They wont last forever
By Silver Springer • Feb 1st, 2008 • Category: Government and Politics, Real Estate
I can’t help but think that Montgomery County forcefully keeping apartments as apartments indefinitely is asking for long-term problems. One only has to look at Prince George’s County to see the problems that lie particularly in oversupply of garden apartment complexes. No, they are not sole cause of problems but they are incubators for undesirable consequences.
I think it’s safe to say that the garden apartment complex was one of the biggest blunders in building history. They take up so much land but concentrate on one use, which would be residential. I cannot recall one mixed use garden apartment complex and I mean really mixed use with ground floor retail and office space. It’s probably because it would have never worked, the buildings are too spread out and the densities inadequate; the setbacks ridiculous in a car oriented development. The ‘center piece’ park are more so a place of trouble than safety.
I can guarantee you that no developer was trying to emulate the Château de Versailles to a T back in the 1960s and 1970s when these things were going up. Cost first quality last, the economical route. Why do people expect them to last forever when the developers didn’t build them that way?
Montgomery County also has a large concentration of an aging garden apartment stock a lot are reaching a tipping point. What are the repercussions of such a large concentration of apartments? I can see its done wonders for Takoma/Langley Park, the eastside of the tracks in Rockville, the Old Towne/Lakeforest area of Gaithersburg and of course we can’t forget Silver Spring; the East end is one of the most prestigious and vibrant places in the County.
I applaud places like Gaithersburg and Prince George’s County for painstakingly trying to correct the mistakes of the past despite ill-informed opposition from the “socialitesâ€. Gaithersburg is trying to reclaim its troubled Old Towne area and Deer Park neighborhood and Prince George’s is transforming Suitland Manor and Springhill Lake from violent to vibrant. I would say that in the case of the Deer Park area, the ideal plan would have been to recreate the complex into a mixed-use neighborhood instead of luxury townhouses which might just never see the light of day anyways.
Despite the cries against new construction where there’s a will there‘s a way. The right incentive can be found at the negotiation table. Why not allow greater density for affordable housing in a mixed-use project? Or transfer of the density to another site perhaps one developer could even sell that density to another? Zoning is crucial and if the developer “only does residential†is this project what the city really wants/needs or are the mistakes of the past being repeated?
Now what I’m saying isn’t a demand for the County to go on a rampage and tear down every garden apartment in the County but there are some areas that will end up costing the County a whole lot if they don’t do something about them now. People should not be living in some these environments and conditions, not in America. There needs to be a focus on redevelopment efforts to turn these areas from single use to mixed-use communities in every way, with renters AND homeowners, whether office, retail and residential and socioeconomic status and it doesn’t mean they all have to start from the $500,000 either. But keeping apartments as apartments is not the answer because they wont last forever.
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It’s a nice thought, but the current backlog of incomplete projects, coupled with the dire financial straits of many developers and homebuilders, means there has to be a reasonable economic incentive to raze the garden-style apartment complexes and replace with mixed use facilities.
Even if you can make the numbers work, the mere act of gentrification means that you will be disenfranchising a portion of the current population. So you’ll have to work with government and community leaders to ensure that you protect the socioeconomic character of the neighborhood while improving the economy. A tough job, no doubt.
John Street, former mayor of Philadelphia, did an effective job of razing the city’s aging housing projects and replacing them with affordable, middle-class homes. But he was a government leader with tremendous influence and power. I don’t think we have anyone in MontCo with that kind of gravity.
Uh…but Silver Springer…we need to hang on to every single one, especially those with on the historic register. I mean, after all, isn’t it for the greater good to keep such places that Eleanor Roosevelt might have been present for the ground breaking?
I have a very strong feeling that once/if the Purple Line route is finalized and funding determined, you are going to see a ton of the obsolete garden-style properties come down. A good example would be in the Long Branch neighborhood…around the corner of Flower & Piney Branch…a block from a proposed station/stop. There are probably 1500 units in 2-3 story buildings (plus the terribly inneficient Giant/Bestway properties)that could be replaced with 3500-4000 units over retail, with parking underground/hidden. In addition to the market rate units’ impact on the area, imagine the number of affordable (12.5%?) units that would be added to the stock then…in just this small area…with direct access to a rail line. I truly believe this will be the inner-burbs’ saving grace.
[quote comment="3860"]Uh…but Silver Springer…we need to hang on to every single one, especially those with on the historic register. I mean, after all, isn’t it for the greater good to keep such places that Eleanor Roosevelt might have been present for the ground breaking?
I have a very strong feeling that once/if the Purple Line route is finalized and funding determined, you are going to see a ton of the obsolete garden-style properties come down. A good example would be in the Long Branch neighborhood…around the corner of Flower & Piney Branch…a block from a proposed station/stop. There are probably 1500 units in 2-3 story buildings (plus the terribly inneficient Giant/Bestway properties)that could be replaced with 3500-4000 units over retail, with parking underground/hidden. In addition to the market rate units’ impact on the area, imagine the number of affordable (12.5%?) units that would be added to the stock then…in just this small area…with direct access to a rail line. I truly believe this will be the inner-burbs’ saving grace.[/quote]
Woodsider I hope you’re right cause some of those place really need to see the wrecking ball.
There won’t be any more garden style apartments that will be newly constructed in Silver Spring. It is nice to see that one such complex is under renovation, at Colesville Rd & Fenton St. But all of the new projects that are underway in Downtown SS are mixed use development or office space. Based on how the economy has been going recently, I hope the developers do not slow down on their deadlines. The sooner Silver Spring has fully “sprung” the better!