Subject
title
Mayor and Council Briefing on Project Plan Amendment PJT2025-00020, an Application to Amend the Planned Development for Rockville Center, Inc. to Permit a Residential Conversion of 13,011 Square Feet of Previously Approved Street-Level Commercial Retail Space into 13 Dwelling Units at 198 East Montgomery Avenue in the PD-RCI (Planned Development - Rockville Center, Inc.) Zone; Comstock 33 Monroe, LC, Applicants
end
Department
CPDS - Development Review
Recommendation
Hold the briefing and allow the Applicant the opportunity to present the proposed development project. Mayor and Council may ask questions of the Applicant.
Discussion
Case: BLVD Lofts - Project Plan PJT2025-00020
Location: 198 East Montgomery Avenue
Staff: Chris Davis, Senior Planner
Community Planning and Development Services
240.314.8201
cdavis@rockvillemd.gov <mailto:cdavis@rockvillemd.gov>
Applicant: Comstock 33 Monroe, LC
Filing Date: January 28, 2024
Briefing
Date: April 7, 2025
Comstock 33 Monroe, LC (the “Applicant”) has filed a Project Plan application to convert 13,011 square feet of existing vacant street-level commercial space into 13 residential dwelling units. In order to allow this project as proposed, an amendment to the Rockville Center Inc. Planned Development (“PD”) is required pursuant to Section 25.14.07 of the Zoning Ordinance. The PD was initially established by the Mayor and Council on April 27, 1994, with approval of Preliminary Development Plan PDP94-00001 for Rockville Center Inc., and allowed redevelopment of the former Rockville Mall property into a phased, multiple-building, mixed-use development known as Rockville Center on 5 record lots (originally subdivided as Parcel 2-F, 2-G, 2-H, 2-J and 2-K within the Rockville Town Center subdivision), located at the southwest corner of Rockville Pike (MD355) and East Middle Lane intersection.
PD amendments require the filing of a Project Plan application, and the application may be approved only if the Mayor and Council find that approval of the application will not:
a. Adversely affect the health or safety of persons residing or working in the neighborhood of the proposed project;
b. Be in conflict with the Plan;
c. Overburden existing and programmed public facilities as set forth in Article 20 of the Zoning Ordinance and as provided in the adopted Adequate Public Facilities Standards (APFS);
d. Constitute a violation of any provision of the Zoning Ordinance or other applicable law; or
e. Adversely affect the natural resources or environment of the City or surrounding areas.
In accordance with Section 25.07.07 of the Zoning Ordinance, the Mayor, Council, and Planning Commission are required to be briefed on Project Plan applications. The purpose of this briefing is for the Applicant to inform officials about the proposal, including a project overview and review schedule. The Planning Commission will have an opportunity to make a recommendation on the application at a future meeting. Should the Mayor and Council ultimately approve the amendment to the PD and Project Plan, the Planning Commission will consider a site plan, which has been submitted by the Applicant for the project at a future meeting.
Site Description
Location: 198 East Montgomery Avenue
Planning Area: Planning Area 1 - Town Center
Land Use
Designation: CRM - Commercial Residential Mix
Zoning District: PD-RCI (Planned Development - Rockville Center, Inc.) with MXTD (Mixed-Use Transit District) Equivalent Zone
Existing Use: Mixed-Use Building (including 22,200sf of commercial space and 400 dwelling
units)
Proposed Use: Mixed-Use Building (including 8,000sf of commercial space and 413 dwelling
units)
Site Area: 1.41 acres (61,469 square feet)
Building Height: 173 feet
Surrounding Land Use and Zoning
|
|
Zoning |
Planned Land Use |
Existing Use |
|
North |
PD-MC (Planned Development - Metro Center) |
O (Office) |
Commercial |
|
East |
PD-RCI (Planned Development - Rockville Center, Inc.) |
OCRM (Office Commercial Residential Mix) |
Commercial |
|
South |
PD-RCI (Planned Development - Rockville Center, Inc.) |
OCRM (Office Commercial Residential Mix) |
Commercial |
|
West |
PD-RCI (Planned Development - Rockville Center, Inc.) |
CRM (Commercial Residential Mix) |
Residential/Commercial |
The Project Plan site is identified as Parcel 2-L of the Rockville Town Center and is approximately 1.41 acres (61,469 square feet). The property is generally square in shape and is bounded by East Middle Lane to the north, Monroe Street to the east, East Montgomery Avenue to the south, and Helen Heneghan Way to the west. The site is relatively flat, with a slightly downward slope from East Montgomery Avenue towards East Middle Lane. The property is improved with an 18-story mixed-use building with commercial spaces concentrated on the ground floor and residential uses on the remaining floors above. At the street level, the building is surrounded by expanded sidewalks, street trees, and furniture to enhance the pedestrian realm around the building. The property is within the PD-RCI (Planned Development - Rockville Center, Inc.) Zone, and has an equivalent zone of MXTD (Mixed-Use Transit District), and is subject to the Rockville Center, Inc. PD governing documents.
