TOLL BROS. REQUESTS REDUCTIONS IN UNITS, PARKING, REC SPACE FOR HAMPDEN ROW CONDOS

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Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers is requesting reductions in its Hampden Row condominium approved site plan from the Montgomery County Planning Department. "Wait a minute... 'Approved site plan!?' I thought this thing was just announced," you might be saying. Apparently, the Toll Brothers City Living project for this Hampden Lane site is not originally theirs, but a revamp of a previous developer's plan, approved during the real estate bubble period.

Toll Md. IV, the applicant, is requesting a reduction in units from 60 to 55, a reduction in parking spaces from 88 to 69, and a trim of the building's recreational space to 6077 square feet.

According to a document filed by the applicant's attorney, Pat Harris, a more thorough preparation of building permit plans made clear that the proposed structure could not hold 60 units. The developer also believes the current market trend is toward larger units. Harris argues that the new proposal of 69 spaces provides one more than is required by the county, due to the site's proximity to Metro, and location within a transit development area. Likewise, Harris says the new recreational space is still 9% more than the county requires. Finally, the applicant says the new architecture will be more traditional than the site plan originally approved. Therefore, Toll Brothers is requesting amended changes to landscaping and benches.

Overall, Harris describes the proposed changes as minor. The final building design has not been viewed by the public, but the project has gained national attention as suburban homebuilder Toll Brothers enters the urban real estate market.