It’s an enigmatic neck of the woods, but if some people had their way, Fenton Village would be a cozy haven for short buildings and small businesses.
At a public forum last Wednesday night in Fenton Village (where else?), about 50 area residents and business owners pulled together a wish list of how development should roll in the hood just south of Wayne Avenue. Currently, the area is sprinkled with squat commercial buildings and weed-strewn lots in between.
But a couple of development projects — the Bonifant Plaza residential gig, and the big Studio Plaza mixed-use project — will alter that landscape, for better or for worse. And those at the public forum wanted to be sure that things would swing for what they considered the better.
One of the big hits on the forum participants’ collective wish list was the desire to keep new buildings in the hood on the short side. Existing buildings on Fenton Street’s west side are about 20 to 40 feet tall, but zoning laws would allow new buildings to reach 60 feet in height. New residential projects can actually reach 110 feet between Fenton and Georgia Avenue if they contain affordable housing units.
That kind of height would create a canyon effect that wouldn’t gel with the preferred “human scale” of existing buildings, some participants expressed.
“Developers are building these faux Main Streets, and we have the originals here,” Jerry McCoy, with the Silver Spring Historical Society, said. “We’re in danger of losing them.”
Another big theme was the desire to retain and attract independent businesses to the hood. (Emails also requested a greater variety of shops, forum coordinator Debbie Linn said.) One way to do that would be to offer rent-subsidized retail space, or to negotiate cheaper retail rents with developers in exchange for greater building densities, some suggested.
And then there were calls to improve traffic flow, access to mass transit, and pedestrian safety on Fenton Street. That kind of action would make the place more inviting to shoppers, participants said.
But who will be shopping in Fenton Village, forum coordinator Linn asked. Should the hood be designed to serve downtown residents only? Or should it be a “destination” for visitors from other parts of the region? No consensus was reached.
So what’s next? The information and opinions gathered that evening will be used to guide Silver Spring’s citizens advisory board in its consideration of specific issues, Darian Unger, board chairperson, said.
Photos by Ron Pace for The Penguin.
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Does anyone know the projected timeline for these construction projects? The demo work for studio plaza is just about done and I’m worried that just means there’s going to be an empty lot for 5 years…or does the construction plan already have a green light?
It is possible to have increased residential and commercial density and locally owned-businesses. historic preservation, and streets that are pedestrian friendly and have a “human scale.” For those who doubt that these uses can co-exist, I suggest taking a walk on 7th Street NW from Pennsylvania Avenue past the Verizon Center or walking north along Connecticut Avenue from Dupont Circle. These streets, and their adjacent side streets, have relatively high office and apartment buildings but also have wide sidewalks, historic facades, and attractive ground floor retail (both chains and locally-owned establishments). If we want more people to live and work in Fenton Village–and we should want this–than we’ll need to have policies in place that allow more density than currently exists.
How does the Takoma-leaning contingent of the “local businesses only” crowd reconcile the fact that one of the local businesses there is a gun shop?
I look at the photo of people attending this meeting and see some of the same people that show up to object to all growth that has happened in the Silver Spring area. Some of these folks make it their “work” to get out there and object to change or any growth. Growth can be a good thing and in the case of both of these projects is. Let’s let them get on with it and start to change and improve our neighborhood.
Can we at least get rid of the ugly converted bungalow storefronts? Old does not always equal good.
Human scale is really more about the footprint and sidewalk proximity than the height. You can have human scale if you keep the storefronts at ground level (UP AGAINST THE SIDEWALK!) and taper the height back further. Look at, say, the Crescent condo building on Wayne Avenue — it keeps its storefronts pulled way back at the main building footprint with some kind of dull artwork in the way, but they would engage Wayne Avenue far better at human scale if they were out further and closer to the street, similar to the shops like Ghar-E-Kabab or the Convenience Express that are in a smaller retail building next door.
Uh-huh, Sligo. Yeah because we need more global chain establishments in Silver Spring. Maybe three more Starbucks shops in Fenton Village is the answer. It’s embarrassing when I show my New York and Philly friends around Silver Spring and they always laugh at the proliferation of chain shops in town.
I always explain that the zoning regs, the greedy real estate developers and few people in the DC area take enough risks to open a business all combine into a Chernobyl of Chain Store Hell inside Silver Spring.
David, if you look at what has already approved for Fenton Village, there is more than enough hi-rise density. The Hillerson project on top of that is way too big.
Just the impact on our parkland alone from all those additional humans troubles me. Once the “critical mass” of people for a given space is reached, the additional numbers just add stress.
lmh- the parklands that we currently have are vastly underutilized so i wouldn’t worry about those additional “humans” overcrowding the parks. we should convert some of that empty parkland into a community garden. why folks are against this i just do not understand.
Yeah, New York and Philadelphia don’t have chain stores. And showing someone 1 block of Ellsworth and saying that’s Silver Spring is like taking someone to Times Square and saying “this is what New York is like”.
When old buildings get whacked, it is usually hard for small businesses to afford the newer places, plus they have to move out during the demolition/building.
And we just do not need as many stores as we used to. I buy stuff online all the time that I cannot find in stores.
“And we just do not need as many stores as we used to. I buy stuff online all the time that I cannot find in stores.”
Sounds like we do need more stores if you are buying stuff online “all the time”. I assume that the small businesses in the area are not meeting your needs.
tj, I don’t buy that much stuff, period. And some of the stuff I have bought lately is not for me anyway, but for family elsehwere, so it is better to buy online and have it shipped.
Seriously, “retail space” should be more than just stores. I love the locksmith, dry cleaner/clothing mender and shoe repair shops in Fenton Village.
Kefa’s is unique. I met a distant cousin who lives in NYC. He had been down for the inauguration, and was raving about Kefa’s.
Mondo redevelopment would just wipe out wonderful places. There are plenty of funky, run-down strip centers in the USA, including Montgomery County. Most have bus service that could easily be increased. That is the first place to look for any redevelopment.
In answerrs to SSP’s question — is FV being designed for us in the ‘hood OR for outsiders? I’d say, why can’t it serve both> In my break-out group at this forum, we talked a lot about “branding” of Fenton Village in order to bring in outsiders. Many people who live in 20910, don’t know their own neighborhoods and have not explored beyond Ellsworth. By providing unique destination stores, we will draw in those from outside our area and be able to serve our community. We are already on that path and just need to nurture and secure places like our comics store, locksmith, etc.
Even the development on and around Ellsworth isn’t uniformly filled with ubiquitous chains as people say. Asian Bistro, Thai of Silver Spring, Pho Hiep Hoa, Ceviche, McGinty’s, Adega, Metamorphosis, and the dry cleaning shop are all single-location places, and Strosnider’s, Moby Dick, Cakelove, and Lebanese Taverna are all small local DC-area chains.
McGinty’s is no longer single-location, there is another one opening up somwhere — Potomac Yards, maybe?
I think Silver Spring, and just about everywhere, needs signs with little maps on them. Arlington has them.
The intersection of Fenton & Wayne needs left-turn arrows. I hate to cross Wayne, especially if I am schleuping something.