Subject
title
Resolution to Ratify the Approval of the Exercise of the Right of First Refusal by Yoke Management LLC to Acquire The Argyle Apartments
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Department
Housing and Community Development
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council support the attached resolution.
Discussion
Background
Chapter 53A of the Montgomery County Code of ordinance grants the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) and the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), or a tenant organization the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) on the sale of any multifamily housing development located within county borders. For properties located within municipal borders - including within the City of Rockville - the municipality must approve of the acquisition by the County. The County, HOC, or a tenant organization has 60 days to exercise a ROFR option once a multi-family owner has negotiated a sales contract with a buyer. The seller of the Subject Property, Argyle VI Venture, LLC, submitted a ROFR package to Montgomery County on November 5, 2025, receipt of which was confirmed on November 7, 2025. The County then provides the "Offer Packet", which is a notice, to all qualified entities providing basic information on the ROFR. If interested, Qualified Entities can request additional information. One of these Qualified Entities is Yoke Management LLC.
The County notified City of the ROFR offering on January 5, 2025. The County’s deadline to accepting the offer was January 6, 2025. On January 6, 2025, after conferring with members of Mayor and Council, the City Manager approved the County’s exercise of its ROFR. Upon the City’s authorization, the County assigned its ROFR to Yoke Management for the purchase of The Argyle Apartments. The assignment was effectuated through an Assignment Agreement - Right of First Refusal and Affordability Covenant between the County, and Yoke Management. Upon Mayor and Council’s ratification of the approval of the exercise of a right of first refusal, Yoke Management and the seller will proceed to effectuate the right of first refusal through a purchase contract.
Project Description
The Subject Property, The Argyle is a 22-unit apartment complex at 100-102 Argyle Avenue, located a half mile from the Rockville WMATA Red Line, making it near downtown Rockville, convenient to government services, transportation, and other amenities.
The Argyle is reported as being originally built in 1949, making it 75-76 years old.
Argyle Apartments contains twenty-two (22) units and is being sold for $4,175,000, or $189,773 per unit. The property has sixteen (16) one-bedroom units and six (6) two-bedroom units. One-bedroom units reported an average rent of $1,611.00 per month, while two-bedroom units reported an average rent of $1,764 per month. The reported rents approximate 55 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) level for one-bedroom units and 50 percent of the AMI for two-bedroom units, based on the 2025 DHCA published rent and income limits. The property is considered a NOAH product or Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing, an unassisted housing development where the rents are considered market and affordable compared to the rents of Class A rental products.
Yoke Management has expressed interest in the property and has submitted a proposal for the property. Yoke Management is a DHCA-approved Qualified Entity as an emerging minority developer with a portfolio of 101 units with five properties in the District of Columbia and one in Prince George's County. The property in Prince George's County was recently acquired under the Prince George's Right of First Refusal Program with assistance from the Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development. The size of these properties is within the portfolio dynamics of Yoke Management.
The County wishes to exercise its ROFR through assignment to Yoke Management to preserve these very affordable units because the contract purchaser intends to displace the existing tenants and to convert the property into a transitional housing facility for persons with substance abuse issues. We have checked with County officials to confirm that there is no waitlist for beds for such services in the County. Therefore, we believe that preventing the displacement of existing tenants and preserving this level of affordability takes priority over the plans of the contract purchaser.
Supporting the County’s assignment of its exercise of the ROFR to Yoke Management aligns with a stated goal in the City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan adopted in August 2021. Moreover, while does not add net new housing, it does help towards meeting the regional Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) goals of increasing the affordable housing counts in the region, which includes 1,000 units for the City of Rockville by 2030, by not losing these NOAH units to the market or other housing typologies.
Mayor and Council History
This is the first time this item has been brought before the Mayor and Council as a body. However, the Mayor and Council previously supported the County’s exercise of the ROFR and sale agreement to RHE for the purchase of Scarborough Square Apartments and Townhomes in September 2022.
Next Steps
The next steps are for the Mayor and Council to discuss and authorize the attached resolution.