WHEATON — On Sunday, Montgomery County leaders broke ground on new mixed-use development in the heart of the Wheaton Triangle.
Simply called the Wheaton Revitalization Project, the effort promises to bring jobs, business and a focus to the Wheaton area.
The groundbreaking was held during the annual Taste of Wheaton. The project, at the corner of Grandview Avenue and Reedie Drive, has been in the works for several years.
With more than 300,000 square feet of new office space, several county offices scattered around Montgomery County will be consolidated here, led by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. They’ll be joined by agencies, including the Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection, Health and Human Services and Recreation.
“We are committed to making sure this is a success,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. “That would bring an additional revitalization to Wheaton. More jobs, more people, more restaurants.”
Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro, who represents Wheaton, said the new project also includes badly needed community meeting space, as well as an outdoor town square.
“There’s such an amazing civic activism in this area, but hardly any community room,” Navarro said.
She said that Wheaton “really was lacking a spot that was a destination spot.”
Right now, the center of the Wheaton Triangle is a big, metered parking lot surrounded by various store fronts, some of which show their age. So she sees this project providing a jolt of needed energy.
“It not only provides more foot traffic for the existing businesses,” Navarro said, “it also provides opportunities for other businesses to open.
And the hope is that people will also use Metro quite a bit. It’s within half a block to get on the Red Line.”