Project Description
The Applicant proposes to convert 13,011 square feet of existing vacant street-level commercial space into 13 residential dwelling units, known as the BLVD Lofts. The dwelling units will be designed as two-level lofts and will include (1) 1-bedroom unit, (7) 2-bedroom units, and (5) 3-bedroom units. Most of the proposed dwelling units will be located along East Middle Lane with several others located on Helen Heneghan Way and Monroe Street. According to the Applicant, the 6,500 square feet of existing commercial space along East Montgomery Avenue will remain. The 17 parking spaces required for the proposed residential units will be provided within the existing on-site non-reserved structured parking garage. The Applicant is not proposing any MPDU units for the proposed 13 converted units as the existing building currently provides MPDU units for 28% of the building’s total units. A determination of compliance with all necessary code requirements, including Chapter 13.5 (Moderately Priced Housing) will be made with the staff’s recommendation at a future meeting. The proposed Project Plan will require a finding of adequate public facilities.
The new residential uses will have access to several amenities. According to the Applicant, a mail and package room will be provided within the lobby of the building for the benefit of future residents near the Monroe Street entrance. Additionally, the Applicant has indicated that residents of the proposed BLVD Lofts will also have access to the existing residential amenities in other areas of the building including an upper-level clubroom, open courtyard with pool, outdoor dining and gathering spaces, fitness center, business center and co-working spaces and a secure bicycle room with maintenance and repair facilities. The façades of the residential units will utilize materials and details that will communicate an urban frontage that will include two-story window walls. Most of the units will have direct access to the adjacent sidewalks of the building.
Comprehensive Planning
The project is located within Planning Area 1 (Town Center) of the City of Rockville’s Comprehensive Plan, Rockville 2040 (“Plan”), and the Land Use designation applied to the site is CRM (Commercial Residential Mix). The CRM designation focuses on, “retaining and introducing commercial uses in specific locations mixed with multiple unit residential and/or residential attached types. The mix can be horizontal, with stand-alone commercial next to apartment buildings on a site; or the mix can be vertical, with commercial on the ground floor and apartments above.”
On January 27, 2025, the Rockville Mayor and Council adopted the 2025 Rockville Town Center Master Plan as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, originally adopted in August 2021. Adoption of this updated plan repeals and replaces the Planning Area 1 chapter of the Plan and the 2001 Town Center Master Plan. With the exception of several specific properties, the 2025 Town Center Master Plan retains the existing land use policy established in the Plan for most properties in the Town Center. The 2025 Plan does not provide specific recommendations for the subject property. However, several goals, policies, and actions outlined in the Town Center Master Plan correspond to the proposed project:
• Goal 1, Land Use: “Target appropriate areas for higher density residential developments to reach 3,000 new residential units by 2040. Provide a variety of development types to adapt to marketplace demands and to address missing middle housing.” - page 41.
• Action 1.1, Land Use: “There should be no requirement for ground floor retail, although street-facing, active ground floor uses, including residential or quasi-retail uses should be encouraged.” - page 42.
• Housing Chapter: “The city encourages the development of a wide variety of unit types - this refers to different housing typologies (such as townhomes and multifamily apartment buildings) but also provides a mix of units within those typologies (studios, 1-bedroom units, 2-bedroom units, etc.). The city encourages unit mixes in development projects to contain the full range of unit types that the market can support of different sizes and layouts to accommodate the greatest variety of households.” - page 60.
• Policy 12.1, Sustainability: “Encourage the adaptive reuse of buildings and coordinate with property owners to increase efficiency within existing buildings.” - page 91.
Public Notification and Engagement
Notifications of the Project Plan application and this Planning Commission briefing were made consistent with City Code requirements. In addition, the Applicant held a virtual pre-application area meeting on December 9, 2021. The Applicant also held a virtual post-application area meeting on February 25, 2025.
As of the date of this report, staff has received 4 emails from members of the public providing comments of support and opposition on the proposed project (See “Public Testimony” attachment). Additional public engagement opportunities will be scheduled later as described in the ‘Next Steps’ section of the staff report.
Boards and Commissions Review
The Planning Commission received a briefing on this project at their March 12, 2025 meeting. At the briefing, the Planning Commission was able to ask questions and provide comments on the development proposal. While the Commission’s feedback was generally positive on the project, it did express a desire to see some form of landscape buffer or physical transition from the private front entries of the residential units to the public sidewalks abutting the building. The Applicant indicated that they would investigate implementing such features into the design of the project.
Next Steps
Following the briefings, the Applicant is encouraged to revise the proposal pursuant to comments received at both the Planning Commission and the Mayor and Council. Such plan revisions will be made before the request is scheduled for consideration by the Planning Commission at a future meeting. The Planning Commission must review the Project Plan application, as revised, at a public meeting and provide an opportunity for public comment. After its review, the Commission shall prepare and transmit its comments and recommendations on the application to the Mayor and Council.
Following the Commission’s review, the Project Plan application will be scheduled for a public hearing by the Mayor and Council. Upon receiving public testimony at the public hearing and in written comments, the Mayor and Council will render a final decision on the proposed Project Plan as an amendment to the Planned Development via the adoption of a resolution, incorporating the findings as required by Section 25.07.01.b.2 of the Zoning Ordinance. If the application is approved, the Mayor and Council will establish a time period in which construction of the development approved by the Project Plan must commence. Following Project Plan approval, the Planning Commission can then proceed with consideration of a Site Plan application for the project.