Bethesda landlord responds to apartment lease controversy

"We will be homeless!!!" a flyer received by many residents of The Glens on Battery Lane warned this week. It said leases in two buildings expected to be demolished in the future would be "ending as early as July 2021," and urged residents to contact Montgomery County to complain. Yesterday, property manager Aldon Management responded in a letter to residents of those buildings to dispute the assertions made in the flyer, which it said had been distributed by "one of our Residents."

"Aldon Management is offering every Resident of 4890 and 4900 [Battery Lane] the option of extending their lease until February 2022 at no increase," the letter stated. It said demolition and redevelopment of the two buildings will not happen prior to March 2022, and could even be delayed further under unforeseen circumstances. 

Aldon vowed to go beyond the 60-day rule Montgomery County has for informing residents of a non-renewal of their lease, promising to alert residents "at least 75-90 days ahead of the expiration." It said residents who wish to stay on in a different building at The Glens when demolition of theirs begins "will have transfer fees waived and will be given first option for available apartments."

4890 and 4900 are "Site C" in the larger redevelopment plan of developer Brown Development. The full redevelopment of all of its Battery Lane properties is expected to take place over the next fifteen years, in five staged phases.