This post is compliments of the “Knowledge Edge,” a weekly newsletter provided by Rodgers Consulting, Inc., a leading land planning and engineering firm to real estate and land developers throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.

Frederick County:

BOCC Advances APFO Amendment

At today’s work session, the BOCC voted 4-1 (Gray opposed) to advance an amendment to the County’s APFO which would expand the definition of “housing for older persons” to its pre-June 2008 requirements. Staff presented an expanded definition which included both the “age 62 and older” option as well as the option related to “housing intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or older.”

Frederick charter drafters reach out to residents

June 9, 2011
Gazette

Bob Kresslein does not want to strike out in Frederick County’s latest effort to change its form of government. As a member of the charter-writing board, Kresslein told a gathering of the Frederick County United Democrats Monday night that he was involved with two failed attempts to change the structure of county government to one that gives it more authority to govern itself. A special election in 1991 on changing from a commissioner form of government to a charter met with overwhelming defeat, and a 1984 attempt did not even make it to voters. Kresslein does not want to fail again. This time around, Kresslein said, the nine-member board tasked with writing a charter is taking its show on the road. Engaging people in the process up front, Kresslein said, will guide the board when it begins writing the charter this fall, and hopefully ensure its success at the polls in November 2012.

Frederick chamber, city officials focus on growth, Golden Mile

June 9, 2011
Gazette

Maintaining the city of Frederick’s rapid business growth while improving key sectors such as the Golden Mile and the East Street corridor were the hot topics as city officials and business leaders got together Friday to exchange ideas about the city’s economic health and future. The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce hosted the gathering at City Hall, where members also heard Mayor Randy McClement (R) and the Board of Aldermen discuss the new Wegmans grocery store, which opened Sunday in the Clemson Corner Shopping Center on Wormans Mill Road. New businesses such as Wegmans and the other new stores in Clemson Corner are “the start of what we hope will be more growth,” McClement said.

_______________________________________

Montgomery County:

Rockville OKs residential development near Shady Grove Metro

June 8, 2011
Gazette

Rockville is taking steps to add new housing near the Shady Grove Metro station. The city council on Monday approved an exemption to its growth law that allows Silverwood/Shady Grove LLC to plan residences on 4.4 acres at the intersection of Route 355 and the Shady Grove Metro station access road, across from the King Farm community. Monday’s exemption passed with a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio and council member Bridget Newton opposed.

________________________________________

I-95 Corridor

Development of rural areas challenges advocates, planners

June 1, 2011
Baltimore Sun

Such battles over rural land have been fought in every suburban county in the Baltimore area, and this year the spotlight is on Anne Arundel, which is considering proposals in its once-in-a-decade rezoning. In addition to the Crandall Cove project, developers are seeking permission to increase density of homes two-fold in a single-family home neighborhood and to allow more people to live on boats. In Anne Arundel and around Maryland, local lawmakers have broad latitude in determining the future of their districts. But land use advocates say letting local governments control zoning changes, which have lasting effects on the environment and character of communities, can have mixed results.

______________________________________

Western Md/ West Virginia:

County might up definition of ‘adequate’ school crowding

June 7, 2011
Herald-Mail

Washington County officials on Tuesday discussed raising from 90 percent to 100 percent the capacity level above which elementary schools would be considered overcrowded for the purpose of requiring developer mitigation. The proposal, which would make it easier to build new subdivisions in many areas, was one of 17 potential changes county staff have suggested as part of an effort to bring clarity and consistency to the county’s acceptance of school mitigation payments.

______________________________________

Northern VA/ DC:

Washington again tops housing data

June 9, 2011
Washington Business Journal

Washington is at the top of the latest report on housing prices, and it’s a report that finds a welcome turnaround in many other cities. Truckee, Calif.-based real estate data firm Clear Capital’s monthly Home Data Index Report says quarter-over-quarter home prices continued to decline in June, but the 2.3 percent decline was half the quarterly drop recorded in May. Bank owned houses fell 0.6 percent.

______________________________________

National/ Other:

Chesapeake Bay lots sold to D.C. investors

June 8, 2011
Baltimore Business Journal

A team of Washington, D.C.-area investors has acquired 357 lots on 72 acres surrounding the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay Resort in Cambridge. The partnership is between Herndon, Va.-based Crimson Partners and D.C.-based real estate investment companies Rock Creek Property Group and the Bernstein Cos. The team, called River Marsh LLC, bought the land for an undisclosed sum in an off-market transaction with Wachovia Bank and plan to market the development sites individually or in clusters. The sites include “shovel-ready” lots for 34 single pad sites, 48 condominium units, 175 townhomes and 100 villas, which are lower-rise attached single family homes.

Office Owners Seek to Cash In

June 8, 2011
Wall Street Journal

Owners of big-name office buildings in some U.S. cities are racing to put them up for sale to exploit surging prices before it is too late. In recent weeks, owners of the Willis Tower in Chicago, Constitution Center in Washington, the Seagram Building in New York and numerous other large properties have put all or portions of them on the block. They are hoping to cash in on the near-boom-era prices being paid by yield-hungry investors discouraged by the volatility of stocks and low interest rates in the bond market. The surge comes as the U.S. economy shows new signs of weakness, raising questions about the direction of office rents and vacancy rates.

Tags: commercial real estate, Comprehensive planning, government, Market update

This entry was posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011 at 10:20 am and is filed under Recent News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.