Stalled Bethesda condo project site sold to new developer

A downtown Bethesda lot that has been vacant, at best - and an eyesore at worst - for nearly a decade has now changed hands. 8011 Norfolk Avenue had been touted as the future site of The Claiborne, a boutique condominium property, since 2016. The project repeatedly stalled out, with the last attempt to revive it taking place a full three years ago. At that time, the project's approval from Montgomery County had expired.

Rock Creek Property Group has acquired the site, and is now going to explore its options, citing potential uses to include residential, commercial, or office. The new-construction condo market has all but collapsed in downtown Bethesda since The Claiborne was first announced. Nobody is building them. The last successful condo project was The Cheval, which was delivered by Duball, LLC in 2018.

Montgomery Pearl development back on in downtown Bethesda

The Montgomery Pearl project is back on in downtown Bethesda. A proposed redevelopment of several adjoining properties on Montgomery Avenue and Pearl Street, it was previously floated around 2018. Promark Development, LLC, has now revived the project. Comprised of 4540, 4424, 4400, 4340 and 4338 Montgomery Avenue, and 7300 Pearl Street, the new development would include residential buildings with ground floor retail. A "health and wellness club" would also be part of the project.

Promark has also proposed to create a connection between the Capital Crescent Trail and the public space in the new development, and to convert the portion of Pearl Street adjacent to the site into a shared street for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles. A four-level underground parking garage would serve residential, retail, and health club uses. The maximum building height of 145' would step down at the rear of the property, where it approaches the Purple Line and East Bethesda residential neighborhood.

Images courtesy Promark Development

Montgomery County Council rams through ZTA to upzone SFH neighborhoods

The Montgomery County Council took the first major step toward realization of its radical, warmed-over Reaganomics "Thrive 2050" plan yesterday, by approving construction of duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and apartment buildings up to four stories tall on lots currently restricted to single-family homes along multiple commuter corridors. True to its form of recent years, the Council simply blew off community opposition, and a crowded hearing room of angry residents. Taunting the crowd at times, the Council's sense of invincibility was hard to hide in both their microexpressions and tone of voice. The "More Housing N.O.W." zoning text amendment - like Thrive 2050 - had no grassroots support, and overwhelming opposition among residents.

Steamrolling ahead, the Council's willingness to outright lie about the intention of the ZTA was astonishing. From the beginning, they have attempted to sell Thrive and this ZTA as addressing housing affordability issues. Councilmember Andrew Friedson specifically cited middle-income "teachers, firefighters, police officers and nurses" as being able to afford the $2 million duplexes and $1 million apartments that the ZTA will produce. This is nothing more than pure, unadulterated malarkey. Incredibly, the reporter from The Washington Post accepted this farcical statement at face value, declining to fact check Friedson, ask tough follow-up questions, or outright declare Friedson's statements as false, as the paper regularly does for Donald Trump. The Post even used the term "missing middle," which doesn't remotely apply to the multimillion-dollar units that will be constructed under this ZTA. 

Eligible properties (in pink and yellow) in
Aspen Hill, Glenmont, and Wheaton

All this ZTA will do is increase the cost of housing in Montgomery County. If the townhome right next to the parking garage with no backyard at Westbard Square is $1.x million, then the future duplex with half a backyard and half a front yard in Springfield has to go for $2.x million. Now the colonial with the full front yard and backyard and Whitman school district is suddenly $3.x million, and the new-construction McMansion is $4.x million. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Urbanization of the suburbs is the primary goal of the ZTA. For example, the map of eligible properties shows how this ZTA is advancing the plan to urbanize River Road between the D.C. line and the Capital Beltway, which I have warned you about for many years. You can see the many churches, schools, country clubs, and other large properties the Council and their developer sugar daddies imagine will be demolished in the coming years. The speed limit on River Road has already been improperly reduced to 35 MPH, the exact opposite of sound traffic engineering, as the road is designed for speeds up to 55 MPH. Eventually, under the urbanization plan, River Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction, with bus/bike-only lanes seizing the other travel lanes heading east and west. A Purple Line extension to Westbard will be planned to juice density even further. As tall apartment buildings rise along the sides of River Road, the speed limit will drop to 25 MPH. Similar plans are in the works for Georgia Avenue between Olney and downtown Silver Spring, Old Georgetown Road, Veirs Mill Road, Route 29, MD 355, and other major commuter routes countywide.

Here is how each Councilmember voted on the ZTA yesterday. The names under "YES" are the people you will be voting AGAINST on your 2026 ballot, and the names under "NO" are the people you will be voting FOR in the 2026 Democratic primary election.

YES - to approve the ZTA

Gabe Albornoz

Marilyn Balcombe

Natali Fani-Gonzalez

Andrew Friedson

Evan Glass

Dawn Luedtke

Laurie-Anne Sayles

Kate Stewart

NO - to oppose the ZTA

Will Jawando

Sidney Katz

Kristin Mink

Bethesda residents to protest Montgomery County Council's rushed upzoning bill Monday

Residents in the River Road and Massachusetts Avenue corridors of Bethesda will protest the effort by the Montgomery County Council to ram through a zoning text amendment (ZTA) to upzone their neighborhoods for multifamily housing tomorrow afternoon, Monday, July 7, 2025, from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Jamestown Road. The ZTA is a "bill of goods" being disingenuously sold by County Councilmember Andrew Friedson as a solution to the high cost of housing, when in actuality, the higher-density it would allow will be market rate luxury housing sold at $1 million and upward. Part of the highly-controversial "Thrive 2050" scam the Council rammed through during the pandemic, the ZTA is branded as "More Housing N.O.W."

