. Recent buildings had their floors chopped up into little offices, at taxpayer expense, to hold smaller unsexy tenants.
DeleteI wouldn't expect someone like you who has never held a job to understand that the Council spent zero time saving Discovery HQ - doing nothing is NOT the concept of multitasking.
Dyer of all people criticizing someone else for not having a job LOL
DeleteRobert that's just not true. Fox 5 is moving to the JBG building, so that's a NEW corporate headquarters moving to the County from DC. Additionally that building is already 70% leased, so its not like they're struggling to find tenants.
Delete10:34: That's a TV station, not a corporate headquarters. Fox HQ is in Los Angeles. Which building is 70% leased? I've heard no announcement.
DeleteThis must set a record for the most amount of nonsense in a single blog post.
ReplyDelete1 Downtown Silver Spring is not low-density.
2 The building was obsolete and was on the verge of condemnation. No reputable tenant would have even considered moving there.
3 Not only is attacking and insulting a passed-away council member disgusting, but also ironic since she was a conservative Republican, which you supposedly claim to be.
4 Claiming that developers are surrendering jobs and running the county economy into the ground is one of the most backwards and idiotic things I have ever heard.
This must set the record for the most amount of nonsense in a single troll comment.
Delete1. This site is surrounded by single-family homes on 3 sides.
2. The building is being reused for housing in this project, and therefore clearly could have been restarted as a corporate headquarters or smaller-scale offices.
3. Who "attacked and insulted" anybody? Is telling the historic facts of Boss Tweed an attack and insult?
4. Developers are indeed surrendering jobs by having their tools on the Council and Planning Board convert office space and office parks to residential. The Council are the ones who are driving the county economy into the ground - they need no help with that!
The site is on a busy commercial street and is zoned appropriately. You must be the tool if you think that any legit business would relocate their "corporate headquarters" in this building, or that single-family homes would be a better use on Fenton street. What a joke
Delete10:37: This is not a "busy commercial street;" it has single-family homes along it. There's a non-conforming office tower - let's get some jobs in there, rather than more MPDUs stuffed with kids to further crowd MCPS.
DeleteDyer, you're severely uninformed if you think conversion of 60s-80s office to residential is only a MoCo thing. It's the ideal transformation of a property its age, as seen in DC and NoVa - not to mention NYC and Boston. The floor plate of the building is simply garbage by today's commercial property standards. These residential conversions/revitalizations will continue to occur in any area that isn't "moribund."
ReplyDeleteA private developer is investing tens of millions to add onto and redevelop a long-vacant building. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that's the exact opposite of "moribund." I feel like you need a dictionary, Robert. Why do you hate good MoCo news so much?
ReplyDeleteIt's good news that this project will add to our structural deficit, and further congest roads and overcrowd classrooms? LOL
DeleteAnd new jobs from a office tenant wouldn't? Do you even understand the words you say?
Delete"LOL"
2:10: The only way adults can attend MCPS is if they are illegal immigrants, as we learned during the Rockville gang rape case. How would adult workers in a corporate HQ jam schools? LOL Do YOU even understand the words you say?
DeleteHere is the rest of the story, from a year ago...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2017/Downtown-Silver-Spring-Office-Building-Condemned/
The mention of Kaldi's is sweet.
LOL - that's the official propaganda version. It mentions nothing about the lost jobs and revenue that will result from converting a solid office building to residential.
DeleteThat's why folks come here, to get "the rest of the story."
Saith Dyer:
ReplyDelete"This site is surrounded by single-family homes on 3 sides."
Yet at the same time you're complaining that the site is being restored to residential use?
Also, you're incorrect about "three sides". The Fenton Street and Sligo Avenue sides are commercial, so that leaves only two residential sides.
6:21: It's a non-conforming building. It's not being restored, because it never was residential to begin with. Anybody who doesn't want MoCo, and America in general, to have jobs is immediately a suspicious character.
Delete"Anybody who doesn't want MoCo, and America in general, to have jobs is immediately a suspicious character."
ReplyDeleteDyer's daily challenge - to make each comment even more retarded and deranged than the ones before it.
10:11: Once again a self-proclaimed Hans Riemer supporter uses the "R" word in 2018. Voters will remember that.
DeleteWhy does literally everything come back to Reimer? What is this obsession you have? And how do you know “Anonymous” is a supporter? (You don’t.)
Delete10:37: "Anonymous" is you, and you have repeatedly identified yourself as a supporter - if not employee - of Helpless Hans Riemer.
Delete