Safeway + Luxury Apartments Project Breaks Ground

The groundbreaking at the Safeway in Wheaton marks the beginning of a new phase of redevelopment  here-- a combination of mixed-use space in close proximity to the Wheaton Metro station.

“You have to have a signature project to get that started, and this is the project,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett before the ceremony Wednesday morning.

The Safeway project will combine retail, parking and residential space, with a 58,000 square foot supermarket on the ground floor and 486 luxury apartments in the 17 stories above it.

Patriot Realty of Rockville is the developer for the Safeway and the apartment building at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive. Foulger-Pratt of Rockville is the general contractor.

Several speakers at the ceremony echoed Leggett in saying that as Wheaton redevelopment produces more transit-oriented, mixed-use projects, the county, developers and the community must work together to maintain what Leggett called “the fabric of Wheaton”--in essence, small businesses.

“We can’t just revitalize,” said Karen McManus, who spoke for Rep. Chris Van Hollen at the ceremony. “We have to preserve what’s so important here.”

A representative from Gov. Martin O’Malley also spoke during the ceremony, and several members of the Montgomery County Council came to witness the groundbreaking.

Diane Lynne, the president of the Wheaton Forest Civic Association, said she had watched this project come from the inception to the groundbreaking.

“I think this will really spur revitalization in Wheaton,” Lynne said before the ceremony. “But I also have concerns that my neighborhood is not adversely affected by the increase in density in the area.”

In a sharp contrast to the , the community seems to welcome the new Safeway to Wheaton. However, Safeway, unlike Costco, has been a part of Wheaton ever since the store first opened in 1951.

“I’ve had more people contact me about this Safeway than virtually any project around the county,” Leggett said during his speech. “They want it.”

Regina Dull, who lives in a neighborhood behind the Safeway and is a member of the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee, said that her neighborhood is excited about the Safeway. Many of her neighbors walk to the grocery store, “and having to walk across Georgia Avenue is a pain.”

Several members of the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee and the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee came to the ceremony. Both committees have supported the plans for the Safeway.

Marian Fryer, the WUDAC vice chair, spoke during the ceremony and credited the two committees with helping Wheaton receive recognition for its efforts to revitalize the downtown area.

“I think this is a really good thing for Wheaton,” said Jeannette Feldner, the WUDAC chair, who attended the ceremony. “This is the beginning.”