When residents from Bethesda, Wheaton, and other communities that will be damaged and bulldozed by the ZTA turned out in force at the first worksession on the proposal, Friedson took notice. He canceled the second scheduled worksession, and is now rushing the ZTA for a vote before the full Council while many are out of town for summer vacations. 

What the ZTA will do is to upzone neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes only, to allow the construction of multifamily homes. These would include duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and apartment buildings. Street parking and school classrooms would be overwhelmed by a massive influx of new vehicles and children. With all of the new multifamily housing selling at market rates, the ZTA is designed only to line the pockets of the developers who have contributed to the political campaigns of Friedson and other councilmembers, and will not lower the cost of housing whatsoever.

Bethesda Midas site redevelopment underway

Five years after it was first proposed, construction of a new residential building at the edge of downtown Bethesda is underway. 4725 Cheltenham Drive was formerly home to a Midas auto service center. In May of 2020, Bozzuto proposed constructing a 90' tall residential building on the site. The plan was approved by Montgomery County in January 2021. Six months later, Washington, D.C. development firm Community Three acquired the property. The plan was altered to allow for additional units, for a total of 110 apartments.

Construction workers are currently using heavy equipment to grade the site for the 76,841-square-foot building. Branded as "Cheltenham," the new development will have no parking. Residents will be directed to park in the public parking garage diagonally across Cheltenham Drive from the building site. 

Maryland taxpayers to pick up tab for Baltimore developer giveaway

Developers are about to score a mother lode of a real estate portfolio in Baltimore, realizing billions in massive profits, and Maryland taxpayers will pick up the tab for the next twenty years. The property giveaway is being characterized by Maryland elected officials who have tanked the state's finances as "taxpayer savings," counting on a compliant press not to run the numbers, and a complacent electorate not to care. Governor Wes Moore announced the plan in a press release four days ago, in which he promised $326 million in savings over the next two decades, savings he claimed would be realized by moving state government workers into leased space in privately-owned buildings. In turn, the nine state-owned buildings will be sold to developers.

This means a double payday for developers. The state - a.k.a. you, the taxpayer - will have to pay rent to house thousands of government employees in privately-owned office buildings around Charm City. And, developers will acquire valuable downtown property at - based on what we've seen in previous government dispositions of real estate in Montgomery County and Maryland - discount rates, compared to the value they will realize with redevelopment as luxury apartment buildings.

Some have theorized that there are an infinite number of realities. In none of those realities is leasing market-rate office space, over 20 years, cheaper than renovating and continuing to operate buildings you own. But it is a good program for elected officials to help fill the vacant office space owned by developers who have contributed fat checks to their campaigns. It's good to have friends in high places.

The payout bonanza won't end with Maryland handing your money over to developer sugar daddies for market-rate office leases all over Baltimore. That's because a valuable cache of state-owned buildings and prime downtown land is about to be added to their portfolios at value prices.

State Center Complex:  (201 W. Preston St., 300 W. Preston St., 301 W. Preston St., 100 N. Eutaw St.)​

State Center has been one of the biggest ongoing development scams in Baltimore for a couple of decades. What started as one developer giveaway turned into developer lawsuits against the state when they couldn't have things their way. Then, last November, the developers got $58.5 million from you - the taxpayer - for...nothing. The Moore administration paid off the developers with nearly $60 million just to end the legal battle - a battle the state would likely have won if the case had gone to trial.

So, as a taxpayer, you're already out $58.5 million for nothing at State Center. That was just the appetizer. Here comes the main course, courtesy of Gov. Moore: the complex will still be sold off to developers, who will redevelop the site with thousands of luxury apartments.

2100 Guilford Avenue

A solid low-rise government building with parking lot. Sure to be a teardown and redevelopment for luxury apartments.

​William Donald Schaefer Tower (6 St. Paul Street)

One of the tallest buildings in Baltimore, 6 St. Paul Street was only built in 1986. I was inside this building about twenty years ago, and it looked very modern and new even at that point. Now the state is claiming the building is facing "catastrophic failure?" This is a potential Trump Tower-style conversion to luxury condos, that will pay off handsomely for the developer fortunate to acquire it under a political fake "fire sale." The Maryland cartel again disrespects former Gov. Schaefer, who was treated very badly in his final years by the political machine.

310-311 W. Saratoga Street

Another prime property, right on top of the Lexington Market subway station. This guarantees maximum density will be allowed to the prospective developer, which means maximum profit.

200 W. Baltimore Street

They don't build 'em like this anymore. A prime conversion candidate for apartments, or a wasteful teardown - the option will be up to the buyer. Located right across from CFG Bank Arena (a.k.a. the Baltimore Arena). Unlike Camden Yards, you can still see the Bromo Seltzer Tower from inside 200 W. Baltimore Street. Maximum profits await!

201 St. Paul St.

Another "they don't make 'em like they used to" architectural gem. 

The worst part of this latest corruption scheme isn't the fake, inflated claims of savings. It's that the $326 million is over twenty years, while the state is facing a potential $6 billion shortfall in 2030. Aging buildings, even assuming the state has criminally failed to properly maintain them, aren't the source of Maryland's budget woes. It is astronomical overspending that has brought us here, and the Maryland legislature made clear this spring it has no intention of stopping that anytime soon.

Our local media appears too starstruck and weak-in-the-knees around Gov. Moore to challenge him on this real estate portfolio giveaway, and massive new expenditures in leases at empty office buildings owned by developer sugar daddies. They have simply accepted the poorly-documented claims of "savings" at face value, and have chosen to parrot the governor's message of "nearly four-hundred million in savings!!!!"

