ROCKVILLE FREEWAY

UPDATE

Federal Realty Acquires Montrose Crossing

Shopping Center Controlling Interest

Can it really be time for another Rockville Freeway update already? Yes, because developments (pun intended) continue to unfold rapidly along the Rockville Freeway/Rockville Facility right-of-way. That tends to happen when you delay construction of a critical highway for 60 years!

The latest major "development" is that Federal Realty has just acquired the controlling interest in the Montrose Crossing shopping center. This is a legendary and still-popular shopping destination with tenants that include Giant Food, Old Navy, Sports Authority and Timpano Italian Chophouse. I say legendary, because this shopping center once housed one of the few Super Giant stores in the DC area back in the 70s.

Montrose Crossing just also happens to sit adjacent to the Rockville Freeway right-of-way. This portion of the Rockville Freeway has been converted into the Montrose Parkway, the construction of which led to the building of the Rockville Freeway's planned 355 interchange.

As you may know, Federal Realty owns Mid-Pike Plaza, home to Toys R Us and G Street Fabrics. FR plans to demolish MPP and build a mini-Manhattan where it stood, to be known as "Pike and Rose." I kid you not.

Now it controls Montrose Crossing, and surely will redevelop that site as well. In fact, FR noted in a statement that current zoning would allow mixed-use redevelopment, and that future permissions could be granted for transit-oriented, high-density development.

Of course, we all know that "transit-oriented development" is a sham, because only 15% of any new residents will use transit.

Knowing that underscores the urgent need to get started on the Rockville Freeway. The first step is to get the freeway into the appropriate master plans. That is the only way a project can qualify for federal funds. Total cost of the Rockville Freeway would be under $1 billion. Because the project has been on the books since the 1950s, it is ahead of newly-planned roads in competing for funds. In a worst case scenario, it could be built by a private company. This would make it a toll road. I am opposed to toll roads, but if you let the company own the road, tolls would be much lower than the ICC.

One final, more trivial update? Did you know that building the Rockville Freeway would require condemnations of only a handful of properties? In contrast, the Purple Line could impact over 300 properties. Yet the Rockville Freeway would carry more commuters per day than the Purple Line.

The Rockville Freeway is an investment in job creation and quality-of-life Montgomery County can't afford not to make.