While preservationists and developers have danced forever around the historic value of downtown’s Falkland Chase apartments, a new issue has come into play: What can redevelopment on the northern parcel do (or not do) for Silver Spring’s renters?
At a public hearing before the county council Tuesday night in Rockville, Mary Reardon, with the Silver Spring Historical Society, argued that constructing 1,040 new apartments on the north side of East-West Highway and 16th Street didn’t justify the eviction of 182 existing occupants.
“Is it really good public policy to destroy housing to gain more housing?” Reardon testified. “It should be offensive to affordable-housing advocates.”
Wayne Goldstein, with Montgomery Preservation, went a step further and asked: Does Montgomery County really need more affordable housing? At February’s urban-district advisory committee meeting in downtown Silver Spring, Goldstein told committee members that the county was good with what it had.
“We are meeting the housing goals using sites never considered for housing. The need has been met,” Goldstein said in February, and reiterated (more or less) Monday night to the county council. “You don’t need to meet the housing goals with development at Falkland Chase.”
Au contraire (French for “hellz no”), said Robert Goldman, with the nonprofit Montgomery Housing Partnership. Crib costs in MoCo are still high despite the recession, he testified, and more families are dealing with less income. On top of that, home foreclosures are forcing former bourgeoisie to seek a cheap place to crash among the proletariat.
Ditto, said Richard Pavlin, another affordable-housing advocate.
“What the developer is offering is why I think lower-income families will benefit from redevelopment at Falkland North,” he testified. “Why aren’t we on the side of tenants?”
Aside from the whole affordable-housing argument, others said redevelopment would impact the hood in other ways. Felicia Eberling, a Colespring Plaza resident and former Falkland renter, called the green acreage “an asset to our neighborhood and part of our heritage. It’s a consolation for the rest of us who live in high rises.”
And forget about the automobile traffic, especially at the traffic triangle where Eastern Avenue, 16th Street and Colesville Road collide. That mess would only get messier if more people moved into the area, said Jerome Paige, of the North Portal Estates Civic Association in The District.
“Many of my neighbors view downtown Silver Spring as our downtown,” he told the council. “What happens on East-West Highway and 16th Street affects my neighborhood directly.”
The county council has final say on whether all three Falkland parcels should be preserved, or just the western and southern parcels while the north side is reworked. The council’s housing committee mulls over this one on Mar 23.
Photo: The cuppola on Falkland Chase’s southern parcel. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.
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I’m a current Falkland Chase tenant (not on the North parcel). What attracted my family to renting in the South parcel of Falkland Chase was the presence of units DESIGNED FOR FAMILIES; the 2 and 3 bedroom units with large living and dining rooms, surrounded by green space. Almost none of the newer high rise buildings of Silver Spring are good for raising families; they have only 1 or 2 bedrooms and most of their square footage is in the bedrooms and bathrooms, and their front doors open onto parking lots. What downtown Silver Spring is really lacking is more housing for families (whether designated as affordable or not). It is unclear to me whether the new designs for Falkland Chase North fit this need.
I have limited patience for the “too much traffic so don’t build anything” arguments of people living in North Portal Estates. Their neighborhood is zoned for no shopping, and their homes sprawl too far from mass transit to walk, and so they drive everywhere–they contribute much more to traffic than those of us who live in apartments next to shopping and public transit.
There is a tremendous number of new apartment buildings in DTSS, both those that started as apartments and condos that now have become apartments. I’ve been rather curious what the sudden seemingly oversupply has done to rents. I’ve been in Summit Hills for just under ten years now and watched the rents around me GREATLY increase but I don’t have a good feeling as to whether that rise has stablized at all. Theoretically, an overabundance should make the rents decline, don’t you think?
I’d think that with the Purple Line, appartments would make sense promote urban density. Am curious of the vancacy rate of the condos and apartments in the area… Haven’t been to Moorenkos or Mayorga since the new building wrapped up construction.
Are they going to make the developer set aside a certain percentage of units as “affordable housing”?
Having green space in downtown SS is all well and good, but high density development clustered near public transit in urbanish areas like SS is ultimately better for preserving green space — not to mention the rest of the environment — in general. With the new 16th Street express buses, the proximity of the red line and the future purple line, that is a prime location for high density housing. I’d much prefer Falkland Chase to ugly, boring, traffic-making high rises too, but to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, you can’t always get what you want, sometimes you have to settle for what you need.