Unlike the local media, let's follow the money in the coming months and years. What will the sale prices of the government buildings be, compared to their true market value? Who will acquire them, and how much have they donated to Gov. Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and members of the legislature? 

Montgomery County elected officials have been giving away County-owned properties at discount rates - and sometimes even for free (!!) - for many years this century. Conversely, they are glad to overpay for rents in private office space owned by their developer sugar daddies (witness the Board of Education's move from a building owned by Montgomery County Public Schools into a glossy new office building, despite MCPS owning numerous vacant school buildings and other properties across the county. And just this week, the County government revealed it purchased a bank property in Olney that mysteriously gained over $1 million in value just since 2021, an additional cost the County was delighted to pay with taxpayer funds. 

Wes Moore embraces abundance agenda in South Carolina, as poll shows it's a loser

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) emphatically aligned himself with the so-called "abundance" agenda during a speech in South Carolina last Friday night. Expected to run for the White House in 2028, Moore spoke in code to some of the Democratic Party's wealthiest donors, who have already put millions behind the abundance message, spearheaded by a recent book written by pundits Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. But Klein and Thompson have found their warmest reception on podcasts hosted by neoliberal Democrats and conservatives. Many progressives, in contrast, have seen through the abundance campaign for what it is: a repackaging of earlier pushes for the juicing of corporate profits, at the expense of local control over zoning and growth issues. That perceptive reaction from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party is backed up by a new poll that shows Moore's embrace of the "abundance bros" movement puts him out of step with the progressive Democrats and independents he will need to prevail in Democratic and open primaries in 2028.

The abundance campaign is another good example of the "now more than ever" phenomenon. No matter what the crisis of the hour might be, the same old agenda is pushed as the solution. At the moment, the crisis is the Democratic Party's identity crisis. Real estate developers who have tried several tactics to gain the right to build luxury multifamily housing in the most desirable and successful residential areas - starting with the environment, and most-recently and disgustingly glomming onto the George Floyd Revolution and Black Lives Matter movement with a racial argument for blowing up zoning codes - with relatively little success, have now put a new brand on the same old YIMBY agenda. Also on board are other corporate interests, forever seeking a reduction in regulations, and an increase in profit margins.

Klein, Thompson, and others pushing the abundance agenda have offered it as a liberal response to President Donald Trump's MAGA agenda, and a blueprint for 2028 Democratic presidential candidates. But not only is it just another case of "more cowbell," it fundamentally misfires as a quick fix for what ails the Democratic Party. Where Trump's success among Black and Latino men in 2024 was in large part the idea that he would provide them with prosperity, the abundance agenda openly and unabashedly reserves the financial benefits for wealthy developers, power companies, and Chinese solar panel manufacturers. Things will "get done," and faster alright. But none of the profits will accrue to you, and you'll give up local control over decisions that directly impact your neighborhood. Good deal, right?

Voters polled by Demand Progress seem to have been impressively quick studies of the abundance agenda. Democrats and independents responded negatively to the abundance agenda, while Republicans had a more favorable reaction. Progressive policies (oddly termed "populist" by Demand Progress) like getting money out of politics, breaking up big banks and corporations, and prosecuting corruption were seen as more favorable by 72.5% of Democrats, and 55.4% of independents, according to Axios. 

When asked to make a blunt choice between abundance and populism, only 16.8% of Democrats endorsed abundance.

It's curious that Moore is one of them. Not only does the abundance agenda get a thumbs down from a majority of the voters he needs to get past the primaries in 2028, but it also puts him in a crowded lane of Democratic candidates. Among those who have also posited themselves as abundance bros are Tim Walz, Cory Booker, Jared Polis, and Kamala Harris. And Pete Buttigieg was an abundance bro before it was even a thing.

"Gone are the days when the Democrats are the party of no and slow. we must be the party of yes and now," Moore declared, which was surely music to the ears of corporate donors who want the abundance agenda to be the Democratic Party agenda. That corporate money will be an advantage for Moore, no doubt. As was seen with Joe Biden in 2020, Moore can lose Iowa and New Hampshire, and still clinch the nomination with a Jim Clyburn endorsement in South Carolina that Clyburn himself has already hinted at. And the Democratic National Committee has slammed the door on progressive upstarts in three straight elections, most notably kneecapping Bernie Sanders twice. Can the DNC do it a fourth time in a row?

Moore is in his element among the rich and famous, having raised most of his campaign cash at fundraisers in the Hamptons and on Martha's Vineyard when he ran for governor in 2022. And just this year, he closed a budget gap largely on the backs of the poor and middle class, who now must pay hundreds of dollars to register their vehicles with the state, among other regressive tax and fee hikes. The Reaganesque, Laffer Curve, trickle-down, supply-side voodoo economics of the abundance agenda are not that surprising of a platform for Moore, given that he first entered politics in college as a Young Republican.

Moore and his backers have tried to cast him as a charismatic and inspirational figure in the mold of Barack Obama. But the 2008-era Obama presented himself as a champion for the little guy, not Wall Street and real estate moguls. Once in the White House, he quickly morphed into a neoliberal and forever-war fighter, but his pre-2009 populist persona was what won him many of the same voters who would propel Trump to victory eight years later. The abundance promise of lower costs and higher profits for mega corporations might win Moore an abundance of campaign cash, but is unlikely to draw an abundance of progressive Democrat and independent primary votes.

