New condos to join the boom

Planners approve nine-story, 96-unit building on Blair Mill Road

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005

Residential development continues to boom in south Silver Spring as the Montgomery County Planning Board approved plans for another condominium project Oct. 10.

The 1200 Blair Mill Road Condominiums will be constructed at the corner of Blair Mill Road and Newell Street, said Robert Kronenberg of Park and Planning’s development review division. The location is about a block away from the Silver Spring Metro station.

The condos, to be constructed by Washington, D.C.,-based Perseus Realty, will be built on what currently is a vacant auto shop and parking lot, and will be located near Acorn Park, believed to be part of Francis Preston Blair’s original estate.

That lot is about 33,700 square feet, said Catherine Conlon, of Park and Planning’s development review division.

A lawn and path system will be included on the lot, and there will also be public art on the property, the details of which have not yet been worked out. The building will be nine stories and 90 feet tall, Kronenberg said.

‘‘It is purely residential,” Kronenberg said, adding no retail will be incorporated in the structure.

About 96 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units will be constructed, according to Park and Planning staff reports. Twelve of them will be moderately priced dwelling units. About 46 parking spaces will be included in a two-level underground garage.

Other residential developments in south Silver Spring include the Blair apartments, Barrington Towers, Eastern Village Cohousing, Springwood Garden and the partially constructed Silverton. Several other projects are under way. Other businesses, restaurants and an art gallery have also recently set up shop in the area and the county is creating lighted, decorated alleyways to break up the neighborhood’s long city blocks.