Silver Spring Building To Be Razed To Make Way For Development Project

SILVER SPRING, MD — A 60-year-old building on Georgia Avenue might be destroyed to make way for a mixed-use project with over 300 residential units and retailers, according to reports.

The Bozzuto Group and StonebridgeCarras hope to demolish the current building at 8787 Georgia Ave. in favor of the 413,821-square-foot project. The project will feature 360 residential units, a below-grade parking garage and 50,000 square feet of retail.

The building is currently the home of the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). A press release from Bozzuto says the building was constructed in 1953 and "requires significant renovation."

According to Washington Biz Journals, the development team is building a 12-story headquarters for the M-NCPPC in Wheaton. When the construction is completed in 2019, Bozzuto and StonebridgeCarras will take over the Georgia Avenue Property.

Bethesda Magazine reports the M-NCPPC board signed off on the sketch plan for the Georgia Avenue property in late July. The proposal is still in the works, but Bozzuto representatives said they are collaborating with the planning staff and Silver Spring residents to create a gateway to Silver Spring's business district. Design plans depict a corridor of open space that will bisect the building to merge the neighborhood with downtown Silver Spring shops, restaurants and other businesses.

"We see it as a natural transition from the single-family townhouse neighborhood to the north to the central business district," Bozzuto Development Manager Alisa Rosenberg said, according to Biz Journals. "I think it is very much in step with the planning process for the site, which will historically and correctly remain mixed-use."

Photo: 8787 Georgia Ave., Google Maps