Bethesda transformer explosion a symptom of corrupt Montgomery County planning policy

KABOOM! Another Pepco electrical transformer exploded yesterday afternoon in downtown Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle, cutting off power to many residents and businesses in the area. This has become an unacceptably-regular occurrance downtown. Importantly, power grid issues have become frequent in the two areas of Bethesda that were upzoned since 2016, downtown Bethesda and Westbard, since those sector plans were passed. This is no coincidence, and is a clear example of what many opponents of those plans warned - that the growth allowed would outstrip the capacity of the local infrastructure, including utilities. Such gross negligence has impacted communities countywide, where County officials have failed to deliver even the new infrastructure that was included in sector plans, such as downtown Bethesda, Clarksburg, Damascus, Wheaton, Glenmont, and Watkins Mill.

Around 3:00 PM Friday, a massive explosion was heard - and seen - in front of 7944 Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda. One witness saw a bright flash, and noted that power lines on nearby blocks were shaking. The explosion was so big that Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services were dispatched to the scene, but according to witnesses, departed after finding no ongoing fire. Another nearby resident told me that the lights in their apartment blinked, but power remained on. Many others were not so lucky, as you can see in the Pepco outage map shown here.

In the close vicinity of the transformer explosion, the power outage darkened buildings along the north side of Cordell Avenue, and in the 7900 block of Norfolk Avenue. Those were only two of the affected streets. Not only was this an inconvenience for many residents in an age where everything - including working-from-home - relies upon Wi-Fi, but was a cost to the bottom line of business owners in the area, as well.

Along with frequent power outages and transformer explosions in downtown Bethesda, where thousands of new residential units have been approved and constructed under the 2017 Bethesda Downtown sector plan, the Westbard area has been impacted by ongoing brownouts and power outages. The latter began in 2017, which coincided with the redevelopment of the "Westwood Complex" properties that was approved a year earlier, in the Westbard sector plan.

During these sector plan processes, many residents expressed concerns about how the area's aging power grid, and water and sewage systems, would handle the addition of hundreds or thousands of new households. And if they, inevitably and logically, could not, who would pay for the eventually-necessary upgrades? Their concerns were laughed off by the Montgomery County Planning Department, County Planning Board, and County Council. Nobody living or running a business in the affected areas is laughing anymore.

We've also seen increased flooding during heavy rains in downtown Bethesda, Westbard, and White Flint, which County officials have tried to blame on "climate change." In fact, it is those very Planning staff members, Planning Commissioners, and County Councilmembers who are personally responsible for the flooding - which has been fatal, in some tragic cases - because they approved the massive development and reduction of green space that has increased runoff countywide.

All of these problems stem not simply from developer greed, but from County government not placing limits and protections on that greed in the planning process. You can't blame developers for seeking the moon, if they can get it - that's their job. It is the planners, Planning Commissioners, and County Councilmembers who are tasked with protecting their constituents.

Instead, we've seen planners and commissioners who represent development interests fully take over the planning process. And developers in the Montgomery County cartel have controlled a majority of County Council seats since 2002, when they funded the "End Gridlock" slate. Today, we have a Council where all 11 members have taken varying degrees of money from developers. Not surprisingly, the Council's planning agenda has mirrored that of the developers who funded their victorious campaigns.

The approach can be summed up with a childish analogy. Developers - and the elected, appointed, and hired officials they support above and below the table - are skipping the vegetables, and going right to the chocolate cake every time. That all-sweets diet has understandably impacted the health and quality of life in our communities. Instead of doing the hard work of providing the infrastructure for the growth being proposed, our officials are simply approving all the growth, and not requiring those who are profiting from that growth to fund the infrastructure upgrades it requires.

Longtime residents know that developer-beholden officials have been a major factor in the economic, environmental, and quality-of-life decline over the first quarter of this century. Those engaged enough to pay attention can keep complaining about it - or we can actually do something about it. Here are just a few action items to consider:

1. Virtually every town, city, and county has an adequate public facilities ordinance. Montgomery County's is clearly in-adequate. It needs to be beefed up considerably. An APFO doesn't limit growth, it simply ensures that the private companies profiting from that growth pick up the tab for the infrastructure their new development demands: electric grid and sewer capacity upgrades, new classrooms, new social services, new police and fire facilities and equipment, etc. Right now, the majority of those costs - like the taxes the Council increasingly exempts developers from - are being pushed off onto the backs of residents in the form of higher property taxes and higher utility bills.

2. Stop the planning-to-profit revolving door. The Council should pass a law preventing planning staff and commissioners from accepting jobs with development companies and real estate law firms for at least 5 years after leaving their County position. 

3. Vote smarter. Do you vote somebody else's ballot on Election Day, a ballot that represents someone else's interests, instead of your own? Think about it. The rotten Apple Ballot represents the interests of the powerful teacher's union, which along with developers and other cartel members, is bankrupting the County finances. Endorsements by The Washington Post editorial board reflect the interests of developers, who not only purchase massive amounts of ads in the Post every week, but have actually bought multiple properties from the Post itself, which has profited from those real estate transactions. The Post, in effect, is engaged in property development itself.

Instead, vote YOUR ballot, that represents YOUR interests. The interests of you, your children and grandchildren, your neighborhood, your business. 

Do your research. Find out which candidates are funded by developers, and pay attention to which candidates are calling for responsible growth, and which are calling for unlimited growth unsupported by new infrastructure. The developer-funded candidates can often be identified by their use of terms like "abundance," "housing now," "missing middle," "inclusionary zoning," "redlining," "attainable housing," "social justice," "activity centers," "resilience," "growth corridors," "mix of housing," "Thrive 2050," "a variety of housing types," "equity," "duplexes," "triplexes," "quadplexes," and "parking minimums." That final phrase is utilized in calling for those parking minimums to be done away with to expand developer profits, not the enforcement of such adequate parking space requirements.

