The county planning board has revealed a nonbinding agreement that would plant housing, retail and office space on Georgia Avenue at Spring Street. But it won’t seal the deal without input from area residents.
The long-awaited memorandum of understanding (MOU) spells out who’s responsible for what in the development of Silver Place. More substantive agreements on the 3.2-acre mixed-use project are expected later, according to a press statement released Monday.
However, nothing gets signed until the planning board discusses the MOU at its public session on Nov 8. Residents and community organizations are invited to testify at the hearing.
If approved, the proposed MOU would set up workshops that would allow architects to gather ideas from experts, area residents and staff. The community-design phase would start in January and could take about 10 months, the press statement says.
The park and planning commission, under the proposed MOU, also would negotiate the sale of its property to private developers who will build the project’s residential and retail components. At least 30 percent of the residential units will be moderately priced.
While a future contract would spell out the cost of design and construction, the planning board could hit up the county council for $4.9 million in additional funds. That dough would go towards the project’s schematic design, the press statement says.
Once completed, Silver Place will have housing, retail space and new headquarters for the planning department.
Corrected Nov 13, 2007, at 8:30 p.m.
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The “Woodside Park” dateline for the SilverPlace article is misleading. SilverPlace is in the CBD, across Spring Street from Woodside Park. Woodside Park residents are very interested in the proposed development, but because it is adjacent to our neighborhood, not because it is in it!