United Therapeutics Amends Space
By Silver Springer • Jul 11th, 2007 • Category: Business and Economic Development, Real Estate
On July 19th, 2007, the planning board will weigh the resubmitted site plan of the future United Therapeutics Corporation Headquarters. The project is on two parcels of land on the opposite sides of Cameron street and borderd by Spring street looking west.
Photo courtesy of MC-MNCPPC, Planning dept
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I’m disappointed about the reduction in retail space, but I think the most important part of this project is the fact that the company is committed to Silver Spring. I don’t work for downtown Silver Spring team here at the Planning Dept (I work for the Georgia Avenue corridor and North Bethesda/White Flint teams), so I will probably go to the board meeting downstairs to hear more on this next week.
Additionally, the board will be reconsidering the Silver Spring Transit Center at 5PM this Thursday the 12th after hearing nothing about it for 2 weeks. The board will also be covering more about the Moda Vista residences.
Last week, Chairman Hanson deferred the SilverPlace topic after what were lengthy discussions concerning the Negotiation of the Memorandum of Understanding between M-NCPPC and SilverPlace, LLC for the project. He didn’t make clear when they would revisit the issue before the board, but we all thought he was kidding when he walked in, saw all the people there to hear about and discuss the project, and smiled and said we’re skipping the topic. Oh well.
I guess the most important thing is that their headquarters is here and they’re moving forward to build. I wonder what kind of retail they’re going to get, that’s still a huge chunk of space.
Hopefully something better than what’s nearby, which is nothing special. The west side of Fenton between Colesville and Cameron really needs a retail face lift. Hopefully this will be a catalyst for more change. The stores themselves are fine, they’re just butt ugly (I’m looking at you, Jerry’s Subs & Pizza–your subs are to die for but your facade is a crapshack).
Is there going to be any retail space in Cameron House? If so, then we might have a nice little strip of shops in the area.
Also, speaking of Cameron Street: how come LA Fitness was able to completely renovate their building, but didn’t have to make any streetscape improvements? There is more than enough room in front of their building to at least get some street trees. Cameron House and United Therapeutics both will improve their portions of Cameron, but apparently not LA Fitness.
“The Community-Based Planning staff has reviewed the above referenced [United Therapeutics] Project and Site Plan for conformance with the Silver Spring Central Business District and Vicinity Sector Plan (Approved February 2000). The subject property is located on the north and south side of Cameron Street and on the west side of Spring Street. Community-Based Planning recommends the approval of this Project and Site Plan with the following conditions needed to ensure consistency with the approved CBD Sector Plan:
1. Provide full width streetscape improvements on Spring Street (Type “Bâ€) in accordance with the Silver Spring Streetscape Plan (April 1992) Technical Manual or as amended. Provide full width streetscape improvements on Cameron Street (Type “Bâ€) in accordance with the Silver Spring Streetscape Plan (April 1992) Technical Manual or as amended.
2. Provide documentation that an agreement has been reached with the Silver Spring Urban District regarding the installation and maintenance of non-standard streetscaping with the public right-of-way on Spring Street and Cameron Street.”
In case any of you didn’t notice…there are NO street trees anywhere on that section of Cameron from Georgia Ave to Spring Street. Barren. All concrete, steel and glass.
Woodsider: No clue about LA Fitness. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t a renovation, but new construction. LA Fitness was somewhere else in downtown before, if anywhere at all.
Woodsider: Cameron House has 7,330 square feet of ground floor retail. With Silver Place around the corner with 47,000 square feet (and possibly having a grocery store) we will have a significant retail corridor indeed.
Pennster: I believe the LA Fitness building was renowed. I remember seeing the old bowling alley being gutted and the old brick siding still on it. I think articles from Washington Properties (developer) might mention this as well.
It was mostly new construction then. I was thinking about it the other day and just remembered again the Bowl America there with the radiation symbols on it.
The research I did on the GA Ave corridor last week tells me that originally, Vitro Labs occupied the space in the mid 1950s which is where the radiation symbols came from (I believe it was a Cold War bomb shelter, as well), and when the company moved down the block to expand on GA Ave, it was turned into a bowling alley. Perhaps they retained the foundation when the LA Fitness was built.
All this talk of Cameron & Fenton triggered an old memory, and you’d have to be a Silver Spring lifer over, say, 40 to know of it. There used to be a very cool undergound (literally!) movie theater on that corner, directly across from the bowling alley. I used to love going there with my mom, circa 1970 or so. The whole subterranean aspect of it thrilled me. I believe the entrance–a kiosk, really–is still there. Any other old timers remember it?
Any reason why it was underground? Another bomb shelter?
Don’t know. The more interesting question is: What, if anything, occupies that space now?
Thanks, Pennster & Silver Springer. LA Fitness definitely was a renovation…they didn’t tear down the building. Either way, the county should require street trees to be planted when a project of that scale is undertaken. I mean, really…they put all new sidewalks in so how much more could it cost for seven 4′ x 4′ pits with trees, grates and groundcover. Not much.
That theater was called the Capri. A one screen theater. It is still down there but is apparently being used for storage by a tenant or tenants in Montgomery Center. I saw “Psycho” and “Night of the Living Dead” double feature there in like 1975. Scared the daylights out of me!
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Comment by Tom Collins
Made Thursday, 12 of July , 2007 at 2:01 pm
That theater was called the Capri. A one screen theater. It is still down there but is apparently being used for storage by a tenant or tenants in Montgomery Center. I saw “Psycho†and “Night of the Living Dead†double feature there in like 1975. Scared the daylights out of me!
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Isn’t that where the Golden Flame Restaurant is too?
Golden Flame is on the bottom floor of Montgomery Center. The Capri was (is) below the hardscape in front of that building. You can see a glass enclosed entryway at the corner of Fenton and Cameron. There are some fountains there too that used to look nice but always seem to be in a state of disrepair in recent years.
Love this new project. What’s the hold up, wasnt this approved a few years ago? Combined with SilverPlace this area will be the new “it” place in Silver Spring. So happy to see a company that actually makes something tangible have headquarters in Silver Spring. When they are bought out down the road, we could see a big name pharma come downtown.
[...] Montgomery County’s most profitable and largest independent biotech could give a no-go to it’s headquarter expansion in downtown Silver Spring. [...]
UNITHER is a great addition to Silver Spring, and does much to enhance Cameron and Spring Street. I am a lifelong resident of Silver Spring who grew up on Fairview Rd (which ends on Spring Street). I remember when Silver Spring was a nice, decent place in the 1970’s and even into the early 1980’s. We would walk to Hecht’s, have ice cream at the Baskin Robins, and lunch at the lunch counter at GC Murphy.
I am sorry, but the redevelopment of downtown Silver Spring, while better then what the Grahmezian Bros (think Mall of America) had to offer back in the 1990’s, is still crap. The Hechts building needs a major overhaul, and the “pedestrian friendly” area is awkwardly designed. The architecture looks like it was created by 100 monkeys locked in a room. While it is a hodgepodge attempt look “old” it totally abandons the Art Deco roots of the area. Had the developers gotten with the architect who designed UNITHER’s facility I think the outcome would have been much better. Even the recently constructed manufacturing part of UNITHER’s HQ does much to brighten Spring and Cameron. There are proposed plan to redevelop the three story apartment building next to garage on Cameron. I suspect that once there is more of a residential and professional base anchoring the area you will see a renovation of store fronts.