plans for viva white oak are finally taking shape

Eastern Montgomery County has long waited for the jobs and economic opportunities other parts of this affluent county take for granted. Now, a new town center and research park might finally get off the ground.

A rendering of Viva White Oak's future "Village Center." All images from Montgomery County unless noted.

Fifty years ago, White Oak was a booming suburb that inspired the sitcom “The Wonder Years.” But the area has seen little investment in recent decades, and residents have to travel long distances to access jobs and shopping areas in more affluent areas like Bethesda and Rockville. The lack of access to economic opportunities has resulted in lower incomes and a higher poverty rate than the rest of the county. The Great Recession hit the area hard, and home prices are still recovering.

Montgomery County officials hope to change this by turning White Oak into a hub for life sciences research, centered on the Food and Drug Administration, which moved there ten years ago, and Washington Adventist Hospital, which is building a new facility here.

An aerial perspective of Viva White Oak. Most buildings would be a few stories tall, though some could rise as high as 220 feet.

Last year, the county struck a deal with developer Percontee to build Viva White Oak, a new town center and research park near Route 29 and Cherry Hill Road that was originally proposed under the name "LifeSci Village" over a decade ago. The 280 acre site, located between the FDA campus and the new hospital, consists of a shuttered sludge treatment plant the county owns and Percontee’s former concrete recycling center.

Last week, Percontee (working under the name Global Lifescience Development Corporation) and county officials presented their plans at the White Oak Recreation Center, reports local blog Growing East County. The developers are about to send the Planning Department their sketch plan, which is a more general vision of the development that occur. When the project is ready to begin, the developer will submit detailed plans for specific portions of the project for approval.

Here’s what we know so far

As a result, we only know that Viva White Oak will have roughly 12 million square feet of stuff when it’s completed, including up to 5,000 homes, shops, offices, and research buildings. But the site plans show four distinct “neighborhoods” with different types of activities in them. A grid of streets would thread through the entire project, allowing residents, workers, and visitors to walk or bike, while trails would connect the project to Paint Branch Park. Twenty percent of the 280-acre site (56 acres) would be parks and open space, including several squares and plazas.

Viva White Oak's four neighborhoods. The "West Neighborhood" and "East Side" would be built first.

The “West Neighborhood” and “East Side” are at the edges of the development, closer to Route 29 and Cherry Hill Road, and would have a mix of townhouses, apartments, and some commercial buildings. Those sections will be built first. Viva White Oak’s first phase will include up to 1,000 new homes and 300,000 square feet of commercial space, as per the developer’s agreement with Montgomery County.

The project’s second phase is the “Village Center” at the center of the site, where the three new roads meet, and would have apartments, offices, and shops. The final phase would be the “R&D Core,” located at the south end of the site next to the FDA campus entrance. It would have a mix of offices and academic facilities, and some of the development’s tallest buildings as well. Zoning allows buildings up to 220 feet tall at Viva White Oak, but most of the buildings shown appear to be low-rise, between three and six floors.

To get the ball rolling, the county will contribute $47 million to clear their portion of the land, and to split with the developer the costs of building three new roads connecting the land to Industrial Parkway, Cherry Hill Road, and the FDA. The county's new Bus Rapid Transit line on Route 29, which will open in 2020, could carry workers and residents to Viva White Oak. The project also includes land for a new school; nearby Galway Elementary School is at capacity now and will remain close to it for several years.

But will companies want to come here?

Viva White Oak has been in the works since 2005 and it looks like things are finally coming together. Neighbors who were at the meeting last week say they're really excited about the project. But we still don’t know if scientific companies or research institutions will want to come here. And Viva White Oak’s suburban location may be a turnoff to companies who seek closer-in, transit-served locations.

The Viva White Oak (formerly LifeSci Village) site today.

That said, East County doesn’t have a walkable, urban-ish development like what’s been proposed here, and this could both attract the many people who want to live in a place like that or even near a place like that. Retailers seek a base of residents to shop at their stores. And companies increasingly value being in environments where their workers can shop or live nearby. There are still lots of unanswered questions about Viva White Oak. But if something actually happens here, it could be the start of a virtuous cycle.

this 1958 ad shows how yesterday's luxury apartments became today's affordable apartments

There are thousands of new apartments being built around the DC area today, and most of them are high-cost “luxury” apartments. But they likely won't stay that way. A look at 1950s rental ads shows how yesterday’s luxury housing became today’s affordable housing.

Part of the rental ads in the November 18, 1958 edition of the Washington Post. Image from Richard Friend.

Here's a portion of the classifieds of the November 15, 1958 edition of the Washington Post, courtesy of local graphic designer and historian Richard Friend. There are ads for apartments all over the DC area, including a bunch of then-new apartment complexes in Silver Spring and Takoma Park.

Each ad talks about how swanky the apartments are, boasting of features like air conditioning, modern kitchens and bathrooms, private parking, and swimming pools. Just like today, these ads boast that tenants can walk to nearby shops or transit (which would have been the bus; the Georgia Avenue streetcar, which served Silver Spring, would shut down two years later.)

come celebrate 11 years of JUTP

Kaldi's. Photo from Google Street View.

