Rockville leads the way with affordable workforce housing once more with a new project in the works: Beall's Grant II (PDF link). Undertaken by Montgomery Housing Partnership, this project will provide 109 units of mixed income rental housing in downtown Rockville, from studios to three-bedroom apartments, with a parking garage, on the site where the current Beall's Grant apartments are, and extending out to Beall Avenue. It appears to be an ideal location: within walking distance of the metro, Giant, SuperFresh (when it opens), the post office, and all the other stores and businesses in downtown Rockville. Involving the renovation of an existing building and incorporating a wealth of green features, I imagine this is just the sort of affordable housing project Ike Leggett wants to promote throughout the county.
Montgomery Housing Partnership lists numerous green features (Word doc) they plan to incorporate into the buildings, from low-VOC paint and water-conserving and EnergyStar appliances, to use of native plants in the landscaping and recycled construction materials. As WECA President Patricia Woodward notes in a letter providing West End Civic Association's endorsement of Beall's Grant II, Montgomery Housing Partnership is a known and trusted partner in Rockville:
"Beall's Grant was bought and renovated by Montgomery Housing Partnership over ten years ago. In that time, they have been good neighbors who create no problems or disruptions from our special part of the city we love. Montgomery Housing Partnership has been a responsible partner, whose staff is committed to being responsive to any concerns we have ever raised. Questions regarding school numbers, parking spaces, and environmental impact have all been answered in a timely and thorough manner.
In addition to WECA, Mayor Susan Hoffman and the Rockville City Council have given their endorsement to the project, and it now awaits Department of Housing & Community Development approval of tax credits for funding. TCAT (the Town Center Action Team, responsible for envisioning and guiding our new downtown into existence) invited Rob Goldman of Montgomery Housing Partnership to present the project at City Hall last Tuesday to any interested Rockville residents, and appears ready to lend their endorsement also, pending some questions about parking issues and the height, setback and appearance of the facade facing Beall Avenue. Thank you to Bridget Newton and other members of TCAT for making this information available city-wide, and to Cheryl Kagan for forwarding me the documents linked to above. Beall's Grant II sounds like another great example of Rockville leading the way with both workforce housing and green building development.
