Montgomery County to lose more jobs to housing in Rockville

Another valuable Montgomery County office park property could be lost to residential housing, if the City of Rockville approves a proposal to convert it into condos and townhomes. 1455 Research Boulevard, one of many office sites located in the I-270 corridor of the County, would become 106 townhomes, 30 stacked condo townhomes, and 72 multifamily condo units, under the plan envisioned by developer Pulte. The company is building several similar developments in the City, including within the new Farmstead community, as well as in the King Farm, and Tower Oaks areas. Pulte's site plan is likely to be reviewed at a public hearing by the Rockville Planning Commission in summer or fall of 2025.

The existing office building, which was only constructed
about 30 years ago

The existing office building contains 17 office suites, 10 of which are currently leased, according to the property website. So the building is 59% leased. The property is 10.6 acres in size, meaning that it would still be ideal for a corporate headquarters, or a research, lab, and/or manufacturing facility, if the existing building were torn down for that purpose. It is directly adjacent to I-270. To state the obvious, all of the jobs currently provided by the current tenants of the building will likely be lost to the City and County in a conversion to housing. And the many more potential, high-wage jobs that could fill this office park site - and the resulting revenue - will never be realized.

Pulte's proposed redevelopment plan
for residential housing

From a County revenue standpoint, filling the current building, or replacing it with a major corporate headquarters or facility, would be more ideal than filling the site with residential housing. That's because residential housing, as we have seen this century, generates more costs in County services and infrastructure demands than it does in tax revenue. Hence the County's structural budget deficit, which extends as far into the future as the forecasts go. And do you remember "smart growth," which included placing jobs near housing, to reduce congestion and auto emissions in the I-270 corridor? Neither do the County Council and Planning Board, which don't even talk about "smart growth" anymore, having abandoned its fictional, expedient construct for the equally-fictional canards of "affordable," "attainable," "equity," "inclusionary," and "missing middle" - all code words bandied about in a nationwide campaign to allow upzoning for higher-density luxury housing in existing suburban neighborhoods.

Office, research, manufacturing and commercial uses, in contrast, generate less traffic and require no additional school capacity, for example. The problem is that the Council has driven the County's economy into the ditch over the last 23 years, through radical anti-business policies, and a failure to provide the necessary infrastructure to compete with Northern Virginia, such as direct highway access to Dulles International Airport via a new Potomac River crossing. Montgomery County has not only lost every competition for major corporate headquarters to Virginia during this time, but is most often not even in the hunt for these opportunities.

As a result, Montgomery County has failed to attract a single major corporate headquarters in over 25 years. While MoCo leaders slumbered this century, Virginia added the HQs of Northrop Grumman, Intelsat, Hilton Hotels, Nestle, Lidl, Gerber, Volkswagen, Corporate Executive Board, Amazon HQ2, CoStar, Lego, and more. And those are just ones we lost to Virginia! 

Montgomery County has been left to spend large sums just to retain some of the HQs it had, like Marriott International, Choice Hotels, and GEICO, all of which have downsized when making their moves. In addition to such rearrangements of the deck chairs aboard the Titanic, Montgomery County has lost still other HQs that it had altogether. While the Council argued about the legality of circus animals one week last decade, representatives of New York City and Knoxville were completing final, secret negotiations that sealed their victory in snatching away the Discovery Communications HQ from downtown Silver Spring.

Obviously, property owners such as those at 1455 Research Boulevard can't be blamed for all this. They, understandably, are not going to simply wait for a future ousting of the Montgomery County cartel from power to maximize their investment. So we are likely to end up with more residential housing at this site. The Council is not sad about that, as their developer sugar daddies want them to keep Montgomery County bad-for-business, so that prime office park sites can become residential housing sites instead. Virginia prepares and markets such office/industrial properties extensively to international businesses, and reaps the spectacular results; Montgomery County just waits for someone to build housing on them. Too bad that Montgomery County residents will continue to shoulder the increasing tax burden to make up for all of this lost business and commercial revenue. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Montgomery County minimum wage to increase by 50 cents on July 1, 2025

Montgomery County's minimum wage is set to increase on July 1, 2025, reflecting the region's inflation rate, as mandated by County law. The adjustments will see a 50-cent per hour increase across all employer sizes. Effective July 1st, large employers (those with 51 or more employees) will be required to pay a minimum wage of $17.65 per hour. Mid-size employers (11-50 employees) will see their minimum wage rise to $16 per hour, and small employers (10 or fewer employees) will be required to pay $15.50 per hour.

The wage increase is directly tied to the 2.9 percent rise in the consumer price index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers in the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area in 2024. This increase over the 2.8 percent seen in 2023 triggered the adjustment, which the County says ensures the local minimum wage maintains its purchasing power in the face of rising costs.

“Raising the minimum wage to account for inflation is an important step in ensuring that all Montgomery County workers can earn a fair wage that supports their well-being,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement. “As the cost of living continues to rise, this increase helps workers and families keep pace while also benefitting local businesses by putting more money back into our community. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation, we are providing a long-term solution that adjusts to economic conditions, making sure that working people are rewarded fairly for their contributions and that our local economy stays strong and resilient.”

County estimates state that this minimum wage increase will boost the income of those receiving the minimum wage by $1,040 this year. The minimum wage law was passed by the Montgomery County Council in 2017, and was spearheaded by Elrich, who was a Councilmember at that time.

Rockville Wegmans mailing out job offers ahead of June opening (Photos)

The new Wegmans at 1590 Rockville Pike is recruiting employees in Montgomery County ahead of its scheduled June 25, 2025 opening at the Twinbrook Quarter development. Wegmans is sending postcards to some number of Montgomery County residents inviting them to "join our Rockville team," and readers in Rockville and beyond report having received them. All are residents within the County.

Wegmans' postcards tout an $18-an-hour starting salary, flexible schedules, benefit packages, and opportunities for educational and career advancement. Perhaps the New York-based grocery chain is hoping to reach federal employees who have been laid off, but it's very rare to see unsolicited "help wanted" literature being mailed out like this. 

Maryland bill would force hunters to use "non-toxic" ammunition

Democratic lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly are seeking to ban the use of lead ammunition by hunters in the state. House Bill 741 and Senate Bill 634 would mandate that hunters of any type of game in Maryland utilize "non-toxic" ammunition by no later than July 1, 2029. "Non-toxic" ammunition is defined in the bills as ammo containing 1% or less lead content. The bills would also alter the definition of "hunt" to no longer exclude "the sport of fox chasing."

The Sportsmen's Alliance, an organization representing the interests of individual hunters, anglers, and trappers, opposes the bills. It warned of the economic damage such a ban would have in Maryland. "Hunters contribute $328 million to the economy, directly support over 4,100 jobs, and provide over $29 million to state and local taxes," the Alliance noted in a statement. "This is a loss the Old Line State cannot afford." The Maryland Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee will hold a hearing on the Senate bill on March 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM.

Photo courtesy Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Majority of Maryland residents have considered leaving the state, poll finds

The University of Maryland Baltimore County continues to drop new results from its recent poll of Maryland residents, and the hits just keep on coming for the state's struggling and inept elected officials. Yesterday's release showed that a majority of the residents polled have considered moving out of Maryland to another state within the past year. A full 53% said, yes, they have considered leaving Maryland in the next few years.

Montgomery County has seen a flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region this century, and those expats have taken millions of dollars in tax revenue with them. There were no longer enough high-end shoppers to sustain the stretch of Wisconsin Avenue in Friendship Heights that was once touted as "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive," leaving behind rows of empty storefronts. Maryland experienced a similar exodus after passing its "Millionaires' Tax" in 2012, only to find that 1000 millionaires had fled the state just two years later.

54% who were interviewed by UMBC said Maryland is a "poor or fair" place to start a business. That's not surprising, given that 67% of respondents also agreed that the state's economy is moribund. 

Maryland not only has gained a terrible reputation as an anti-business state internationally, but is increasingly seen by aging residents as a terrible place to retire, as well. The largest group of respondents, 37%, said Maryland is a "poor" state to retire in. 64% concluded that Maryland is a "poor or fair" retirement destination. Again, not very surprising, as increasing numbers of retirees leave Maryland behind for Delaware or Florida.

Almost half of those polled said Maryland is a "poor or fair" state to seek a K-12 education in. That's quite a drop from two decades ago, when Maryland's schools were seen as among the best in the nation. Only 11% believe Maryland is an "excellent" place to find a job. Well, you can't blame them: most of the jobs that give Montgomery County and Maryland low unemployment rates are actually located in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

67% of residents agree Maryland economy is moribund

Last decade, this website was a lonely voice in the media landscape warning that the economies of Montgomery County and Maryland were moribund. Since 2018, powerful voices such as the editorial board of The Washington Post, two-time County Executive candidate David Blair, and even Maryland Governor Wes Moore have reached the same conclusion. Now, an overwhelming majority of Maryland residents are also saying the state's economy has stagnated. 67% of residents polled by the University of Maryland Baltimore County declared Maryland's economy as "poor" or "fair." Results of the poll were released Tuesday by UMBC.

49% of residents told pollsters that Maryland is "on the wrong track." 62% are concerned about the amount of taxes Maryland residents pay. That's not a major shock, as Maryland is one of the states with the highest tax burden in America, and Montgomery County has the highest tax and fee burden of any jurisdiction in the Washington, D.C. area. 77% of residents want lawmakers to focus on crime, but would probably be surprised to learn that the only crime bills likely to pass in the current session of the state legislature will loosen up on criminals, instead of cracking down.

Rockville land auction underway for I-270-adjacent plot

An auction of a unique commercial property adjacent to I-270 in Rockville is underway online, and will conclude today, February 26, 2025, at 12:00 PM. You can follow the action online this morning, even if you are not in a financial position to bid. The off-ramp to Redland Boulevard on the northbound side of the highway wraps around the plot. As of this writing, the top bid for the 2.09 acre site is $325,000. A previously-scheduled auction of the property in mid-January apparently was postponed, or failed to draw a qualifying bid. 

The property would be ideal for any business that wants to have visibility, and possible logo signage exposure, from heavily-traveled I-270. Less than ideal are the ingress/egress possibilities onto a one-way off-ramp, and the blind curve for traffic rounding the bend to reach Redland Boulevard. And while access from I-270 would be quick and excellent, getting onto the interstate from the site would be a logistical chore.