My Opinion: The Truth About Beall's Grant II

>As I’ve written previously, I am in support of Beall’s Grant II and live in the West End. This piece reflects my personal opinion after researching the issues. At Rockville Central, we welcome different viewpoints and have recently invited people with opinions about Beall’s Grant to submit them.

Many people who both support and oppose the expansion of Beall’s Grant II are making statements that are not accurate. My intention is to shed light on the facts regarding this community. As explained below, the City staff are very confident that they followed Rockville’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. Beall’s Grant was properly and rightly approved to provide 109-rental apartments near public transportation and services in our City.

Who Will Live in Beall’s Grant

Beall’s Grant is a mixed-income community developed by a nonprofit organization, Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP). This means that there are moderate-income apartments scattered among the market-rate apartments. This type of community originally started in Canada and is also used by Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission. The profit from the market-rate apartments stays within the community. The property is maintained as if it was completely market-rate because it must continue to attract people willing to pay a market rent with incomes above $60,000. Of the 60 apartments at Beall’s, 41% are market-rate at this time.

The affordable apartments at Beall’s Grant II will serve households with incomes between $35,000 and $60,000, and some, but not more than 10%, could have incomes below this level. The recommended rent for households at $35,000 is $875 per month (which is the standard HUD 30% of income). The rents at Fenestra start at just under $1,700. There is a real and necessary need for affordable housing in Rockville. MCPS teacher starting salaries are $44,200 and Rockville City Police officers begin at $48,825. Due to the high cost of housing 31% of our teachers live outside the County and only 6 of our police officers live in Rockville. Beall’s Grant II will serve people who serve us.

Size and Design of the Building

The reason Beall’s Grant II will be built bigger than the existing 14-apartment building is that MHP has the opportunity to purchase the fenced-in, vacant lot between the existing building and the annex, which needs to be demolished due to mold problems. The new building will have many green features with peaked roofs, varying facades, smart window designs, and raised-roof courtyards much like our new Town Center.

Kinship Park

We are not losing Kinship Park! The Park will be relocated and improved on the property. The new location will allow better supervision of the Park space and a more congenial atmosphere. Green space will be added to the property around an oval park between the two buildings and two green areas within the design of the new building, so that there will be no loss of green space at Beall’s Grant. The outdoor community areas will provide attractive landscaped courtyards and play areas.

Crime

At this point, I think it goes without saying that the current Beall’s Grant has not resulted in any additional crime in our City, but it still needs to be said again. Chief Terry Treschuk has confirmed that there is not any unusual crime at Beall’s Grant when compared to other market-rate apartment complexes. If you follow our Police Blotters on Rockville Central, you can see that there is not any crime in the entire vicinity worth noting.

Town Center Plan

Phase II of Town Center currently includes 290-residential units which have been approved for the “KSI development” where the Bank of America building will be demolished at 255 North Washington Street directly across from Beall’s Grant at 254 North Washington Street. This development will reach 9-10 stories on the Maryland Avenue side. They are in the process of applying for their first one-year extension of their planning approval. Beall’s Grant will be much smaller in comparison. Town Center will tower over the Beall’s Grant buildings. Planners describe Beall’s Grant as a stepping stone and buffer to the townhouses and offices on North Adams Street and then the single family homes of the West End. Another approved development in Town Center is the “Duball developments” which include residences and a 175-room hotel. Yet to be approved and at a standstill due to the RORZOR moratorium is the 117-residential units at 41 Maryland Avenue.

Claim that the West End Has More Than Its Fair Share of Affordable Housing

Truth be told, the only affordable housing in the West End are 16 Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs). That’s it. That’s the grand total of all types of affordable housing. Considering that by law, 12.5% of King Farm and 12.5% of Fallsgrove are MPDUs, the West End trails far behind in affordable housing. King Farm will even have an additional 49 workforce housing units beyond the MPDUs.

Affordable Housing in Town Center

The West End borders Town Center but the same could be said for other neighborhoods. Let’s take a close look at this neighboring housing. There are 69 HUD Co-op residences at Heritage Park where residents pay a monthly fee after joining. There are two apartment buildings in Town Center that provide homes for seniors on fixed incomes, including 125 in Town Center Senior Apartments and 100 in Heritage House Senior Apartments. There are also Moderately Priced Dwelling Units in Town Center because all new developments are required by Rockville City law to build MPDUs for both rental and ownership. MPDUs serve households with maximum incomes from $41,300 for one person to $63,700 for five people. Montgomery County started the concept of MPDUs and the program is widely respected and imitated throughout the country.
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br />When you remove the senior housing from their calculation and acknowledge that all new communities must have MPDUs, there really isn’t an overburden of affordable housing in Town Center compared to other neighborhoods. With the extremely expensive housing market in our area, the people living in MPDUs and Beall’s Grant are just regular working folks and certainly not low-income.

Traffic

A traffic study was prepared in accordance with the City of Rockville’s Comphrehensive Transportation Review (CTR) in September 2006 by Kimley-Horn. Beall’s Grant II will have a negligible effect on traffic in the area and intersections will continue to operate at acceptable levels. Currently only 50% of residents at Beall’s Grant have vehicles due to the proximity to Metro and bus lines. The sidewalk will be extended in front of Snowden’s Funeral Home to increase pedestrian safety.

The parking garage for Beall’s Grant II will actually be two completely separate parking areas which will not be visible from the front of the building. Half of the garage will have access to Beall Avenue and the other side Dawson Avenue. The West End Citizens Association has been working to insure that all of the traffic from the new development in Town Center will not adversely affect the neighborhood and this includes Beall’s Grant. Turn restrictions and other physical traffic calming measures could be implemented to completely prevent vehicles from using Beall Avenue west of the community. As for the concern that it could be dangerous for pedestrians to walk past the garage exit, Town Center has garage exits on every street and people are used to crossing such driveways.

APFO and Beall Elementary School

Scott Ullery, our City Manager, explains exactly how Rockville’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance was calculated for Beall’s Grant in this document. This information shows that the APFO was followed. In response to Larry Giammo’s claims, Mr. Ullery shows his calculations and confirms that unbuilt developments were properly included. Beall’s Grant II would add 9 elementary students.

MHP was never denied a permit to build, but rather voluntarily withdrew their original proposal when the school numbers were too high and then pursued the site approval when it was permissible under Rockville law. If the current enrollment at Beall Elementary is higher than projections, Montgomery County Public Schools will accommodate the students from all of the approved developments in Town Center, and at a certain point, will consider boundary changes.

Since a true need for affordable housing exists, I hope that after all the information is considered, we will not stop Beall’s Grant II.

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