Changes to a county zoning law could give broadcast studios more head room in the Ripley district.
The proposed change would allow developers to build a 200-foot-tall building in the neighborhood, just south of the future Silver Spring transit center and sandwiched between Georgia Avenue and the Metro tracks.
The taller building would require ground-floor retail, and its final height could exceed 200 feet if the occupant mounts a satellite dish on the roof. However, a radio tower cannot be in the game plan, the proposed zoning amendment states.
Under the existing zoning law, a commercial building in the Ripley district must be no taller than 143 feet.
The added head room could sweeten the pot for National Public Radio, which has expressed an interest in moving its DC headquarters to Silver Spring. The broadcaster’s operations would require 400,000 square feet of real estate, various sources say.
However, the deal isn’t out of the woods yet, council member Valerie Ervin (D-5) told The Penguin Thursday. Silver Spring must still compete with the District for NPR’s attention, she said.
The county council will hold a public meeting on the proposed change in Rockville on Oct 30, 2007.
Amended Sep 24, 2007, at 10:51 p.m.
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It is good to see the County Council take a proactive approach in luring NPR to Silver Spring. If we can get NPR and the yet-to-be-determined music venue to DTSS, it would solidify DTSS’s image as an art and entertainment district and should attract other, more desirable businesses to the area.
this is great news
Actually…CBD-2 will allow up 143 ft through optional method and 125 ft through standard method. Ripley is zoned CBD-2 for the most part.
400,000 sq/ft would create a massive building block with a 200 ft limit. Montgomery County should really get over their fear of heights (in their urban districts especially) and break the 200 ft barrier with this project.
Even Columbia is getting a 275 ft Tower.
Editor’s note: Thanks for the info, Silver Springer! — JD (Sep 24, 2007)
In general sweetening the pot for development to move further into South SS is great news.
Build those buildings as high as they’ll go, IMHO. Just make sure nearby residential developments keep pace with them, so we don’t have a traffic nightmare like NoVA.
Anything we can do to attract more white collar jobs sounds like a good thing to me. I’d like to see them attempt to lure some technology companies (IBM, Sun, etc.) into the area, if possible. All these media companies are good, but we can do more.
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