Jennifer, do you know how far it is from Falkland Chase to the SS metro?
Back when I was doing apartment shopping in Silver Spring about two years ago, single person efficiencies were typically at least $1k a month. There were some exceptions, but they all seemed to be full. I think if I qualified for affordable housing there may have been some cheaper options available, but I don’t remember the details.
Basement rentals and such were often cheaper, but that’s a different market really.
In terms of rent in Silver Spring apartments, most of the new places, such as The Veridian and the Portico, are about $1100-$1200 for a studio and start at least $1500 for a one bedroom. The Blairs hovers around $1500 a month for a one bedroom, depending on where you live, but does include utilities. Most of the new places also allow dogs, which seems to be a big selling point these days as more and more people have pets.
Older joints like Summitt Hills, Faulkland, etc., are a bit less, but are at least over $1000 a month for a one bed. Some include all utilities (as does the Blairs) and not many have washer/dryers in units (like the Blairs, for all the gushing love it seems to get).
Really it all depends what you are looking for in Silver Spring and what you are willing to pay for to get the amentities you want.
I keep thinking about moving to Silver Spring to be within walking distance of work, but the apartments seem to be awfully spendy. I pay $875 for my modest 1BR in a converted house and have a short bus ride. It seems like a decent compromise, considering the $1500/mo of a 1BR in these new buildings. $600/mo isn’t worth the convenience. I doubt more new units will bring prices down any, as well…
To answer Jen’s question about the distance from Falkland Chase to the SS Metro…Falkland Chase is almost next door to the SS Metro station. Very short walk. Thus, this is the reason why Falkland Chase is sitting on prime real estate.
Housing affordability will be a far bigger crisis than preserving green space or traffic on 410. The real estate developers of the new apartment buildings are appealing to the Y-word crowd. The problem is that the Y-word market is tapped out in the DC area. I see more vacancies in condos and apartments in trendy areas of Columbia Heights in DC, Clarendon in Arlington, or Bethesda.
Even the Y-word people are not immune from this nasty, bitch of a recession. I do get some satisfaction from this I admit. Corporate lawyers, architects, company executives, and marketing big-shots are getting pink-slipped left and right. I am very concerned about the potential vacancy rates and un-sold condo units in the new Silver Spring residential developments. The developers cannot rely on the “flippers” to buy the studios and one-bedroom condos anymore. I could care less about the Yuppies but I do care about the image of Silver Spring. Half-empty residential buildings does not look attractive in any city.
Re: Vacancy
I know that The Blairs are offering ridiculous resident referral rewards at the moment, which leads me to believe that they are really losing tenants. Its $1000 when a resident refers someone and there are some crazy things they’re doing if you move in now, too. It seems like there are a lot of empty units, at least in my building, but I can’t say for sure. Its just my perception.
On a related note, if anyone is looking to move in here, I could really use $1000. :)
Thanks IHY, I was thinking of the wrong complex. For some reason I thought we were talking about the complex on the north side of 410 near 16th. It doesn’t change my opinion, though. I think high density rental units will be worth it as long as they can somehow ensure that a significant percentage will actually be affordable. I don’t think the affordability issue should be left up to the market.
On a related note, I know a couple that is looking for a rental in SS for less than $1000 for a one bedroom. Any ideas?
Home Properties isn’t too concerned with the current market/vacancy/rents but instead where their research points to where itwill be in 3+ years when the Falkland development begins leasing (plus the long term potential). The apartment market in DC and the close-in suburbs (especially next to Metro) is expected to have a strong rebound and rent growth for the next 3-4 years, starting in late 2009-early 2010. This projection was published in the Washington Business Journal last week and taken from the research of Delta & Associates, one of the nation’s most highly regarded researchers of commercial real estate. They are typically dead-on in their assessments and predictions.
IHY, pick a position and stick with it. You can’t hate yuppies and their (perceived) lifestyles and then bemoan that their (perceived) departure causes buildings to be “half empty” and doesn’t bode well for Silver Spring. Stop hating, start accepting everyone will never be like you.
