The potential sale of a sprawling set of classic retail properties in the heart of Olde Towne Gaithersburg could have a transformative impact on one of the few remaining historic downtown cores in Montgomery County. Five contiguous retail properties with frontage along E. Diamond Avenue and N. Summit Avenue are now on the market. Of course, any sense of continuity of character in Gaithersburg went out the window some time ago, with the development of the soulless, cheap-looking, stack-and-pack Gaithersburg Station apartments further down at 370 E. Diamond. It's a travesty. Will the heart of Olde Towne now meet the same fate?
What's up for sale? 206-208 E. Diamond Avenue, 210-216 E. Diamond Avenue, 220 E. Diamond Avenue and 226 E. Diamond Avenue. It's a total of 32,819-square-feet of land on 1.65 acres. Current zoning allows a maximum building height of four stories on this site. The sale listing notes that the City of Gaithersburg is likely to demand first floor retail in any redevelopment. Parking waivers will be available due to nearby public parking. The listing says there are no historical preservation requirements, another travesty.
This will be a "historic" redevelopment opportunity in a historic downtown. Is there a developer who can do this responsibly, and maintain the Olde Towne character on a site visible from the historic B&O Railroad train station? A site that is one of the first things seen upon entering the heart of Olde Towne on Summit Avenue? I'll concede that the site is certainly easy walking distance to MARC commuter rail, but haven't we learned anything from the wholesale destruction of the historic downtowns of Rockville and Bethesda in the past? This is a saga worth watching closely.
Photos courtesy Transwestern/LoopNet
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