Mall gets approval for upward expansion

Board OK’s plan to build office building on top of City Place in downtown Silver Spring

Construction on the project, which City Place owner Walter H. Petrie estimated would cost around $50 million, will begin in 2008.

The Planning Board approved the updated preliminary and site plans under a few conditions.

Chairman Royce Hanson made sure to clarify that the space around City Place would be deemed public space and used as such, in light of a recent incident in which a local man was told to stop taking pictures on Ellsworth Drive because it was deemed private property by the developer. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) in a letter last week said county attorneys have advised that developers cannot prohibit people from taking photos or prevent any form of free speech on a public street.

There was also extensive discussion about space and funding the developer would have to set aside for public use in order to build under an optional method. Optional method allows a developer to build beyond the limits of that particular zone if the developer agrees to set aside a certain amount of space or funding for the public.

Commissioner Eugene Lynch expressed concern with the added height and square footage of the project and said he would be tougher on the developer if it were not the need for the development in Silver Spring.

‘‘The history [of the project] weighs heavily on my judgment,” Lynch said.

After Lynch made a case for an increased amount of funding by the developer for public use space, the developer, City Place Air Rights LLC, agreed to increase its amenities fund by $150,000 to $250,000, which would be used by the county for a future public-use project. The specifics and the location of the project were not determined during the hearing.

However, the developer did agree to work on streetscaping along Fenton Street, improve the interior atrium space in City Place, allow for public art to be displayed in the pedestrian bridge between the parking garage and the mall, and renovate the entrance of City Place Mall at the corner of Colesville Road and Fenton Street, which would include artwork.

Part of the amenities package included Kughn Park, for which the developer received credit despite the fact that the park no longer exists. The park used to sit on the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive before the redevelopment effort that reshaped the downtown.

In fact, the revitalization of downtown Silver Spring is what put this project back on the table, said Petrie, one of three owners of the office project, which includes Theodore J. Georgelas of The Georgelas Group and Jeffrey Dierman of the Dierman Realty Group.

The project, which was part of the original plans for the mall nearly 20 years ago, was never acted upon because there wasn’t much of a market for office space before downtown Silver Spring was revitalized, Petrie said.

Now, Petrie said there are restaurants, stores and hotels that will make the office buildings more attractive to tenants and also lend to more economic development for local businesses.

Another option for the amenities package agreed upon in 1988 was the inclusion of a daycare center in the building. While some commissioners thought a daycare center would be a good community use, the Planning Board voted to approve the project with the $250,000 amenity project instead, drawing mixed reaction from residents who attended the hearing.

Philip Olivetti, a member of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, said he thought this project was just what the mall needed to become a vital part of the downtown area.

‘‘I think, to me, it’s the last option that City Place has going for it,” Olivetti said. ‘‘I don’t see how else one reinvigorates City Place Mall without doing something extraordinary.”

However, Wayne Goldstein of Kensington told the board he opposed the project based on the amenities it would provide the community.

‘‘I don’t see, in terms of the fact or spirit of optional method, that this meets standards,” Goldstein said during his testimony.

He also said he thought the county needed a more definitive plan for where the $250,000 would be directed.

‘‘One problem is [Planning Board] staff has not identified what’s needed, what’s available and what it would cost,” he said after the approval was read.

Marco Fortini, who owns DeMarco Italia Gourmet on Colesville Road across the street from City Place, said while the new building would be good for revitalization of the mall and area along Colesville Road, one of the adverse affects could be increased rent.

‘‘It’s good for Silver Spring, but sometimes it hurts the mom and pops [who are] slowly moving out,” he said.