Tuesday, March 14, 2023

New redevelopment proposal for Rockshire Village Center property in Rockville


A new chapter is opening in the complicated and contentious story of the Rockshire Village Center property in Rockville. The onetime neighborhood shopping center that was anchored by a Giant grocery store has been sitting vacant, as previous developer visions for the site have failed to align with the concerns of the Rockshire community. There is also a legal requirement for the current and future property owners to provide 29 spaces for users of the Rockshire pool and clubhouse. Developer EYA is now proposing a new plan to redevelop the site with a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, retail space, and a park.


The EYA plan would include 60 homes, 31 of which would be single-family homes, and the rest 3 or 4-story townhomes. 5000 square feet of retail would be built, including outdoor dining space for restaurants. The most recent redevelopment proposal that fell through had proposed 112 townhomes with no retail. Under EYA's new proposal, there would not be a full-size grocery store. Convenience stores, salons, full-service "sit-down" restaurants, fast-casual takeout restaurants, coffee shops, fitness boutiques like yoga studios, pet stores, banks, clinics, and dental offices are all among the possible retail space tenants the KLNB real estate firm has advised EYA are possible here.


EYA would provide 35 parking spaces for the Rockshire community pool and clubhouse, 6 more than legally required. 27 parking spaces would be provided in a small lot next to the retail center. And the main street running through the development from Wooton Parkway to Hurley Avenue would be made wide to allow for street parking on both sides. That would be in addition to the parking reserved for residents of the development.


The small park proposed would have somewhat of an amphitheater grading to it, as it slopes from the residential area above down to the retail center. Single-family homes would front directly onto Hurley Avenue, in an attempt to blend in with the existing SFHs in the Rockshire neighborhood. The stair access from the parking area to the Rockshire pool would be retained.


EYA hopes to receive approval of its Project Plan from the City of Rockville this October, and of the Level-2 Site Plan in Q2 of 2024. If that schedule holds, EYA plans to pull permits for the project in Q4 of 2024, and break ground in Q1 of 2025.





Renderings courtesy EYA

4 comments:

  1. The small park looks nice, but we all know dog owners will just let their dogs defecate and piss all over the supposed kids play area.

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  2. I am excited to see something finally fill in that space. It has been sitting there unused for a long... time. Hopefully the neighborhood around it will stay the same even when all the good kids end up getting zoned out of Wootton and into the new Crown HS.

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  3. Looks wonderful. I hope it starts happening soon!

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