Next phases of Glenmont Metrocentre headed to Planning Board (Photos)

The phased demolition and redevelopment of the venerable Privacy World garden apartments will take another step forward on December 10. That's when the Montgomery County Planning Board is scheduled to vote on a plan that would add 260 residential units, and up to 4000 square feet of retail, to the site, which is now known as Glenmont Metrocentre. A new road would be added that would also take remaining Privacy World residents back to 3 garden apartment buildings that will still stand a while longer.

Planning staff are recommending approval of the plan, which includes 33 affordable housing units, and as many as 46 townhouses. The four buildings and parking areas that will be demolished to make room for all of this will have to be gone by September 26, 2020 in order for building permits to be issued.

Buildings within the red
lines will come down in
two phases, along with
their parking lots

A new street, Auden Drive, will provide access to the townhome community, and residents will access parking via Klee Alley. Macaulay Street is a second new street, between Auden and the existing Glenallen Drive, that will give apartment residents access to the new multifamily residential building. There will also be open recreational space.

The apartment building will be 85' tall.

Detail of stream at northwest
corner of Privacy World site;
the development was known for
its ample green space and
well-manicured grounds

Privacy World contained 582 linear feet of stream, .13 acres of wetlands and 2.9 acres of High Priority Forest.

Interestingly, regarding the garden apartments that will remain through these next 2 phases of construction, the planners' report notes that " the current tenants in these buildings...have not been notified of the pending development plans due to the Applicant’s contract with the current property owner."

The County Department of Transportation is recommending restricted turns and a center refuge island for the intersection of the new entrance road at Glenallen Avenue. MCDOT also notes that the on-street parking planners recommended for Glenallen is not feasible, as Glenallen is classified as an arterial road. Limited hours street parking, or recessed street spaces requiring the developer to dedicate another 8' along Glenallen are proposed as compromises by MCDOT, with the former requiring a traffic study.

Glenmont Metrocentre, as the name suggests, is directly adjacent to the Glenmont Metro station.

Glenmont Metrocentre plans headed to Development Review Committee August 31

Glenmont Metrocentre phases 1.2 and 1.3 are headed to the Montgomery County Development Review Committee on Monday, August 31, at 9:30 AM. Both developments, by Layhill Investment Associates, LLC, replace large portions of the classic Privacy World garden apartment community along Glenallen Avenue and Layhill Road, near the Glenmont Metro station.

The DRC is a multi-agency board that reviews elements of development plans involving infrastructure, utilities and other factors that require complicated analysis. Its members include representatives of the WSSC, PEPCO, the State Highway Administration, and the county Departments of Permitting Services, Environmental Protection, and Public Works and Transportation.

Layhill Investment Associates' total plans for the Privacy World site include 1,325 apartments, 225 townhouses and 90,000 square feet of retail space.

I wonder if there are any plans to commemorate the history of Privacy World in the new development, such as through a street name? Its rolling green hills, sweeping landscape and meticulously-maintained grounds were a model for suburban multifamily housing.

Map courtesy Rodgers Consulting

ABANDON ASPEN HILL ROAD EXTENDED? HOLD ON A MINUTE...

The Montgomery County Planning Board will take up a landowner's request to have the county abandon its right-of-way through the Halpine View apartment complex, originally planned as an extension of Aspen Hill Road from Veirs Mill Road to Twinbrook Parkway, this Thursday afternoon.

A perfunctory planning staff report is recommending the board vote to abandon the right-of-way, citing the North Bethesda-Garrett Park master plan recommendation to do so.

The ramifications of the abandonment are far more complicated than the staff report would suggest, however.

First, and foremost, the main driver of the abandonment is neither sound transportation policy, nor concern for the environment (an Aspen Hill Road extension would cross Rock Creek). Rather, it is to promote and facilitate urban redevelopment of the Halpine View garden apartment complex. Halpine View is one of a dwindling number of affordable and spacious housing developments in the county. Its design, much like Privacy World in Glenmont, emphasizes a suburban scale setting, and well-maintained trees and green space. Certainly, the buildings are aging. But to preserve existing affordable units, renovation would be far better than turning the site into another "town center" for rich people. Current rents at Halpine View range from $1000-$1600 a month, and only about two blocks from the Twinbrook Metro station. This makes the complex a valuable one for working families in Montgomery County.

But much like Privacy World and other models for suburban, multi-family housing development, Halpine View is now sought after by developers for dense, urban-style development. Such "town center" density is entirely inappropriate at this location, literally across the street from single family homes in Twinbrook and Aspen Hill. Furthermore, the lure of redevelopment - dangled by developer-beholden council members for decades in front of landowners in Wheaton, Glenmont, Aspen Hill, Rockville, Bethesda, Long Branch, etc., has discouraged routine renovations and maintenance at some properties. After all, why spend money to upgrade your building(s) if you think you're going to be tearing them down in a few years? Remember that when supporters of redevelopment try to convince you that this or that shopping center or apartment complex is "shabby," or obsolete for "the modern amenities young professionals demand today." Any such amenities can be added to any building.