Remember, the County Council not only determines who sits on the Planning Board, but also controls the budget of the Planning Department. So, while it cannot regulate who is hired by the department or the policies it puts in front of the Board for approval, it can defund the Planning Department if it pushes policies that are contrary to the public interest.

4. Public financing reform. Currently, developer contributions to those Council candidates using the County's "public" financing system get matched by you, the taxpayer. Does that sound fair to you?

Corrupt users and supporters of the current "public" financing system will tout the "small contributions" that are fueling their campaigns with "people power." What they won't tell you, is that a massive number of those "small contributions" are coming from developers, development attorneys, and their family members. This is a huge advantage, as those candidates can take a great haul in checks from those development interests, and then they receive a matching amount from the pot of taxpayer money that has been budgeted for "public" financing.

Real public financing not only would not allow such outsize developer involvement, but would give every participating candidate at least some respectable amount of money to campaign with, instead of rewarding corrupt candidates who are backed by deep-pocketed development interests with six-figure payouts from the taxpayer. The current system represents a brilliant move by developers and their puppet candidates to force you to fund their campaigns.

Westbard Square site plan changes before Planning Board today

Revised site plan with remaining retail space
shown in red

UPDATE - May 16, 2025, 7:32 AM: A correction has been made to the article regarding the number of parking spaces proposed in the amendment; while the number of residential parking spaces would be unchanged, the number of retail parking spaces for public use is being reduced.

Several significant changes proposed by the developer of a future apartment building at Westbard Square in Bethesda will be reviewed by the Montgomery County Planning Board this afternoon, May 15, 2025. Applicant Greystar Development East, LLC is seeking to delete nearly 20,000-square-feet of previously-approved retail space from the ground floor of the building, and to drop plans for an underground parking garage in favor of an above-grade parking garage that it promises will be hidden by the apartments around it. The jettisoned retail space, should the Board approve that change, will be replaced by street level townhome-style apartments.

Many questioned the level of demand for retail at this location during the 2016 Westbard sector plan process. They have been vindicated by the proposed elimination of almost 20,000 SF of retail from the development. In fact, representatives for Greystar at a community meeting last year predicted that the Westbard Avenue storefronts it seeks to axe would be "vacant" if the Board were to force the company to retain them in the plan.

The amount of residential parking spaces - 261 - will not be changed if the new garage proposal is accepted by the Board. That garage will be accessible to the public, with spaces designated for retail customers, and others for residents of the building. However, the number of those retail parking spaces for the public would be reduced by 30, in relation to the reduction in retail space.

Other changes proposed would modify building elevations, and changes to the locations of electrical transformers, loading dock access, and garage access. You can read the staff report regarding all of the proposed changes here. Planning staff are recommending approval of the site plan amendment.

Elrich to veto Montgomery County Council's massive developer tax break

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has declared his intention to veto a bill recently passed by the Montgomery County Council, which would exempt new residential developments from property taxes for 20 years, if they provide at least 17.5% affordable units and are converted from - or replace - existing office buildings. The legislation would apply to so many projects that it would likely drain billions from County coffers over the next two decades, and bankrupt the County. Such projects are already being built in great numbers without the new incentive.

"This bill makes no sense," Elrich said in his weekly update video Friday. "It gives away desperately-needed revenues to the developers." The Council is expected to try to overturn Elrich's veto. Seven councilmembers will have to vote in favor of overturning the veto to be successful. "Now is the time to speak up," Elrich said, urging residents to contact their councilmembers, and tell them they oppose overturning Elrich's veto. Although all councilmembers have accepted financial contributions from developers, the vote to overturn Elrich's veto will be closely watched, to see which councilmembers are willing to risk fiscal oblivion merely to facilitate even-higher profits for their developer sugar daddies.

Montgomery County Council delivering tax hike for you, massive tax cut for developers

The Montgomery County Council reached a new low this week, taking an action of fiscal irresponsibility so bonkers, it should cost them their seats in the 2026 election. They have approved legislation that will exempt any redevelopment of an office property into housing from property taxes for 20 years, if the new development provides 17.5% affordable units. Meanwhile, the same Council is planning a massive property tax increase for you, the residents of Montgomery County. Yes, this continues a pattern of shifting the tax burden from the Council's developer sugar daddies onto you, the struggling homeowner or business property owner. But it goes beyond almost any corrupt action they've taken before, as it could end up bankrupting the County, which is already under fiscal stress from a structural budget deficit and a massive debt load.

More Housing N.O.W. - a name that anyone who struggles to navigate closed streets and sidewalks around apartment tower construction sites in downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring would find laughable - is a legislative package cooked up by Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D - District 1). Loaded with developer giveaways, it appears to have been written by the developers themselves. Much like their plan to gift developers land taxpayers paid to acquire for a critical highway the Council canceled, forgoing billions in tax revenue and shifting the tax burden to you is a dereliction of duty by the Council.

Why would Friedson bring forward such an audaciously-corrupt tax break for developers? He's running for County Executive, and needs the money developers so generously provide to each of the current Councilmembers. And it's going to take a lot of money to win, especially if David Blair decides to take a third shot at the County Executive office in 2026. The seat is essentially Blair's for the taking, having lost by a handful of votes to Marc Elrich each of the previous times he ran. None of the candidates running next year have Elrich's name recognition, base of support, or voter goodwill that crosses party and demographic lines.

