MHP Encourages Affordable Housing Preservation in Veirs Mill Corridor
Montgomery County should actively seek to preserve affordable housing as it moves forward with the Veirs Mill Corridor master plan, according to Montgomery Housing Partnership.
In public testimony before the Montgomery County Council, MHP Senior Project Manager and Legal Counsel Stephanie Roodman generally praised the plan, which was initiated by the Maryland County Planning Board. MHP is the developer of Halpine Hamlet Apartments, a community of 67 primarily affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments near Twinbrook Parkway.
But Roodman expressed some concerns about the potential for redevelopment to force out affordable housing options. “To the extent that the sector plan is incentivizing redevelopment along this corridor, the plan should ensure a one-for-one replacement of the potential loss of market-rate affordable housing.” She said, “This can best be done by the county aggressively seeking to identify county-owned sites where affordable housing can be located in this plan.”
The updated corridor plan is intended to:
- Guide future land uses along the Veirs Mill Road corridor from Wheaton to Rockville.
- Improve the compatibility between the land uses adjacent to Veirs Mill Road and the future bus rapid transit corridor.
- Improve pedestrian and bicycle accessibility, connectivity and safety within the plan area.
- Redevelop at strategic locations to provide more walkable, neighborhood-serving development.
- Apply a comprehensive streetscape design and opportunities for placemaking within the corridor.
Read more:
