Sketch plans for a residential tower located in the heart of downtown Silver Spring–to be constructed atop the Ellsworth Place shopping mall–are moving forward with Thursday’s approval by the Montgomery County Planning Board.
According to planning documents, the proposed development would include more than 420,000 square feet of residential space with 450 new multifamily units, 15% of which will be moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs). In addition, it would add about 300 feet to the five-story-tall shopping center.
“This is a wonderful project, it’s a greatly needed project,” Planning Board Chair Artie Harris said at Thursday’s meeting before voting in favor of the plans.
The approval sets the way for Tennessee-based GBT Realty Corp. to continue to develop Ellsworth Place, which is nearing the opening of Commas food hall in mid-summer and saw the recent opening of Outback Steakhouse.
Ellsworth Place, at 8661 Colesville Road and formerly known as City Place, opened in 1992 and is home to a Michaels craft store, Dave & Busters and T.J. Maxx among other stores and eateries.
When the plans for the original mall were approved by the Planning Board in 1988, the designs also included the future construction of a 220,000-square-foot office tower on top, according to planning documents. However, the office space was never built despite the mall being constructed with structural supports intended for the tower.
“I’m glad somebody had the forethought–but for different reasons–to put in the structural [supports] at the time when they put in the retail so that you can do this,” Harris told the project developers at the meeting.

GBT Realty bought the mall for $92 million in 2018 and submitted plans for the 19-story residential tower in late February.
GBT Realty Senior Vice President Trey Culpepper did not immediately return MoCo360’s request for comment Monday.
No parking is included in plans because the development is located in a “transit-rich location,” planning documents state. In addition, the proposed tower is in Silver Spring’s Parking Lot District and near two public parking garages, so providing additional parking is not required of developers, according to planning documents.
Stephanie Helsing, president and CEO of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, was the lone public commenter at the board’s Thursday meeting, testifying in support of the development project.
“We are very excited about the proposed development at Ellsworth Place,” Helsing said. “This mixed-use, no parking concept will increase affordable and diverse housing in the central business district and also encourage the walkability that we are looking for in our downtown.”
Helsing said she hopes the residential tower will be a hub in the downtown area and “spur further economic development in and around the mall.”
In March, the County Council passed a bill that loosened parking requirements for new housing developments in the county, provided that they are within a half-mile of a Metro station or a station for the upcoming light-rail Purple Line, or within one-fourth of a mile of an existing or future Bus Rapid Transit station.
Bicycle parking will be required, but the location, capacity and facility type will be determined when the project’s site plan is complete, according to planning documents.
Early conceptual plans for the tower include a top-floor amenity level with a pool, sun deck, cabanas and greenery. Additional amenities such as study and work areas, an outdoor grilling area, dining and communal tables and a green roof are proposed at a lower level.
According to planning documents, the project will provide a 35% green canopy through elements such as plants, trees or other greenery on the tower’s sixth floor and roof.