Thursday, January 31, 2013
Two additional properties on the Northern side of Route 198 are part of Montgomery County's facade improvement plan, a county official said.
Two years after a cluster of small businesses in Burtonsville's commercial district received a major facelift as part of a government program to update the look of the neighborhood, more changes are in the pipeline. The building at 15420 Old Columbia Pike, which houses Old Hickory Grille, is in the construction phase of a facade improvement as part of Montgomery County's Department of Housing and Community Affairs plan to financially assist property owners in Burtonsville with updating the look of their buildings. Another building just down the road, Pike Center, which houses Cuba de Ayer and Williams Beer and Wine, has signed on to the program, but construction has not started. The facade improvements are part of a set of recommendations …
39.109735
-76.934807
15530 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD
/articles/burtonsville-facade-makeovers-continue
/locations/8719621
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Montgomery County Council approved a neighborhood planning proposal that would lift restrictions on the struggling shopping center.
Burtonsville residents have high hopes for Burtonsville Crossing, their neighborhood's older shopping center. An informal poll by Colesville Patch showed that people want to see everything from an organic market to a gym fill the space vacated by Giant Food in 2010. Montgomery County Council approved a plan this month that will increase the types of businesses allowed in the vacant space with a different zoning designation. The Burtonsville Commercial Crossroads Neighborhood Plan, a set of ideas for the area that includes allowing the struggling shopping center to transition to a mixed-use model, was unanimously approved Dec. 4. Kristin O’Connor, senior planner with Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, began work on …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
East County legislators want to introduce a bill that would encourage property owners to upgrade businesses along Route 198.
A group of Maryland legislators wants to throw the shops in Burtonsville a lifeline—a tax credit for property owners that would help offset property taxes related to upgrading their businesses. Delegates Eric Luedtke, Anne Kaiser and Craig Zucker along with Sen. Karen Montgomery, all of District 14, announced that they have introduced a bill to help the business climate in Burtonsville's struggling shopping district. “We are working closely with the county to do everything possible to support the redevelopment of Burtonsville,” said Luedtke in a statement. “These tax incentives will encourage property owners to make improvements to their property and support existing small businesses in the meantime.” Read more about business development…
39.114787
-76.932996
Giant Food
15791 Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD
/articles/bill-proposes-tax-credit-for-struggling-burtonsville-businesses
1811699
/locations/8139420
Monday, July 30, 2012
Land owners in Burtonsville want to build townhomes on their property, but the planning board says the land is too important to the area's water supply.
What does Burtonsville need to survive and thrive? If you ask Tom Norris, a resident and land owner, he'll tell you "more housing." He and a group of others who collectively own an undeveloped 40-acre tract just north of Burtonsville Crossing recently started a petition on Change.org to allow them to build on their land. The petition asks the Montgomery County Council to reject a proposal by planners that continues to outlaw substantial residential development on the acreage. Thirty-two people have signed so far. "There’s not enough people to support the shopping center, or the shopping centers, both of them are struggling," said Norris. Kristin O'Connor, senior planner with Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, has …
Friday, May 4, 2012
A neighborhood proposal to repurpose much of Burtonsville’s commercial area clears an important hurdle.
Plans to better utilize buildings, roadways and open space in Burtonsville’s commercial center moved a step closer to reality this week. The Montgomery County Planning Board approved the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan on Thursday, May 3. A public hearing with the planning board is scheduled for June 7 and the recommendations will head to the County Council, one of the final steps, in July. Burtonsville became the focus of Senior Planner Kristin O’Connor in November 2010, when she began work on a vision to bring a sense of community--and business--back to the intersection of Route 29 and Route 198. Neighbors told officials last year that they wanted to see more public spaces and streets that are safer for pedestrians. The county’…
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A one-year study of the area concludes with a plan to bring a sense of community back to the neighborhood.
