The Silver Spring Penguin

Silver Spring’s future music venue will run about $8 million to build. But it’s the cost to the county’s image that some aren’t willing to pay.

Efforts to revitalize the northwest side of Colesville Road started with a Birchmere. In January, Gov. Martin O’Malley said the state would match Montgomery County’s $2 million to build a Birchmere nightclub on the former JC Penney site. Rock and roll, right?

Not.

By April, members of the county council were doubting the club’s impact on nearby businesses and traffic.

“No one should suggest that the council is anti-Birchmere,” former council prez Marilyn Praisner said. “But we’re talking about a public building and a large amount of money from the county. Our support is contingent on our comfort level with information we have yet to see.”

But by May, the council seemed happy with impact studies and pegged $2 million to the project in the county’s budget. Rock on, right?

Nope.

July brought a complete meltdown in negotiations with the Birchmere. Club owners wanted more public money thrown at the project. The county wanted to weigh its options. Whatever. In the end, the Birchmere went to College Park, and the county went with concert promoter Live Nation, which would run the site as a Filmore house. Party!

Not so fast.

One day before the county shook hands with Live Nation, Seth Hurwitz, who owns The District’s 9:30 Club, said he wanted in on the action. MoCo exec Ike Leggett told Hurwitz that his August overtures were too little, too late.

That didn’t stop Hurwitz and his minions from duking it out with the county, primarily through the press, local blogs and an email campaign. As of this writing, the county is still sticking with the Filmore and is scheduled to sign a lease before the end of the year.

The entire ordeal made “transparency” this year’s buzz word. Were negotiations between the county and the Birchmere ever sincere, or were both parties playing each other? Was it cool for the county to commit to Live Nation before playing the field with Hurwitz and other venue operators? Did Hurwitz really want to open a club in Silver Spring, or did he just want to drive off the competition?

Either way, the JC Penney site will still be vacant until 2010.