Updated Thursday – A second parking garage at Pike & Rose in White Flint is set to open soon with what’s thought to be one of the largest collections of solar panels in Maryland on its top floor.
The garage, a five-level structure that will serve customers of Pike & Rose stores and restaurants, was originally set to open to the general public Nov. 13, according to a press release from developer Federal Realty Investment Trust. A spokesperson for the developer said it should open some time this month and is awaiting final county inspections.
That opening will likely come as good news to some who have complained about cramped parking conditions in the other parking garage that opened with the first phase of the project last year.
But the crowning feature of the new garage is its 855 photovoltaic solar panels on the top floor arranged in three arrays that can be seen from nearby Rockville Pike.
Rockville-based Federal Realty says the panels will produce 265 kilowatts of electricity a year. The solar canopy system was funded in part by a grant from the Maryland Energy Administration. The garage has four electric-vehicle charging stations.
The solar canopy system is one of the largest in Montgomery County and the largest on a retail parking garage in Maryland, according to Federal Realty.
Officials from the company will join county leaders Nov. 18 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the solar canopy system.
A spokesperson for the developer said the beer garden concept from the Neighborhood Restaurant Group and the Carluccio’s Italian market planned for locations near the new garage are expected to open early next year.