The central district of Burtonsville is, by definition, a crossroads. Heavily traveled state roads, Route 29 and Route 198, meet just feet from where the neighborhood conducts its business: eating, shopping, doctor’s appointments and re-fueling cars. A new vision from Montgomery County’s planning department might enable residents to get out of their cars, enjoy the sights and make it easier for businesses to further develop the area. “So much of Burtonsville has been highway,” said Kristin O’Connor, senior planner with Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. “The vision here is turning a crossroads into a community.” O’Connor began work on a one-year study of the neighborhood in November 2010 at the behest of County …
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A new day is dawning for an old commercial area in Burtonsville. Just don't expect instant miracles.
More than a half century of wear and tear in Burtonsville could disappear at a measured pace, as a transformation of an aging commercial strip on the north side of Route 198 invites new shops and restaurants. But don't expect upgrades to happen overnight. The vision of a better Burtonsville is offered in the Burtonsville Community Legacy Plan Summary, prepared by Basile Baumann Prost Cole & Associates of Annapolis, with Rhodeside & Harwell of Alexandria. That document was prepared for the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs. This legacy plan would be one of several across the state being coordinated by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, an agency that provides funding for renewals …
Friday, May 13, 2011
Planners hope to turn Burtonsville Crossing into a mixed-use space with both retail and residential space.
A new vision for the Burtonsville commercial area is on its way to the Montgomery County Planning Board. County planners began work on a neighborhood plan for the area last December, a month after Burtonsville Crossing, an older shopping center, lost its anchor store to Burtonsville Town Square, a newer development located across the street. Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D-Dist 4) initially suggested the department look at land use and transportation in the area. Residents got a sneak peak at the preliminary suggestions for the area at an open house Wednesday night. Kristin O’Connor, senior planner, said the plan may go before the board as early as May 26. Unlike comprehensive, 20-year master plans, which Montgomery County favors to address…
Friday, April 1, 2011
County planners asked locals to describe ideal improvements to the central business district. Residents said they want to feel more connected and to have more opportunities to walk and bike in their neighborhood.
After months of listening to county planners discuss a neighborhood study of Burtonsville’s central business district, residents and property owners Thursday night laid out their own vision, which included more community areas and safe paths for bikes and pedestrians. Kristin O’Connor, senior planner at Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, hosted a community “charrette” at the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center. O’Connor is about a third of the way through an 11-month study of the area, which is tightly focused on finding two or three recommendations for the commercial strip along Route 198. Four months after the newest edition to the area, Burtonsville Town Square, beckoned shoppers and businesses away from …
39.078113
-76.943787
Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center
3300 Briggs Chaney Rd, Silver Spring, MD
/articles/burtonsville-residents-say-they-want-community-walkable-town-square
1299035
/locations/6292618
Friday, January 14, 2011
Montgomery County Planning Board approved an 11-month study of the neighborhood's commercial crossroads properties.
Progress, or plans for it, is on its way to Burtonsville. The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a study of one of the neighborhood's commercial districts Thursday, according to Kristin O'Connor, senior planner at Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and lead planner on the Burtonsville Neighborhood Plan. After briefing the board on other planning efforts and concerns in Burtonsville, including a presentation from Cathy Mahmud of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs on the findings of a streetface analysis, which Baltimore-based Hord| Coplan| Macht completed, O'Connor described the challenges that face Burtonsville. The 11-month study will focus on Burtonsville Crossing, a shopping center with 11 …
39.114787
-76.932996
Giant Food
15791 Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD
/articles/scope-of-burtonsville-neighborhood-plan-approved
1811699
/locations/6303147
tom norris
12:48 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
Over the years, Burtonsville has been very poorly managed by the County. It needs much more than facades, which is no real solution whatsoever. The problem with this town is that it has no people. Zero. There is not one housing project where people can walk to shopping. Everyone must drive to get anywhere. Is that even a town? However, after the Rt 29 By-Pass removed 50,000 cars, there were not … more ›