Rather than giving massive tax giveaways to developers, the county would be better off using those funds to assist property owners - as necessary - to finance such renovations and improvements. That would be a far better use of $72 million than just giving it away to White Flint developers, as the county council did a few years ago.

Beyond the crisis of affordable housing we continue to experience in Montgomery County, Aspen Hill Road extended is a potentially vital transportation facility. Current county leaders have no intention of completing the Rockville Freeway/Rockville Facility (a.k.a. Montrose Parkway, in part) all the way from Falls Road to the Intercounty Connector. Therefore, lateral traffic movement remains severely constrained in the county.

Should the Rockville Facility never be extended to Connecticut Avenue, Randolph Road and other local roads remain the only routes between White Flint and Aspen Hill. In that case, Aspen Hill Road Extended would be an important transportation facility.

There is also great potential for inappropriate use of "rapid transit" to upzone retail centers in Aspen Hill to high-density urbanization. Again, Aspen Hill Road Extended would certainly be a necessity under those circumstances.

Finally, a potentially high-traffic redevelopment is going to occur at the intersection of Aspen Hill Road and Connecticut Avenue - as a Walmart, or otherwise. Yet again, Aspen Hill Road would be a major route for patrons of that site.

In conclusion, there is no immediate need to abandon Aspen Hill Road Extended, other than private profit by a developer. The Planning Board should table this request indefinitely.

Retaining the Aspen Hill Road Extended right-of-way is in the best interests of the public, public safety, transportation needs, and vital to maintaining existing affordable housing units.

CHEVY CHASE LAKE SECTOR PLAN HAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOSS SIMILAR TO WHEATON, GLENMONT, SILVER SPRING PLANS

Montgomery County's elected officials continue to say one thing, and do quite another, when it comes to affordable housing.

One myth postulated by developer-backed "smart growth" advocates and politicians, is that this form of planning will generate affordable housing. But in practice, Montgomery's smart growth sector plan and zoning rewrites do the opposite.

You may recall that, a few months ago, the County Council and Planning Board endorsed demolition of hundreds of relatively-affordable housing units on Battery Lane in Bethesda. In return, the county will get a handful of MPDUs it will control.

This pattern is repeating itself all over lower Montgomery County.

The typical ratio is anywhere from 10-20 moderately-priced units generated for every 100+ apartments demolished.

Just do the math.

The latest example came up at last night's public hearing on the Chevy Chase Lake sector plan before the County Council.

While the loss of affordable units in Chevy Chase Lake will be far less than in Wheaton or Glenmont, due to its smaller land area, the unnecessary inclusion of existing housing in the plan is reminiscent of those two rewrites.

Newdale Mews is - relative to usual Chevy Chase living costs - an affordable apartment complex.  Rents start around $1300-1400.  The apartments are not brand new by any means. But that doesn't mean they cannot be renovated.

But should the sector plan pass as-is, Newdale Mews will be demolished, and replaced by luxury apartments for the rich.  According to nearby homeowner Jeff Rule, who testified against the plan last night, only 10-12 MPDUs would be in the new luxury complex.

Again, do the math.

I'm still trying to do the math for the current Glenmont sector plan rewrite. With the exception of the plan to tear down the beautifully-landscaped Privacy World apartments - which has such an overkill of new units planned (1000+!), it could possibly equal the number of affordable units destroyed - several other apartment complexes have been explicitly targeted by planners for demolition.

Why?

Developer greed.

When I testified before the council last year against the zoning changes in downtown Wheaton, I presented an alternative plan.  One that would exempt existing affordable housing, and shopping centers with small businesses (many with Asian or Latino owners), from rezoning.

Instead, I suggested, limit rezoning to properties where the business owner also owns the land.  That way, struggling folks don't get forced out of their homes and shops by landlords who want to cash in on the new zoning.

The bottom-line question was, if you don't mean for these apartment buildings to be demolished, and the occupants tossed out on the street, why in the world would you apply the new zoning to them?

But, predictably, the council went ahead anyway.  They're also going to give a small fortune to a construction company, to build a completely-unnecessary government building on the current parking for Wheaton Triangle businesses. With parking difficult, customers will be turned away. And that means that - guess what? - more shops go out of business. It's an ingenious plan to speed redevelopment of the Wheaton Triangle shopping centers at the expense of taxpayers, and business owners.

