New civic group aims to Empower Montgomery voters

If you are a registered voter, and have voted in a past Montgomery County election, you likely received a mailing from Empower Montgomery yesterday. The non-profit, tax-exempt organization has been formed by several heavy hitters from the Montgomery County business community with the stated goal of increasing voter engagement.

Montgomery County's voter turnout in the 2014 election was the lowest in the state of Maryland. Contrary to claims by term limits opponents that such laws result in lower turnout, we in fact had less turnout than the counties that currently have term limits.

Empower Montgomery aims to change this race to the bottom, they say, by pushing for open primaries that allow independents to vote for state and local office nominating contests, easing voter restrictions, expanding early and absentee voting, and engaging communities with low rates of voter participation. They say they will primarily promote public education and advocacy activities, but will also act on major issues at election time.

Who's behind Empower Montgomery? Charles Nulsen III, the president of Washington Property Company; Chris Bruch, president and COO of The Donohoe Companies; David Blair; and former County Council member and lobbyist Steve Silverman.

WPC delivers Solaire Bethesda; True Food Kitchen to open in early 2017

Washington Property Company has announced the official delivery of its Solaire Bethesda mixed-use development at 7077 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The Solaire's 139 apartments range from 606 SF studios to three-bedroom units that boast over 1,400 SF of living space. True Food Kitchen, the ground floor restaurant tenant, is now scheduled to open early next year.

Apartment features include stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops, spa-inspired bathrooms with crafted wood vanity cabinets, and plank flooring. Among the amenities are a 24-hour front desk with concierge services, resort-inspired outdoor terrace overlooking the downtown, a pet spa, available onsite storage, modern fitness center, and a fifth-floor resident lounge with entertainment bar, gaming area, and lounge seating.

“Solaire Bethesda sets a new standard for modern urban living in Bethesda,” Daryl South, Senior Vice President of WPC said in a statement. “Our goal is to provide residents with not only an incredible apartment home in a premier location, but also with service and convenience that will make our residents’ lives a little bit less hectic so they can enjoy living in downtown Bethesda.” The Solaire is only 800 feet from the future south entrance of the Bethesda Metro station and Purple Line light rail station.

On a related side note, I have to salute Charles K. Nulsen III, the President of WPC, not only for the completion of the project, but because he has also generously donated $1000 to the effort to pass term limits in Montgomery County. That's really the only way we are going to ever address the many problems I write about on this blog, and which we've heard citizens testifying about at meetings all this week - by "throwing the bums out." It's critical to have leaders like Mr. Nulsen who aren't just contributing to the economy, but to the civic health of our County. Hopefully other business leaders will step up in the remaining 19 days to support voting "Yes" on Question B on November 8.

BETHESDA DEVELOPER SPEAKS FRANKLY ON MOCO'S WEAK OFFICE MARKET, CRUSHING ENERGY TAX

Some refreshingly-candid commentary on Montgomery County's massive energy taxes, and weak market for office space, was delivered Tuesday by Charles Nulsen, president of Bethesda's Washington Property Company. Nulsen was testifying before the Montgomery County Council, on a slew of new energy and environmental requirements that would impact residents and businesses countywide.

But some of his more general testimony on the current economic development climate in the county jumped out. I recall being in the audience at a council hearing three years ago, and hearing the testimony of the county chamber of commerce regarding job creation. When the statistic of the low number of jobs created in MoCo was contrasted with Fairfax County's number - many times that of Montgomery's during the same period - there was an audible gasp in the room. Listening to Nulsen's testimony, those who might have tuned out local economic matters could quickly understand why we are behind.

Nulsen testified that Montgomery County businesses' utility bills are 30% higher than those in DC or Northern Virginia. He said the county currently "collects more for the distribution of electricity than Pepco itself." In addition to our tremendous traffic congestion (due to the failure to complete our master plan highways), lack of access to Dulles Airport, and high tax burden, these disparities hardly make MoCo the easy choice for large employers seeking to relocate.

That impact is felt in the county's weak office market. The vacant office space in Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring and Wheaton speaks for itself. With no large employer moving to the county in a decade, developers are abandoning planned office space countywide. We were told that "smart growth" would allow people to "live where they work." The factual evidence suggests otherwise: Office space planned for "smart growth" communities such as Clarksburg and King Farm is being abandoned, or converted to residential. An office building in downtown Wheaton was recently flipped to residential, as well. Ultimately, the "smart growth" has actually led to more traffic congestion and sprawl, as we are ending up with more residential than was even planned. And all of those additional residents are going to commute in to the usual downtown DC and VA employment centers.

Nulsen said his own office properties have a 25% vacancy rate, and that "our commercial tenant base is dwindling." He added that he has had difficulty attracting office tenants for a decade. I would point out that that coincides directly with the lack of major firms relocating to the county over the same time period. With a dwindling tax base, and surging population, the county's current economic trajectory is "unsustainable," Nulsen argued.

"We have an A- grade in environmental stewardship. We have an F in economic stewardship," was Nulsen's assessment of where Montgomery County stands at present.