Planners Approve Mixed-Use Project on Giant Site in Rockville Town Center

Development plans now go before staff as part of a process the city is reconsidering.

  The Rockville Planning Commission on Wednesday approved plans to tear down the old Giant Food building in Town Center and build an office-retail project. Chevy Chase-based JBG Companies plans to build a 25,100-square-foot building, with a Bank of America branch, retail and/or a restaurant on the ground floor, 13,600 square feet of office space on the second floor and underground parking. The commission voted 6 to 1 on the preliminary plans to subdivide the property at 275 N. Washington St. Commissioner David Hill voted against the subdivision. Hill said the city should not subdivide property in the second phase of Town Center redevelopment, when in the first phase—which included building Rockville Town Square—the city combined properties…

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Planners to Consider Mixed-Use Proposal for Giant Site in Rockville Town Center

Retail-office project on the former store site would be the first piece of 'Town Center II.'

The former Giant Food site, a long-abandoned eyesore in Rockville Town Center, could be transformed into a vibrant mix of shopping, offices and apartments under a plan the Rockville Planning Commission is scheduled to consider Wednesday night. The commission meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11. Chevy Chase-based JBG Companies is proposing to demolish the Giant building as early as spring, making way for a two-story office-retail building at 275 N. Washington St. The building would include a new home for the Bank of America branch presently located at 255 N. Washington St. The commission also will consider JBG’s proposal to divide the 3.14-acre site into two parcels. The parcel along North …

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Giammo Drops Silverwood Appeal

The former mayor said the city did not follow its public facilities ordinance.

Former Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo said Friday that he is dropping his appeal of the city Planning Commission’s approval of the Silverwood project. Giammo issued the following statement via email: “I am confident the City government did not properly follow the City’s [Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance] and I would have prevailed. Sadly, given my work, family and other obligations right now, I simply do not have the scores of hours needed to research and thoroughly prepare the necessary filings. The City government learned nothing from the Beall’s Grant II case. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals excoriated the City government for not following its own law. It took a lot of hours of effort and considerable expense by a group of …

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Jeff Hawkins

3:55 pm on Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Piotr, Glad you are OK!!!!   more ›

Planning Commission To Talk Public Facilities Ordinance

The commission meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.

Planning Commission Agenda: Pumphrey Parking Lot and Pike Plan

The City Council's reversal on a parking lot for the funeral home is up for discussion at Wednesday's meeting.

Rockville’s Planning Commission is scheduled to take the city a step closer on Wednesday toward blocking a proposed parking lot for the Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Home. The commission is scheduled to vote on whether to delete a zoning text amendment that allowed Pumphrey to apply to build the lot on property adjacent where the funeral home has operated since 1924. The City Council approved the amendment in November 2010. Last month, the new council voted 3 to 2 to reverse that decision. Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio and council members Bridget Donnell Newton and John Hall voted for the reversal. Marcuccio later told The Gazette that the home is a nonconforming use for its location in the West Montgomery Avenue Historic District and should move. …

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Weighing In on Rockville Pike

Comment period for the draft pike plan closes on Friday.

Friday is the last day to submit written testimony to the Rockville Planning Commission on the city's draft plan for Rockville Pike redevelopment. Written testimony should be hand-delivered to the city's Planning Commission, c/o Long Range Planning, CPDS, 111 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850 or emailed to rockvillepikeplan@rockvillemd.gov. Include your name, address and, if applicable, affiliation. The Planning Commission held two nights of public hearings on the draft plan in March. Forty-two people, including residents, business people, environmentalists, lawyers and developers testified. A recent Greater Greater Washington post about the pike, by Lee Epstein, is generating conversation (93 comments as of 10:55 a.m. Wednesday). Epstein…

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