Redevelopment would result
in net loss of affordable units
Brown Development unveiled plans for its massive redevelopment proposal for properties it owns along Battery Lane in Bethesda at a required public meeting last night. While the plans are controversial, the meeting was much less heated than many anticipated. But the total number of affordable units are also less than some had predicted, leaving a net loss of such units on one of the few streets in downtown Bethesda that has naturally-occurring affordable apartments.
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Lots A,B,C,D and E that hold the
six properties targeted for
redevelopment |
Attorney Nancy Regelin led the meeting, which lasted for over two hours. She said Brown intends to file a preliminary plan and sketch plan with Montgomery County in April. Six buildings in total on Battery would be demolished if the County approves the plans. While the developer is filing plans for all six properties together in order to present a coherent vision, Regelin said the redevelopment will play out over a ten to fifteen year period.
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A microphone awaits public
comments at Imagination Stage
last night |
A site plan would not likely be approved before 2020, Regelin predicted. Groundbreaking for Phase 1 would be expected in 2021.
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Illustrative plan showing the
layout and landscaping for the
redeveloped properties |
"We don't want to talk about a project, but a place," Aldon Properties Executive Vice-President Douglas M. Wrenn told the audience. Aldon is a subsidiary of Brown. Wrenn said that maintaining the existing buildings has become more of a challenge in the last fifteen years, although some current Battery Lane residents tell me they find conditions more than acceptable. Claiming net operating income is shrinking, Wrenn argued redevelopment is necessary to retain value in the properties while providing better housing for Bethesda residents.
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| Site A - 4857 Battery Lane |
Wrenn promised 25% MPDUs, and went further to make an unusual promise of "workforce housing" that would be constructed with cheaper materials for those who don't qualify for MPDUs. However, even at 25%, the redevelopment will end with a net loss of affordable units on Battery Lane.
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| Site B - 4858 Battery Lane |
There are 477 naturally-occurring affordable units on the Brown properties along Battery today. Brown is proposing to build a total of 1498 new units. But at 25%, that would result in a net loss of affordable units. There is no guarantee or requirement that Brown actually build the "workforce housing" units is alluded to beyond the MPDUs.
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| Site C - 4890, 4900 Battery Lane |
Such midrange units, to my knowledge, have never been built and marketed anywhere in Montgomery County. Advertising housing built with lower-quality materials is certainly unusual, as well. If there is a market for this, no private developer in its own private project has so far attempted to serve it. It will be interesting to see if the Planning Board actually makes these additional workforce units mandatory, and if they end up not getting flipped to more luxury units by the time they are built.
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Landscaping plan for Site D
4949 Battery Lane |
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Massing diagram for Site D
4949 Battery Lane |
Residents attending the meeting were not satisfied with having a net loss of affordable housing on Battery. It's also notable that many who currently live in the naturally-occurring affordable units on Battery today will not qualify for MPDUs - they make too much money, but not enough to afford the market rate at newer buildings in town. That is why you rarely hear about "workforce housing" in relation to MPDUs anymore. While MPDUs were once hailed as "workforce housing" for government employees held in the highest public esteem, many Montgomery County police officers, firefighters and teachers actually earn too much to qualify for them.
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Height study for Site E
4998 Battery Lane |
Many attendees had practical concerns about the project, as well. One resident of an existing Brown/Aldon building asked if he should rent a P.O. Box now for his mail. A neighbor who owns a house by the Stonehall condos said she will need continued access to the alley behind Stonehall because she has no access to her property from Woodmont.
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| Site E - 4998 Battery Lane |
Another homeowner at the intersection of Battery and Old Georgetown Road asked if Brown could assist in making that intersection safer, reporting that she sees many accidents there. She also expressed concern that such a high number of units will threaten her business of renting homes to NIH employees. I can suggest she has nothing to worry about, as prices and rents have only increased as thousands of new apartments and condos have been delivered in downtown Bethesda. It's unlikely her current tenants qualify for MPDUs, either.
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Study of impact of new building
at Site E on nearby single-family home |
Finally, condo owners at Whitehall were concerned about sunlight to their property being blocked. They are not only afraid they won't get as much natural light, but that the valuable trees on their property will fall ill or die without sufficient sun.
While approval is nearly certain before the developer-controlled Planning Board, public approval is still important, especially since Brown emphasized its plan to remain part of the community as a long-term owner. Amenities will play a key role. Wrenn pointed to a pedestrian cut-through to the new development from Rugby Avenue and an events space near the Whitehall property as two potential public amenities. But if MPDUs or mandatory mid-priced units can be bumped up to at least the number there today, public acceptance would most certainly be broader.
