Endangered Maryland 2009

2. FALKLAND APARTMENTS In 1937, the sprawling Falkland Apartment Complex opened with a flourish as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt cut the ribbon to open Montgomery County’s first property with a mortgage backed by the new Federal Housing Administration. The 445-unit garden apartment, which sits on 22 acres in downtown Silver Spring, is considered one of the earliest New Deal housing programs. “It’s also an early U.S. example of the application of Garden City principles to planning and construction of multifamily housing,” explains Mary Reardon of the Silver Spring Historical Society, who nominated the site. “Its stunning architectural details, site planning, and ample green space make Falkland as attractive a place to live today as when it opened 70 years ago, and a prototype for gardenapartment projects nationally. Prominent architectural historians, as well as environmental organizations, are urging that all of it be preserved.” However, Falkland’s five-year owner, Home Properties Inc., of New York, would like a new deal of their own. They have proposed to completely re-develop one of the site’s three quadrants and replace it with a large apartment complex, retail space, and a grocery store. “Falkland is unusual because, when you are talking about preservation, you’re usually talking about one building,” says Donald Hague, Home Properties’ senior vice president for development. “In this case, because of the way [the complex] was developed and the ways in which the [parcels] were widened over time and have lost contact with each other, it’s three distinct parcels.” Hague and Michael Eastwood, a Home Properties’ vice president, insist that they are “willing to invest in historic preservation if they are allowed to go forward” with the plan, by preserving 65 percent of the property, thereby maximizing the public benefit by redeveloping only the north quadrant. Adds Eastwood, “We will be leaving the two other parcels completely intact, and we will be able to inject money for capital investments that we probably couldn’t afford to do otherwise. Investments in new downtown modern urban retail will potentially include a full-service grocer and meaningful aspects that create a true, urban, car-free lifestyle.” This fall, the Montgomery Planning Board voted to preserve two-thirds of the complex and re-develop one-third. The destiny of any reconstruction awaits a county council vote.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Endangered Maryland 2009

10 New Sites Worth Saving Endangered Maryland 2009 Meet the Endangered Maryland Selection Committee 1. Brumbaugh-Kendle-Grove Farmstead 2. Falkland Apartments 3. Friendship Hall Linwood Village 4. Handsell 5. High Winds Gun Club 7. The Mechanic Theatre 8. Mount Nebo African Methodist Episcopal Church 9. St. Patrick's Catholic Church 10. Upton Mansion Historical Community Awards Endangered Maryland 2008 Update

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