Just Up The Pike turns 11 this year, and I'd like to do something about it. We've built a community of a couple thousand readers, contributors, and local leaders, and I invite all of you to celebrate over a decade of celebrating East County on Tuesday, August 15 from 6 to 8pm at Kaldi's Social House, located at 918 Silver Spring Avenue. As one of Silver Spring's fifteen (and counting) coffeeshops, Kaldi's is not only known for its brewing techniques but its rooftop bar overlooking downtown.

Joining us will be our friends at Greater Greater Washington, a regional website and advocacy organization that I've been a part of for eight years (and have worked for as well). I organize the monthly GGWash happy hours, which rotate around different parts of the DC area, and I'm always excited to bring it here.

Kaldi's Social House is an eight-minute walk from the Silver Spring Metro station (Red Line), as well as dozens of Metrobus and Ride On routes (if you're coming from DC, you can take the 70/79 and S2/S4/S9.) There's a Capital Bikeshare stations two blocks away at Ripley and Bonifant streets. If you’re driving, there’s free parking after 7pm on the street and in the public garage in back.

I hope you see you there! You can RSVP here.

this community landmark just became a chain store. why?

For over a decade, Pyramid Atlantic was a Silver Spring landmark, offering studio space, art classes, and a gallery that hosted events and concerts. Now, its bright red building on Georgia Avenue is a chain paint store.

Why?

Meh. (All photos by the author.)

Pyramid Atlantic opened in 2003 and helped to usher in downtown Silver Spring's revitalization over the past decade. They sold their building in 2014 anticipating a move to the new Silver Spring Library a few blocks away; when that arrangement fell through, the organization moved to Hyattsville last year. The building's new owner, Harvey Maisel, rented the space to paint store Sherwin-Williams, which will open this summer.

I can't help but be disappointed by this. Over the past several years, I've gone to lots of events at Pyramid Atlantic, from the DC area's only PechaKucha Night to a pop-up version of Fenton Street Market. Pyramid Atlantic also hosted the annual Sonic Circuits festival, a celebration of experimental music that spilled out into its parking lot on Georgia Avenue. It wasn't just a place to see cool things, but a supporter of the local economy: a locally-based organization promoting local artists and businesses.

And besides, one might wonder why a paint store makes sense here, considering that the existing paint store across the street is closing.

So why did this happen? There are a few reasons.

It's easier to leave a building vacant than rent to a local organization

Federal tax laws let commercial property owners depreciate the value of their buildings over time, which can give them a perverse incentive to let a space sit empty for years until they find the right tenant. There are number of vacant storefronts in downtown Silver Spring, sometimes filling entire blocks. The Guardian Building, a 1950s-era office building on Cameron Street, put up fake store signs in their windows while they waited for actual stores to move in, and now the building may be turned into apartments instead.

As Richard Layman notes, retail rents in DC (and by extension Silver Spring) tend to be pretty high, even in neighborhood shopping streets. Large out-of-town retail developers perceive DC as being part of a national or even international real estate market and set their rents accordingly, That leads even local property owners to raise their rents as well, which in turn makes it even more difficult for independent retailers to qualify, so they either close or don't open at all.

Chain stores are reliable tenants

And of course, the landlord just needs someone who will pay the rent. I know that from experience.

Among the many things I do, I do property management, and have to find and screen tenants for rental houses. When I'm renting out a house, I meet lots of really nice people, who tell me how much they love the house and the neighborhood, and promise to be great tenants. Most of them seem like awesome people. But when it came to a decision, I select tenants based on a few criteria: their credit score, their annual income, and a background check.

I need someone who would pay the rent.

A number of downtown Silver Spring's stores sit vacant. (This one just got a new tenant.)

Property owners and landlords are much the same, whether they're locally-based or from out of town. They may have different individual motivations, but they all want somebody who will pay the rent each month on time and in full. I have friends who own businesses in Silver Spring and they all say the same thing: landlords are very, very reluctant to rent to them. And I've spoken to landlords who've gotten burned by small businesses who for whatever reason couldn't pay the rent. They want tenants with a long track record and a guaranteed stream of income.

More often than not, that means a chain. That's part of the reason why a number of Silver Spring's most-loved local businesses have been replaced by chains. Mayorga Coffee, which helped revive South Silver Spring fifteen years ago, is now Davita, a dialysis clinic. Beloved Italian restaurant Da Marco is now a Pollo Campero. And Pyramid Atlantic will become a Sherwin Williams.

If we want more local businesses, we have to support local businesses

There's a demonstrated difference in the way chain stores and local businesses contribute to their local economies. One sends money out of town. The other keeps it in town; creates a spinoff effect as that business works with local vendors and suppliers; builds local wealth; and can help create or boost a local culture. We have a real incentive to promote local businesses on our streets.

Given all this, what can we as community members do? We can't ban national companies from owning property here. We can't tell property managers who to rent to. Local governments can zone properties for certain activities but they can't dictate whether, say, a chain or a local business occupies a certain space. I don't know enough about tax laws to know what can or can't be done there.

But as a start, we can support the local businesses that do exist by spending money there, which makes it easier for them to pay their rent, which in turn makes them more viable candidates for landlords. That won't bring Pyramid Atlantic back, but it will help us keep the local businesses that are still here, supporting and promoting this community.