Westfield, Rock Spring Centre ask for extensions due to development moratorium

Rock Spring Centre rendering (2015)

Two developers with projects impacted by the Walter Johnson cluster development moratorium are asking the Montgomery County Planning Board for extensions. Westfield is seeking to extend the period of review for preliminary and site plan amendments to its Montgomery Mall outdoor expansion project from July 18, 2019 to July 16, 2020. And the development team for Rock Spring Centre, to be located across Rock Spring Drive from WJ itself, is seeking an extension for the review of its preliminary plan to January 16, 2020.

The extension requests are routine in these situations, but of great public interest in this case for two reasons. For one, this is the first news on the Rock Spring Centre front in five years. The project had approval in 2011, but Peterson Cos. backed out of the partnership in 2012. DRI was ready to reboot the project minus the Silverspot cineplex (which was sunk by the arrival of nearby ArcLight Cinemas and iPic since the original project approval) in the fall of 2015. All that was needed was a new investment partner, which DRI believed it had found.

But that partner never materialized, and the project went quiet for the last four years. The clear concern is that the approvals would expire. Now, Rock Spring Properties, Floyd E. Davis Company and Buchanan Partners say they are prepared to submit a new preliminary plan, but need the extension.

It will be very interesting to see what changes are made, given the state of the market in 2019, and the truly mixed-use nature of the original vision. Class A office space, hotel, retail and entertainment uses were given top billing alongside only 161 apartment units, a downright modest residential component compared to most County projects on far smaller lots. In a letter to Planning Board Chairman Casey Anderson, Rock Spring Centre's attorney Steven A. Robins writes that "the plan has evolved."

Robins adds that site plan amendments allowing those changes could be submitted to the County within the next two months. According to his letter, the project still contains office and hotel uses, along with residential, retail and services. We'll have to see what the changes entail to determine if this is still the winning project it has been up to this point. Getting Dave & Buster's into the 90,000 SF entertainment space, and keeping residential in balance with office space, would be winning moves here (D&B has shown with their new Rio location that they are not afraid to have multiple locations in the County).

The second notable thing about the requests by both developers is how supremely incompetent the Montgomery County Council is. They've been doing a lot of talking since 2014 about solving the infrastructure backlog, especially as it regards school capacity. Both of these projects have been in works for years, particularly Rock Spring Centre. Yet, all of these years later, the Council has failed to put together a plan and actually take action. If you can't figure out how to solve the infrastructure deficit in five years, to provide the needed classroom space and prevent a development moratorium, you have no business being on the County Council.

Both extension requests will be reviewed by the Planning Board at its July 18 meeting. Planning staff recommends approval of both extensions.