The Silver Spring Library may have another tenant soon, if a proposal from the Levine School of Music is approved by the Montgomery County Council.
The council is scheduled to review a proposal from the local music school at its Tuesday meeting. The school, which operates locations at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda as well as in Washington, D.C., and Virginia, would fill approximately 9,000 square feet on the second floor of the library building in downtown Silver Spring.
Peter Jablow, president and CEO of the Levine School, said it would be “premature to comment” on the proposal because it hasn’t been formally approved by the council. The council may vote on the proposal at its Feb. 2 meeting, according to a council memo. Jablow said if the music school’s proposal is approved, the school could start holding classes in the space this fall.
“Silver Spring is a hot and vibrant community,” Jablow said. “We would like to be there with the music education we provide.”
Under the terms of the proposed deal, the music school would spend about $500,000 to build out the space and pay for utilities and operating expenses. The school would also offer performances coordinated with library services, according to the council memo.
The library uses only the top three floors of the five-story building at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Fenton Street. The school would occupy one of the three spaces at the library that were designed for community partners. A deal to lease a 1,500-square-foot basement space may be finalized soon as well, according to county officials.
David Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services, said Monday negotiations are underway with a tenant for the basement space, and a final agreement may be reached in the next week or two. Due to the ongoing negotiations, Dise said he could not identify who the prospective tenant would be. A 3,000-square-foot ground floor space is also available for lease. Dise said the county hasn’t found a suitable tenant for that space and is continuing to solicit bids from businesses or nonprofit entities.
Dise said the county was seeking an arts-focused partner for the large second-floor space and that the music school is a “good fit for the library.”
