DATE: December 23, 2002
Mayor and Council Unanimously Support Plan to Create Vibrant Downtown of Library, Retail, Offices and Residences
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 23, 2002—The City of Rockville has taken major steps over the past week toward setting in motion the development of a new Town Center as the Mayor and Council unanimously approved several instrumental measures.
For much of the past two years, the City has been working with Montgomery County and developer Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) to create a plan that would lead to redevelopment of more than 60 acres of prime downtown land into a vibrant town center. The approved projects, covering about 15 of those acres, will include the relocated Rockville Regional Library and have a prominent Town Square.
There will be a mix of retail, office, residential, restaurant and entertainment uses. More than 1,700 parking spaces will be created through three public parking garages, one private parking garage and on-street spaces.
The Mayor and Council spurred implementation of the plan by approving execution of a non-binding letter of intent between the City, county and FRIT to move ahead with development plans. Construction will begin in the fall of 2003 and the opening of two major aspects of the redevelopment—the relocated new library and the first of the parking garages—will be completed by fall of 2005.
“I see this as an opportunity to see dreams fulfilled,” said Councilmember Susan Hoffmann.
The major points of the redevelopment plan include:
- The Rockville Regional Library
- A town square
- Federal Realty Investment Trust: 144,000 square feet of retail space
- Foulger-Pratt Metro Center: Phases 2 and 3—400,000 square feet of office space
- 488 apartments
- 173 condominiums
- Three public parking garages / one private garage / on-street spaces (creating more than 1,700 total spaces)
The plan currently calls for $219 million in private investment and $97.5 million in public investment. The public funds expected over the next five years include $5.6 million from the City, $12 million from the county and $12 million from the State of Maryland. Rockville is also seeking federal funding help.
“The private investment would be about 70 percent,” Art Chambers, Rockville’s director of Community Planning and Development, told the Mayor and Council. “Typically, a ratio of 60 percent private investment to 40 percent public investment is considered good. So we have done much better than that.”
The Mayor and Council also approved expenditure of $591,500 for procurement, coordination and consulting fees to get the project started.
Throughout the planning process, the Mayor and Council were concerned about the future of 23 merchants located in the FRIT-owned shopping center on North Washington Street anchored by a Magruder’s grocery store. The Mayor and Council have presented the tenants with an extensive transitional proposal that provides financial assistance if those businesses relocate to another location, decide to temporarily close until they could gain new Town Center space or elect to close permanently. The proposal exceeds standards of relocation assistance normally provided in similar instances.
Mayor Larry Giammo said having those businesses eventually relocate in the new town center is important. Overall, he said he is “very confident” about the plan that will get Town Center off to a good start.
“We are not just developing the block between Beall Avenue and Middle Lane,” said Mayor Giammo. “This is really the catalyst for the redevelopment of the rest of Town Center. … I really hope that once we get this project going that it will provide confidence to other developers. To sum it all up, I am very excited.”
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