But barring Blair's entry into the field, developers will support Friedson. How did the unknown Friedson defeat the far-more-qualified and known former Kensington Mayor Peter Fosselman and the legendary Ana Sol Gutierrez, the first Latina ever elected to public office in Maryland, in a Democratic primary? It's not entirely clear even today, but the developer money didn't hurt. Developers haven't just mailed the checks to Friedson's campaign - they actually host fundraisers for him at their mansions.

More Housing N.O.W. is similar to another legislative victory developers enjoyed during the previous Council term, in that it simply juices the profits for development that would already happen without it. That was the bill that gave a 15-year property tax exemption (sound familiar?) to developers building residential housing on WMATA-owned land at Metro stations. Not only had such development taken place previously without this outrageous tax-free provision, but it was demanded by a development firm that had already committed to a project before attempting - and succeeding - in getting the Council to provide this tax exemption as a sweetener. Imagine their shocked and surprised delight when the knees of the Council buckled so easily to deliver such a windfall of cash, on top of the already massive profits they would be raking in.

It's no surprise they went back to the well again. After all, this Council is the biggest bunch of pushovers yet for their developer sugar daddies. The public is almost entirely unaware that this robbery of the public coffers is taking place. Or that they might be spending over $1000 more on their own property taxes next year, if they live anywhere in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, or parts of Kensington, Silver Spring, Rockville, or even Aspen Hill. Because if your home is valued at $1 million or more, that's how much your property tax bill will be going up under the tax hike currently before the Council.

Why would the tax exemption approved Tuesday potentially bankrupt the County, and/or require your property taxes to reach unimaginable heights in the coming decades?

First and foremost, we already know that residential housing generates more new costs in public services and infrastructure than it does in property tax revenue. That, along with the County Council's out-of-control spending this century, and anti-business policies that have scared companies away from locating here, is what has created our structural budget deficit in the first place. Now imagine what the deficits will be if a majority of new apartment buildings will be paying no property taxes at all for 20 years!

Second, the legislation has a misleading talking point behind it. Most people think of "office to housing conversion" as the reconfiguration of an office building into apartment or condo-sized residential units. But the package approved Tuesday provides the same 20-year tax exemption and expedited approval for demolishing an office building, and constructing an entirely new residential building in its place.

Third, because of the allowance for demolitions, the 20-year tax exemption will apply to a huge number of projects that were - or will be - planned without the More Housing N.O.W. developer giveaways in place. In fact, a large percentage of the new buildings constructed since the "Great Recession" have been built on the ashes of office buildings that were demolished to make way for them.

We've seen that even true office-to-housing conversions have taken place without these outlandish incentives, include a new condo development and new apartment property in downtown Silver Spring. Now think about all the other apartment and condo buildings that were torn down for residential over the last 15 years alone, where the developers did not demand a 20-year property tax exemption. Gallery Bethesda I and II, Sophia Bethesda, 4909 Auburn, Stonehall Bethesda, The Wilson/The Elm (7272 Wisconsin Avenue), 8001 Woodmont, Hampden House, The Met Rockville, AVA Wheaton, and the Fairchild Apartments in Germantown are just a few examples of post-"Great Recession" redevelopments of office properties. 

Imagine if all of these were paying no property taxes for 20 years! Now realize that the long-anticipated redevelopment of the massive GEICO campus in Chevy Chase - to name just one mega project - will bring in ZERO property tax revenue to County coffers for 20 years! This is criminal.

The good news is, it's not too late to stop the madness. You can stop the More Housing N.O.W. legislation by calling or emailing your Councilmember, and all of the At-Large Councilmembers, and telling them you want no more developer giveaways. It's very easy: the Council website shows all of the Councilmembers, and there's even a tool to help you learn who your district member is (the At-Large members also all represent you, which is why you want to contact all of them, as well).

County Executive Marc Elrich is expected to veto the More Housing N.O.W. legislation when it reaches his desk. The County Council will then have to override the veto to save the developers' 20-year property tax exemption. Tell your Councilmember you will vote them out, and you certainly won't vote to promote them to County Executive if they are running for that office, if they vote to override Elrich's veto. If for some crazy reason Elrich were to sign the tax break - or let it become law by not signing it - let the Council know you will vote them out just the same, if they don't repeal it.

You can also stop the massive property tax increase by telling your Councilmember at the same time that you will vote them out if they vote to raise your property taxes again this year or next year. And if they do - VOTE THEM OUT! You don't even have to vote for a Republican; you can just vote for the new Democrats who are running against the incumbents in the primary next year. But if they squeak through again to the general election, you have to seriously consider voting for any Republican, Green, or other party challenger who remains in their way. It's the inability to vote out the Council that has led to their outrageous misbehavior. 

Are you really going to vote again for the politicians who insiders say refer to you as "losers" and "suckers" in private, willing to pay any tax, accept any reduction in your quality of life, and countenance the totally incompetent leadership they dish out?

The voters of Montgomery County need to wake up. Some of you are awake and on-the-ball. That's likely why you are reading this article now in the first place. But it's not enough. I worry about some of the other residents in this county. What will it take for you wake up and rise up against the Montgomery County cartel and its handpicked Councilmembers, who have held a majority on the Council since 2002?

You've gotten a property tax hike every year except for FY-2015, when you received a tax "cut" of about $12. The next year, the Council dropped a 9% property tax increase anvil on you like Wile E. Coyote. They seemed to pay a price for that, when voters approved term limits a few months later in 2016. But...when it came to the 2018 Council election, the cartel's candidates won every seat again. Much like their victory over the Columbia Country Club with the Purple Line, they realized they could get away with anything, and you wouldn't do a thing about it come Election Day. Invincibility. Absolute power. Such things do not a Republic make.

