The Montgomery County Planning Department announced Wednesday it has received a national award for its work on the White Flint Sector Plan as well as Federal Realty’s development of Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, a project approved under the plan.
The planning department won an Award of Excellence from the American Planning Association for its work. Pike & Rose, the 24-acre retail, residential and office space development near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike, is the first project approved and built under the White Flint Sector Plan, which was approved and adopted by the county in 2010.
The plan rezoned the area to allow developers to create more mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly town center-style developments along Rockville Pike over the next 20 to 25 years. The plan also calls for infrastructure improvements including a bus rapid transit system on Rockville Pike, a new street grid and more open space amenities.
“We are thrilled to be honored with this award for one of the most transformative planning efforts in the county,” planning department Director Gwen Wright said in a statement. “The White Flint Sector Plan represents the transition from car-oriented suburbs into livable, urban-style communities with access to transit. Pike & Rose exemplifies this exciting change and sets a high bar for the mixed-use developments to come.”
A slew of businesses opened at the completed first phase of Pike & Rose over the past year, including the iPic Movie Theaters, the music venue AMP by Strathmore and restaurants such as Del Frisco’s Grille and Summer House Santa Monica. The luxury PerSei apartments also opened and another apartment complex, Pallas, is nearing completion and expected to open this summer. Federal Realty announced in October it would move forward with phase two of the development, which will include more than 30 new stores, 104 condos, 264 apartments and a new Hilton Canopy concept hotel.
“We are proud that the initial phase of Pike & Rose has surpassed our expectations in creating the ‘there’ in North Bethesda with a vibrant, new center of activity,” Evan Goldman, vice president of development for Federal Realty, said in a statement about the planning department’s award.
Other developers such as Saul Centers and Lerner Enterprises are also planning large developments under the sector plan. Lerner, which has been hampered from redeveloping the White Flint Mall by an ongoing lawsuit with Lord & Taylor, now appears poised to begin demolition of the mall after winning a court decision in the Lord & Taylor case earlier this month.
The American Planning Association plans to publicly announce the award winners March 31, although it has already notified the winners.
