Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett on Jan. 17 defended his proposed $40 million investment in Wheaton by saying the money would cement redevelopment that would bring new life to the community.

The partnership between the county, developer B.F. Saul and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will bring 600,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail, a 120-room hotel and a Town Square to the Wheaton Triangle by 2019, according to Leggett’s recommendation in his six-year capital budget.

But some say such a big public investment means existing business owners should reap some benefits.

The Coalition for the Fair Redevelopment of Wheaton presented Leggett on Jan. 17 a petition with about 500 signatures that urges the county and B.F. Saul to provide financial aid to small business owners before and during construction.

At a town hall budget meeting in Silver Spring, Leggett said the county’s $40 million is necessary to attract developers who previously had no interest in Wheaton. The county projects the total cost of redevelopment will be between $200 million and $300 million.

“Don't bemoan the fact that we're going to make an investment,” Leggett said. “You have to make an investment, otherwise it would have worked already and it has not.”

Leggett said the county must do a better job protecting small businesses than it did during the redevelopment of Downtown Silver Spring. At least 80 Silver Spring businesses were displaced by redevelopment, according to a 2005 University of Maryland study.

“The plans to develop the small businesses in Silver Spring, I think were inadequate,” Leggett said. “Many of them were shoved aside because they could no longer pay the rent or stay in Silver Spring, even though they were there for a long period of time. I don't want to see that happen in Wheaton.”

But business owners want specifics.

The county and B.F. Saul must provide ways in which Wheaton small businesses, many of which are Latin-owned, would be protected from rising rents and business lost during construction, according to a Jan. 17 blog post by Latino Economic Development Corporation communications and advocacy Director Ash Kosiewicz.

Montgomery County Director of Economic Development Steve Silverman last year said the county, and not B.F. Saul, will be responsible for relocation expenses and other assistance to small businesses.

Leggett’s budget recommendation shows that in fiscal 2015, construction would begin on the WMATA bus bay between Viers Mill Road and Georgia Avenue. Construction of the county portion, a platform over the bus bays, would last approximately 18 months and allow for an additional 18 months of B.F. Saul construction of highrise office and retail buildings.

Construction on Town Square, on the public parking lot across from the Mid-County Regional Services Center, would begin in fiscal 2018.

The budget now goes to County Council, which must approve the budget by June 1.

akraut@gazette.net