Dear Penguin: Any word on how this Studio Plaza development deals with the Purple Line? Three proposed routes run through Fenton Village, and one runs directly through (or under) the Studio Plaza site. What’s the deal? — Wiley

Wiley

Dude, that’s a loaded question with a loaded answer. I checked into earlier comments from the project’s developer, Robert Paul Hillerson, for the scoop.

Hillerson believes that if he builds the Fenton Village project, the Purple Line will not come — through his property, anyway. On two different occassions last week, Hillerson admitted that he wanted to begin construction immediately to cut off any decision on the Purple Line route.

Once completed, the two residential buildings proposed for Silver Spring Avenue would drastically increase the land’s value, so much that Hillerson bets the county couldn’t afford to buy it under an eminent-domain claim.

The accompanying underground parking also could prevent the county from burrowing a Purple Line tunnel beneath the site, Hillerson says.

If Hillerson is correct, and assuming a Silver Spring Avenue route is selected, the county might pass on route A through Studio Plaza. Instead, it might choose route B, which turns off Silver Spring Avenue closer to Fenton Street. (See the map below.)

Some members of Silver Spring’s commercial and economic development committee, as well as members of the urban district advisory committee, worry that the Purple Line will be “the tail that wags the dog,” hindering further development until an alignment is settled.

However, the commercial and economic development committee was not eager to endorse Studio Plaza Thursday night, objecting to recent design changes.

Congrats to you, Wiley, for getting the first “Stump the Penguin” response requiring a labelled diagram! I hope this answers your question.

The Penguin

Update: The state transit administration has eliminated the alignment running beneath Studio Plaza. Click here for more information. (Apr 24, 2006)