Play nice, people. No personal swipes. Stick with one screen name.
Thank you.
“Older joints like Summitt Hills, Faulkland, etc., are a bit less, but are at least over $1000 a month for a one bed. Some include all utilities (as does the Blairs) and not many have washer/dryers in units (like the Blairs, for all the gushing love it seems to get).”
I think Summit Hills is higher than that, unless they’re dropped recently. I’m in a nice big two bedroom there with utilities paid (except phone and cable) and I pay $1340 per month. I’ve been there going on ten years now and the county has that cap on rent increases. The same apartment would rent for a good bit more for someone just moving in.
Last year, a colleague of mine tried to get a place at Summit Hills but was told that a GS-11 permanent gov’t job didn’t qualify him financially for a one bedroom there. Yikes. He ended up near Glenmont Metro.
What price range is considered affordable housing? I keep hearing the words “affordable housing” but exactly how much does it mean?
I remember reading that Falkland would have the 12.5% MPDU’s + workforce housing. Again, what is the price range for MPDU’s and what is the price range for workforce housing.
I’m hoping someone has an answer.
Montgomery County has two programs that fall under the “affordable housing” umbrella: moderately priced dwelling units (MPDU) and workforce housing (WF).
To qualify for MPDU rental housing, the county says you’ve gotta make the following income:
To learn more, click here.
To qualify for WF housing, the county says you’ve gotta make the following income:
To learn more, click here. Currently, the downtown Silver Spring area has no WF housing units.
Speaking of the Glenmont Metro, there is a shopping center just south of it (5-min walk) that looks like a great spot for “transit-oriented development.” It has the MTA Express, a nice CVS & Staples, and a small dance studio & a small martial arts studio. Surely those could be saved, and the place redeveloped with a few stories of housing on top that would include WF housing.
Bulldozing any part of Falkland Chase is crazy. Whack the grubby, pothol-y asphalt in Glenmont, not the beautiful trees and small-scale buildings at the Falklands. By the way, getting to SS Metro from the Falklands involves some mean street crossings. Glenmont is better.
Getting to SS Metro from Falkland North, site of proposed redevelopment, involves zero street crossings.
thank you JD for the info very helpful.
Mean street crossings? From the Falkland’s north parcel (the one up for re-development), pedestrians have to cross only Colesville Road.
Actually, one does not need to cross Colesville Rd to get to the Metro form Falkland North. There is an entrance to the Metro next to the Starbucks.
It’s a good proposal LMH, but ultimately it would probably fall on deaf ears. It seems that with the economy in the tank right now, developers are looking towards projects in established areas (Downtown Silver Spring, next to the metro, ie: Falkland Chase) instead of the sort of “start from scratch, redevelop a whole area” project that would be the Glenmont area. Less risk involved, I guess. That’s the main reason why the Harris Teeter would be going in in the Falklands and not in say, the Ripley District.
Hi, Corona! You make some good points. Now that the real estate boom has gone bust for the moment, it is time to rethink “Smart Growth.” The New York Times has a blog called “saving the suburbs” with provocative articles followed by zillions of comments.
The “let’s take a small-scale neighborhood with trees, wipe it out and put a hi-rise there” is just the latest twist on bad old urban renewal. People want to live near trees.
And those trees can be a source of jobs. All those “jobs” generated by refinancing real estate are not coming back. I say levy high tax rates on millionaires, and fund lot of Earth Conservation Corps positions. Trees in parks and along strees need maintenance, and they are getting very little.
Terry in SS is spot-on. Despite the addition of thousands of housing units in DTSS in recent years, rents continue to climb. Landlords demand high rents regardless of the number of units on the market, just because they CAN, because SS has revitalized and has become desirable. The county’s rent cap, by the way, is not mandatory, it’s just a guideline, which many many landlords disregard. The real problem in the affordable housing crisis is the affordable units being lost as rents accelerate. A relative handful of requisite MPDUs in the proposed Falkland development will not even scratch the surface of a solution.
Jennifer, I think you mean there are no Workforce Housing PROGRAM units in downtown SS. There ARE units affordable to people who would qualify for workforce, and current apartments at Falkland fit that description.