One of the greatest political cartoons of all time that sums up this phenomenon once ran in The Gazette. It showed a Montgomery County voter bending over in front of then-County Executive Doug Duncan, who was wielding a large paddle with the words "tax hike" on it. The voter, with his head crooked around to look back toward Duncan, said, "Thank you, Sir. May I have another?" 

Don't be that guy anymore. It's not a good look. It's a sad state of affairs, really. Break smelling salts under your nose, if you have to. 

You're mad as hell, and you're not going to take it anymore. Go to the Council website. Pick up the phone, fire up the email, and let them know, "Enough is enough!" No 20-year property tax exemption for developers, and no property tax hikes for you.

Planning extension sought for new Bethesda Row apartment building

Federal Realty is seeking an extension from the Montgomery County Planning Board for the review of the Preliminary and Site Plans for a proposed new apartment building at 7070 Arlington Road at Bethesda Row. The plans were both scheduled to be reviewed during the board's April 24, 2025 meeting. Federal Realty, which owns Bethesda Row, is asking for a two-month extension until June 26. The board will consider the extension request at its meeting tomorrow, Thursday, April 10, 2025. Planning staff are recommending approval of the request.

Attorney Patricia Harris says the reason for the request is that the Preliminary Plan that was submitted last December cannot be certified by Montgomery County without a noise analysis. That analysis is currently being completed. Once the noise analysis is submitted to the County, it will take about two months for the Preliminary Plan to then be certified, Harris says. 

If approved, the reverse-L-shaped apartment building would replace Uncle Julio's, several storefronts on Arlington Road next to Uncle Julio's, and a large portion of the parking lot behind the existing stores and restaurants on the south side of Bethesda Avenue (i.e. the Apple Store, Levain Bakery, etc.). The 100' tall structure would have retail and restaurant space in its ground floor, as well as a vehicle pass-through tunnel for deliveries, moving vans, and ride-sharing vehicles. Theoretically, then, Uncle Julio's could lease a ground floor space and return in the new building.

Renderings courtesy Federal Realty/Hickok Cole

Montgomery County to lose more jobs to housing

Another valuable Montgomery County office park property could be lost to residential housing, if the City of Rockville approves a proposal to convert it into condos and townhomes. 1455 Research Boulevard, one of many office sites located in the I-270 corridor of the County, would become 106 townhomes, 30 stacked condo townhomes, and 72 multifamily condo units, under the plan envisioned by developer Pulte. The company is building several similar developments in the City, including within the new Farmstead community, as well as in the King Farm, and Tower Oaks areas. Pulte's site plan is likely to be reviewed at a public hearing by the Rockville Planning Commission in summer or fall of 2025.

The existing office building, which was only constructed
about 30 years ago

The existing office building contains 17 office suites, 10 of which are currently leased, according to the property website. So the building is 59% leased. The property is 10.6 acres in size, meaning that it would still be ideal for a corporate headquarters, or a research, lab, and/or manufacturing facility, if the existing building were torn down for that purpose. It is directly adjacent to I-270. To state the obvious, all of the jobs currently provided by the current tenants of the building will likely be lost to the City and County in a conversion to housing. And the many more potential, high-wage jobs that could fill this office park site - and the resulting revenue - will never be realized.

Pulte's proposed redevelopment plan
for residential housing

From a County revenue standpoint, filling the current building, or replacing it with a major corporate headquarters or facility, would be more ideal than filling the site with residential housing. That's because residential housing, as we have seen this century, generates more costs in County services and infrastructure demands than it does in tax revenue. Hence the County's structural budget deficit, which extends as far into the future as the forecasts go. And do you remember "smart growth," which included placing jobs near housing, to reduce congestion and auto emissions in the I-270 corridor? Neither do the County Council and Planning Board, which don't even talk about "smart growth" anymore, having abandoned its fictional, expedient construct for the equally-fictional canards of "affordable," "attainable," "equity," "inclusionary," and "missing middle" - all code words bandied about in a nationwide campaign to allow upzoning for higher-density luxury housing in existing suburban neighborhoods.

Office, research, manufacturing and commercial uses, in contrast, generate less traffic and require no additional school capacity, for example. The problem is that the Council has driven the County's economy into the ditch over the last 23 years, through radical anti-business policies, and a failure to provide the necessary infrastructure to compete with Northern Virginia, such as direct highway access to Dulles International Airport via a new Potomac River crossing. Montgomery County has not only lost every competition for major corporate headquarters to Virginia during this time, but is most often not even in the hunt for these opportunities.

As a result, Montgomery County has failed to attract a single major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. While MoCo leaders slumbered this century, Virginia added the HQs of Northrop Grumman, Intelsat, Hilton Hotels, Nestle, Lidl, Gerber, Volkswagen, Corporate Executive Board, Amazon HQ2, CoStar, Lego, and more. And those are just ones we lost to Virginia! 

Montgomery County has been left to spend large sums just to retain some of the HQs it had, like Marriott International, Choice Hotels, and GEICO, all of which have downsized when making their moves. In addition to such rearrangements of the deck chairs aboard the Titanic, Montgomery County has lost still other HQs that it had altogether. While the Council argued about the legality of circus animals one week last decade, representatives of New York City and Knoxville were completing final, secret negotiations that sealed their victory in snatching away the Discovery Communications HQ from downtown Silver Spring.

