Thursday, February 28, 2013

Retrofitting Suburbia: Silver Spring, Maryland

I've written a couple of times here about the major effort underway in Virginia to turn the isolated office buildings and malls of Tysons Corner into a walkable downtown. Similar plans are afoot in many suburban communities, including Silver Spring, Maryland.

It was recently announced that the owners of The Blairs, a big apartment complex on the edge of Silver Spring's downtown, want to turn their car-friendly enclave,  now about half parking lots, into a real urban neighborhood.

Above, as the property is now.

And as it would be in the new, $625 million plan.

So far, no sign of major opposition, and Montgomery County is committed in theory to this kind of densification, so this should go ahead.

4 comments:

  1. I'm simply curious: where will all those people who live in those apartments park their cars once their parking lots have been greened?

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  2. Multi-level underground garages, like in downtown DC.

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  3. I don't mind if they "green" Downtown Silver Spring apartments ... I would sure want to see some greenery after a long day's work... and as long as they have a reasonable solution for parking space... not one that does not make a lot of sense

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