Studio Plaza In Development Review
By Silver Springer • Aug 31st, 2006 • Category: Uncategorized
So it’s not so dead after all. If you remember Studio Plaza,information and photos were first seen here on the Silver Spring Scene. Apparently there is a development review sign in front of the building at the corner of Georgia and Thayer. This is a great project that I hope moves forward, it has others and my support.
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Good news.
“This is a great project that I hope moves forward…”
I guess progress is in the eye of the beholder. The Studio Plaza project will take out the two 1921 bungalows in the 900 block of Thayer (south side), the last vestiges of when this was a residential neighborhood named Silver Spring Park. The Silver Spring Historical Society regrets the loss of these important structures and hopes to work with owner Bob Hillerson to donate them to anyone who can move them.
Jerry A. McCoy
President
SSHS
Are they important structures because they are bungalows or because they are the “last vestiges” of their type in downtown Silver Spring?
If the answer is the latter then while it it is sad that these bungalows will be going away,it has probably been decades since they were actual residences and land prices make it nearly certain that we will never see single family homes in this area again.
It IS progress when a mixed use project like Studio Plaza (if done right) brings new residents, shops and foot traffic back to an area that has been missing them for decades as well.
While it is sad to lose two old bungalows, they are not architecturally significant in that we have hundreds just like them (many wonderfully preserved)just down the road in East Silver Spring and Takoma Park.
I think the benefits out weigh the costs with this development. More retail space for independent businesses, much needed office space as well as residential in a “dead” part of town.
The current and last generation at the helm tore down the buildings that would be truly historic today, like the old Silver Spring theatre mentioned in your book (what beautiful building). The current development is doing a far better job to incorporate the old and the new than development in the 60s and 70s. I don’t think it’s fair to block younger generations from leaving their mark when previous generations caused the most damage.
I also prefer this infill development over the environmentally damaging greenfield developments of single family subdivisions.
By the way, is that building next to Chevy Chase bank along Cameron street deemed historic? That is what I would consider worth saving as it is a beautiful building and probably downtowns tallest traditional architecture building.
This proposal reminds me of the recently completed “Lofts 24″ condominium development that replaced several bungalows on a small parcel of land on the corner of Fenton and Bonifant Streets.
The Lofts 24 project, in my opinion, enhanced the character of Fenton Village by attracting residents to a building that is a better blend with the surrounding architecture.
I hope the new project will accomplish something similar, though I also hope that the existing business that would be displaced can stay in Fenton Village-either as part of the new development or in a nearby location. Perhaps the Silver Spring Urban District can provide some assistance in this regard.
It would be great if you could do a roundup of all the current planned development. Not necessarily even the prose and cons, just what all is going where all. Is that something you’d consider doing? There are so many plans that it is hard to keep track!
Thanks for a great & useful blog.