Obviously, property owners such as those at 1455 Research Boulevard can't be blamed for all this. They, understandably, are not going to simply wait for a future ousting of the Montgomery County cartel from power to maximize their investment. So we are likely to end up with more residential housing at this site. The Council is not sad about that, as their developer sugar daddies want them to keep Montgomery County bad-for-business, so that prime office park sites can become residential housing sites instead. Virginia prepares and markets such office/industrial properties extensively to international businesses, and reaps the spectacular results; Montgomery County just waits for someone to build housing on them. Too bad that Montgomery County residents will continue to shoulder the increasing tax burden to make up for all of this lost business and commercial revenue. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Informational signs removed or spray-painted at stalled Bethesda development site

Informational signs regarding the redevelopment of abandoned properties at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue have been removed on the Cordell Avenue and Woodmont Avenue sides, and the signage on Wisconsin has been painted over with black spray paint. 8008 Wisconsin and the adjacent Artena Bethesda project have each been stalled for about a decade, leaving vacant storefronts decaying away in a prominent location. Buildings on both sites have been broken into frequently by vagrants. The developer of Artena Bethesda acquired the 8008 Wisconsin property 13 months ago, so it is possible that an entirely new project may be in the works that will combine both lots.

20,000 SF of retail could be deleted from Westbard Square development in Bethesda

A decade after some residents questioned the level of demand for high-rent retail on Westbard Avenue, a developer partner for the Westbard Square project is vindicating their skepticism. Greystar, which plans to construct the mixed-use residential building for which master developer Regency Centers already has approval for, is now seeking to slash the amount of retail space in the ground floor by half. A proposed site plan amendment would reduce the retail space from 40,000-square-feet to 20,000 SF. It would also eliminate a garage entrance off of Westbard Circle, and make minor design revisions to the residential building, including reducing the number of private courtyards for residents from four to two.

Previously-approved site plan

If approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board, the plan would retain the same number of residential units (200) in the building. Parking would be reconfigured from the previously-approved 332-511-space range to a total of 393 spaces. 261 of the spaces would be for rental apartment occupants, 102 for patrons of the retail and restaurant tenants, and 30 would be for condo owners. Project documents do not indicate how the residential units have changed, but the conversion of some to condos suggests some might now be larger in size.

Proposed new site plan

The addition of Greystar to the Westbard Square project is a positive in light of the company's track record on its 7340 Wisconsin Avenue high-rise development so far. Greystar moved immediately to break ground on that project once it had all the necessary approvals. The construction process has been so efficient, that the building may even be ahead of schedule. Of course, construction contractor John Moriarty & Associates deserves credit for that, as well. 

While the reduction in retail at Westbard Square could impact how many essential neighborhood services like dry cleaners or pet supplies might return to the site, the plan does retain the critical retail space fronting onto the "town square." That's important because there aren't many more opportunities to add a larger, sit-down family restaurant to take advantage of the adjacent outdoor seating alongside the square, like Millie's in Spring Valley and Chef Geoff's in Foxhall. 

Images courtesy Greystar

Chase Manor apartments property sold to Toll Brothers

The Chase Manor apartments property has been sold to Toll Brothers, original property owner Chevy Chase Land Company announced this morning. Toll Brothers plans to construct a 63-townhome community on the four acres of land, which will be called Chevy Chase Crossing. The site is in close proximity to the new Chevy Chase Lake development, the Capital Beltway, and the future Purple Line light rail station. Toll Brothers recently completed a similar project on the former WMAL transmission tower property in Bethesda, a much larger development called Amalyn.

“It’s somewhat bittersweet to sell the site of a former 72-year-old community that holds so much history for the many locals of Chevy Chase, but with an aging infrastructure and increasing demand to live in this area, it was time to allow for its redevelopment,” Chevy Chase Land Company CEO, John Ziegenhein said in a statement this morning. “We are pleased to have the history and quality of Toll Brothers to usher in the next generation of neighbors to a new development as we at The Chevy Chase Land Company continue expanding and improving our many nearby projects, including office, The Collection, and Chevy Chase Lake -- with plans for another dynamic project right across from that mixed-use neighborhood on Connecticut Avenue.”

Bethesda Market Park development meeting focuses on park design

Developer EYA and Montgomery Parks held a community meeting last night on the planned Bethesda Market Park development, which will include a mixed-use residential building on the current retail site to the right of the Farm Women's Market on Wisconsin Avenue, an addition to the historic Farm Women's Market building and new "public realm" around it, an underground parking garage, a redesign of part of the existing Elm Street Park (into "Elm Street Park North"), a woonerf "shared street," and a conversion of Public Parking Lots 10 and 24 into new parks. Much of the focus of the presentation was on the design and amenities of the new parks.

654 residents answered a survey on which amenities or features they would like to see in the new parks. The top requests were:

•Stage/ Shade Structure •Open, Flexible Lawn Area •Terraced Seating •Planted Areas/ Canopy Trees •Interactive Water Feature •Loop Walking Paths • Variety of Seating Options Including Adult Swings •Dog Park •Placemaking/ Playful Climbable Art •All-Weather Game Tables

The parks will adhere to the principles of biophilic design, which "weaves patterns and forms of nature in the built environment to strengthen the human-nature connection." An interactive water feature will be included near the stage. Some elements will take on a colorful appearance after sunset via night lighting.

Next steps in the project include Montgomery County reaching a final development agreement with EYA. The Town of Chevy Chase will make a decision about potential additional funding for the park projects. Park designs and amenities may be update based upon feedback from last night's meeting. EYA will begin the process of obtaining financing for the development. And the Preliminary and Site Plans will be submitted to the Montgomery County Planning Board for approval.