Crowded Schools Put Part of Strathmore Square Project on Hold

North Bethesda development expected to receive partial approval next week

May 31, 2019 12:56 p.m.

A project to build more than 2,200 residences near the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail station has hit a roadblock as county planners anticipate the development will have too large an impact on nearby schools.

Fivesquares Development proposes redeveloping up to 1.9 million square feet of total space over seven years, including 1.75 million square feet of residential and up to 150,000 square feet of non-residential development that could include an 11-story hotel, retail space and office buildings.

Plans call for a roughly 1.2-acre park in the center of the development that would include a dog park, pop-up markets and community art, according to Planning Board documents.

Representatives of the developer did not respond to requests seeking comment.

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In December, the county Planning Board granted preliminary approval to the plan, which includes 2,218 residences.

The Planning Board does not consider a project’s impact on schools until later in the approval process, and as details about the project began to solidify, it became clear the residences are expected to generate too many new students at area schools, specifically Garrett Park Elementary School.

If all units were approved, the school would exceed its maximum enrollment allowed before a residential building moratorium is enacted, so county planners have recommended approving only 1,309 units, 400 of which are restricted to people 55 years or older and don’t generate new students, according to Planning Board documents.

The school, now with an enrollment of 883 students, can accommodate the residences being reviewed, but any more would “push the projected enrollment beyond the moratorium threshold,” according to Planning Board documents.

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“The applicant will request approval of the additional units once school capacity becomes available,” according to the documents. A timeline is not disclosed.

The Planning Board will consider the project plans and whether to approve the 1,300 units next week. If the Planning Board approves the partial project, no other developments in the Garrett Park Elementary area would be able to be approved for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends in July.

A spokesperson for the Planning Department said it is common practice for the Planning Board to approve partial projects, and developers would not be able to seek approval for the remaining units for at least one year.

Several community members have written letters to the Planning Board supporting the project, including Amy Ginsburg, the executive director of community group Friends of White Flint, who said the project will be a “lively, vibrant addition to our community.”

Bethesda resident Lee Gochman, 25, also wrote in support of the project saying it will be most beneficial for young people, creating an arts-focused community.

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“This is the future and a development like Strathmore Square will push the County in the right direction,” Gochman wrote.

No correspondences opposed to the development were included in Planning Board documents.

Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media

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