Town Center Condo and Retail Complex Gets Thumbs Up

ROCKVILLE, MD-Yet another project is now slated for the city’s Town Center revitalization endeavor. Mayor Larry Giammo and the city council have just given the go ahead for a plan to develop a residential-centric mixed-use complex on what is now a parking lot on East Montgomery Avenue. Operating under the name Rockville Renaissance West LLC, the Akridge Development Co. will construct several buildings containing 485 market-rate condominium units highlighted by an as yet unspecified amount of retail space.

According to document recounting the council’s approval at a meeting this week, the allowable uses for the property include 602 residential units, nearly 107,300 sf of retail space, a 67,400-sf theater and about 420,000 sf of office space. Taking into consideration the continued demand for condominiums, Akridge nixed an earlier plan that would have involved several office towers. The document also specifies that half of the units be marketed to seniors, and that construction, which will be conducted in two phases, is not to begin before July 1 of next year.

The announcement of the city’s approval for the Akridge development comes on the heels of news regarding Rockville Town Square, another part of the greater revitalization endeavor that will sit near on an adjoining block; developers of Town Square just closed on a $103.2-million financing package for the project.