Gaithersburg Development
Towers up to 20 stories in Neighborhood 5
http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/Docume..._11_001/62.pdf (Start on page 64 to see renderings)
http://www.gazette.net/stories/04062...5937_32541.php
Developers are one step closer to building a new housing development in Gaithersburg.
The City Council on Monday unanimously approved the schematic development plan for two Crown Farm neighborhoods.
The plans detail road patterns, house designs and landscaping features in and around the 339 townhouses, 60 single-family detached houses, 1,149 apartments and 257,400 square feet of commercial development planned for the 90-acre site.
The developer, SunBrook Partners, made several changes to the neighborhood plans after a public hearing in February, such as more apartments, more parks and more tree plantings in front of large buildings such as parking garages to improve the development's look from surrounding areas, said Greg Ossont, the city's director of planning and code administration.
The council's approval included conditions such as landscaping and road improvements. SunBrook will work with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation to allow a left turn from Diamondback Drive into the development.
All the conditions must be met before the city planning commission can approve the final site plan, which will likely be submitted in the next few weeks, Ossont said. The final plan will probably be submitted in several parts for the sections of the two neighborhoods, he said.
Neighborhood one, planned as the commercial center of Crown Farm, includes 1,149 apartments in three- and four-story buildings. The neighborhood also has four parking garages, six retail buildings, 51 townhouses and a central park.
Neighborhood two includes 288 townhouses, 60 detached houses, three parks and the historic England-Crown farmhouse.
Crown Farm will have 2,250 residential units, 320,000 square feet of commercial space, a park and a regional high school. The 180-acre development is bordered by Fields Road, Sam Eig Highway and Omega Drive.
Workers started grading the site in November.