Silver Spring's newest parking garage enters final phase of construction (Photos)

Construction of the new public parking garage at 8615 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring is entering the final phase. The structure has been designed to have retail space on the ground floor, and it's a nice touch that the corner stairwell echoes the corner window design of the building next door. When Montgomery County's moribund economy scuppered a planned office building on this site, United Therapeutics stepped in to save the day, making a deal with the County. Under the agreement, the biotech firm has constructed this public parking garage on this site, and the County, in turn, is handing over the Cameron Street Garage property at 8700 Cameron Street to UT for future expansion. UT is also providing a fiber hub to the County, a parcel of land for future affordable housing, and a new County Department of Transportation parking operations facility at 9150 Brookville Road in Forest Glen. 

Crane assisting parking garage construction in Silver Spring (Photos)

Construction is slowly advancing on a new parking garage at 8615 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring. A tower crane has been erected to assist with the heavy lifting. When Montgomery County's moribund economy scuppered a planned office building on this site, United Therapeutics stepped in to save the day, making a deal with the County. Under the agreement, the biotech firm is constructing a public parking garage on this site, and the County, in turn, will hand over the Cameron Street Garage property at 8700 Cameron Street to UT for future expansion. UT is also providing a fiber hub to the County, a parcel of land for future affordable housing, and a new County Department of Transportation parking operations facility at 9150 Brookville Road in Forest Glen. 

Construction underway on new downtown Silver Spring parking garage (Photos)

A parking lot at 8615 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring has been demolished to make way for a new public parking garage with ground floor retail space. The property had been expected to host a new office building, but the moribund Montgomery County economy determined otherwise. One of the county's few economic development bright spots - life sciences - ended up saving the day, however. 

Montgomery County entered into a deal with United Therapeutics, by which the biotech firm would construct a public parking garage on this site, and the County would then give them the Cameron Street Garage property at 8700 Cameron Street for future expansion. UT is also providing a fiber hub to the County, a parcel of land for future affordable housing, and a new County Department of Transportation parking operations facility at 9150 Brookville Road in Forest Glen. Construction at 8615 Georgia is now in the early stage of removing debris and grading the site.

Paid parking coming to Takoma Junction parking lot next month

Get ready to start paying for parking at the Takoma Junction parking lot at 201 Ethan Allen Avenue next month. Metered parking will operate using the ParkMobile app beginning in mid-November, the City of Takoma Park says. The parking fee at Takoma Junction will be $1 per hour, with a maximum of 2 hours parking permitted. 

Paid parking will be enforced between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM Monday through Saturday. Parking in the lot will be free on Sundays. No overnight parking will be allowed.

Town Square garage to switch payment methods in downtown Silver Spring July 31

The Town Square Public Parking Garage 61 at 786 Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring will change payment methods at the end of the month. According to a sign outside the Montgomery County-owned-and-operated garage, "on or about July 31, 2023 this facility will be changed to Pay Stations." The new system will be "pay by plate." 

You can watch a Montgomery County Department of Transportation Division of Parking Management video to learn in advance how to use the new pay-by-plate system. Mobile payment will be available following the conversion through Parkmobile and Passport. To use mobile payment, enter the seven digit zone number (3610001), enter your license plate, choose your duration and begin the session.

Water leaking into garage at new Montgomery County government office building in Wheaton

A reader reported earlier this month that the bottom level of the public parking garage at the new Montgomery County government office building at 2425 Reedie Drive in Wheaton was closed, and that standing water was being pumped out. I inquired with the County Department of Transportation Parking Division, which operates the County-owned garage, and I now have some information from the Chief of Management Service, Jeremy Souders. 

"The County continues to work with the Building Developer, General Contractor, Engineers and [the County Department of Permitting Services] to resolve moisture in the lower level of Garage 13," Souders said. He added that intrusion of moisture or water into underground parking garages is a common occurance. In the case of Garage 13, he said that contractors "are currently injecting silicon into a few moist areas, cleaning, and repainting." Souders said he expects that a majority of the spaces on the G4 parking level will be open to the public again within the next month.

Car stolen from Montgomery County garage in Silver Spring

Montgomery County police are investigating a reported theft of a vehicle from a County-owned parking garage in downtown Silver Spring. The vehicle was reported stolen from a garage in the 900 block of Silver Spring Avenue at 2:30 AM on Saturday morning.

New public parking lot in downtown Silver Spring to debut March 1

A new public parking lot will be added to public parking options in downtown Silver Spring on March 1, 2022. It is an existing, small private parking lot adjacent to the entrance to the Fenton Street Village Public Parking Garage 4 on Silver Spring Avenue. According to Montgomery County officials, it will accept mobile payment only.

Wheaton public parking fees to increase January 3, 2021

The Montgomery County Council is raising the cost of parking at County-owned garages and lots, and at parking meters, in Wheaton for 2022. Starting January 3, 2022, it will cost $1 per hour to park in public garages and parking lots, and $1.25 an hour at on-street parking meters. Beginning April 4, 2022, you'll have to feed the on-street meters between the hours of 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday-Saturday.

Downtown Silver Spring renovations block off part of surface parking lot

The Peterson Cos.' multimillion dollar makeover of its Downtown Silver Spring property continues. Some of the latest work this week now requires closing off part of the surface parking lot in front of businesses at the corner of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue. Not to worry, though: aside from the inconvenience of less parking, those businesses like Panera Bread and Red Lobster remain open during the renovations.

Amherst Garage 45 washdown scheduled for November 2-3 in Wheaton

Montgomery County has scheduled a washdown for the Amherst Garage 45 at 11304 Amherst Avenue in Wheaton this weekend, November 2-3, 2019. Be advised that parts of the garage, or the entire garage, may close as necessary during this cleaning.

New parking garage in downtown Silver Spring

There's a new parking option in downtown Silver Spring. Montgomery County Public Parking Garage 3 is now open to the public. Also known as the Thayer-Silver Spring Garage, it is located at the rear of the new Thayer & Spring apartment complex. The new garage is only accessible from Silver Spring Avenue.

The garage features 155 parking spaces (40 short-term, and 115 long-term), six handicapped spaces, 28 bicycle spaces, and four pay stations where you pay in advance by your space number. Parking fees are charged only on weekdays between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, according to the County's Division of Parking Management website.