And how about affordable housing? Not to long ago, I heard that a plan is coming forward to redevelop the Ambassador apartments. That is one of the affordable apartment buildings I referred to in my testimony. No one is saying it's the Ritz Carlton. But where are those folks going to go?

And which building is next?

Even an affordable complex dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt herself, on the edge of downtown Silver Spring, is now facing the wrecking ball. What would she say about that? Don't worry, a developer could probably give a smart aleck answer that would be favorable to new development. Save it for the Planning Board.

Problems in development-crazed Washington, DC, are giving us a glimpse of Montgomery County's future, should we continue on this path.

A spike in the number of DC residents, including hundreds of children, trying to get into homeless shelters. Others are moving to Prince Georges County. Recent news stories have cited the loss of affordable housing as the primary cause of the surge.

Meanwhile, unit after unit of affordable housing is demolished in DC, and replaced by luxury apartments. Wealthy politicians, developers and residents lecture us on the success of "vibrant, walkable, smart growth" redevelopment.

Sound familiar?

GLENMONT PRIVACY WORLD MEMORIES

I found this nostalgic recollection of life in Glenmont in the late 1960s posted as a reply to a comment on an apartment rating website.

It's kind of going to waste hidden on there, so I thought I would share it here.

The author is anonymous, but what a great example of the negative impact developer-control of politics has wrought in Montgomery County.  Sure, the only constant is change in this world.

But the changes we've experienced over the last decade in the county, in regards to planning and development, are contrary to the more responsible planning and development practices of the past. I'm referring not only to the failure to build roads to support that development, but also the attempt to apply city density to bedroom communities and rural areas, like Glenmont, Wheaton, Olney and "Science City."

Here now is one man's story from the early years of Glenmont.  A time when developers could build affordable housing for working families that took advantage of suburban green space, and trees.  A more promising time, one we can recapture again simply by adopting a responsible growth policy in Montgomery County:

"In the 1960's, Privacy World was known as the Glenmont Park Apartments. In 1966, my family moved into a two bedroom apartment at the back of the community. We were the first tenant in the apartment. Everything was new.

There were woods on the other side of the parking lot. Metro did not exist. The woods stretched back a great distance. I once saw a black bear and a cub in those woods. There was a swimming pool next to the office. I took lessons and learned to swim there. I played basketball on a basketball hoop that was mounted on the outside wall of a party room building that was located next to the office. I think the pool and the party room building are long gone.

I remember walking down Georgia Ave to the 7-11 to buy baseball cards with my allowance. On the way, I would sometimes look at the cars in the showroom of the Dodge dealer. They once had a Superbird with a huge airfoil on the back. All the car makers had cool muscle cars in that era.

As a treat, my parents occasionally would give me money to by myself dinner at KFC. Back then, nobody worried about the safety of children traveling around by themselves. There were other kids my age to play sports with after school. We road a school bus to Georgian Forest Elementary School.

I remember teenagers wearing peace signs around their neck. Some tenants had relatives serving in Vietnam. They were often tense or emotional when the TV news reported the war. On July 4th, you could see the fireworks from the balconies of the tenants on the upper floor in the front of the building.

The apartment was nice. We were on the second floor. Our balcony faced out on a small stand of trees growing around the creek that was formed from the runoff from the storm water sewer pipe. My younger brother got his head stuck between the railing bars on the balcony. A fireman freed him.

My brother and I shared a bedroom. Our bathroom had two sinks, which was convenient. There was a den off of the living room. My brother and I kept our toys in it. I set up my Hot Wheels track in the living room and a friend and I raced our toy cars. The apartment seemed big, but I was young. The kitchen had a neat passthrough/bar that we used to eat our breakfast.

There was a lot of open space between buildings, a lot more than a developer would leave today. My father played baseball with me in one of those areas. He also taught me to ride a bike when we lived there. During the summer, the Good Humor man came through at night. I was always sad when the summer came to an end and I had to go back to school. When I ate the last ice cream bar of the season from the Good Humor man on the night before the new school year began, it was a little sad and sweet at the same time.

In 1970, when I was nine years old, we moved to a new single family house in Rockville. It was not until decades later that I visited the complex again and took a look around. I recall the apartment complex as a nice place. But a lot changes in forty years. And I no longer see things through the eyes of a child.

I hope others enjoy living there. A lot of that depends on how you choose to look at things and what you are focusing on in your life."

I enjoyed this story, and thought readers might, as well. The primary reason any existing apartment or retail complex has declined in varying degrees, is the temptation developer-beholden politicians have dangled of unlimited, mixed-use redevelopment of said properties.  Period.  There's no good reason to pave over the entire county, just for easy developer profit,  when more sustainable, greener suburban development can provide a better quality of life. As it has previously in Glenmont.