Leggett, Stonebridge Carras and Bozzuto Announce Agreement for Redevelopment of Downtown Wheaton

More than One Million Square Feet of Mixed Use Projects Will Reshape Wheaton Triangle and M-NCPPC Site in Silver Spring 

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett announced the signing of a public-private partnership agreement that will remake the downtown Wheaton Triangle. The agreement will also create a new Georgia Avenue gateway to Silver Spring with mixed-use development on the site of the current headquarters of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), which also houses the County’s Planning Board and Planning Department staff.

Together, the two sites represent 1.1 million square feet of development that is expected to advance Montgomery County’s smart growth, continue the revitalization of downtown Wheaton, and move County departments and agencies from leased space to a more cost-effective, environmentally sensitive, publically owned building.

The County’s partners in this joint venture are affiliates of StonebridgeCarras, LLC, a Bethesda-based real estate firm, and The Bozzuto Group, a Greenbelt-based residential real estate company.

Wheaton’s new downtown will be a transit-oriented development that includes a town square, a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified office building, retail, residences, including affordable housing, and public parking.

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation spearheaded the agreement. Under the terms of the public-private partnership, StonebridgeCarras and Bozzuto will construct the following in Wheaton on the existing County Regional Services Center and the large surface parking lot on Reedie Drive:

 

      • A 265,000 square-foot office building that will house the headquarters of the M-NCPPC,
        Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services and Department of Environmental
        Protection, the Mid-County Regional Services Center and Wheaton Urban District;

      • New retail space on Triangle Lane;

      • A new Town Square civic space adjacent to the Wheaton Metro Station;

      • A 395-space underground parking garage; and

      • About 200 units of mixed-income apartment community, of which 20 to 30 percent will be
        designated affordable housing.

In exchange, StonebridgeCarras and Bozzuto will acquire the current M-NCPPC site located at 8787 Georgia Avenue to redevelop into a 430,000 square-foot, mixed-use project, including 26,000 square feet of retail and 360 residential units.

The current M-NCPPC headquarters was built in 1953 and requires significant renovation and expansion. Constructing a new building in Wheaton for M-NCPPC provides a more cost-effective opportunity to also put in one place key County agencies that are related to the development process. Design of the new 12-story building has begun. Construction is expected to begin in 2016, with completion in early 2019.