The first mixed-use development project part of the county’s White Flint redevelopment plan will take home a top award from a national planning organization.
Pike & Rose, the half-finished 24-acre neighborhood at the old Mid-Pike Plaza shopping center, is this year’s recipient of an Award of Excellence from the American Planning Association and the National Association of County Planning.
The award recognizes Rockville-based developer Federal Realty and the Montgomery County Planning Department, which authored the 2010 White Flint Sector Plan.
The plan set new zoning, road and land use recommendations for the Rockville Pike corridor around the White Flint Metro station. It would allow for 3.5 million square feet of mixed-use office, housing, restaurant and retail space in what mostly still is a series of strip shopping centers.
Pike & Rose finished its first phase last year, with an 80,000-square-foot Class A office building, 174-unit mid-rise apartment building and new retail and restaurant spaces throughout. Its 319-unit apartment tower is set to deliver this summer.
The second phase will bring 185,000 additional square feet of ground floor retail divided by 30 stores, another 264 apartment units, a park and 104 luxury condos on top of a 177-room Hilton hotel announced last fall.
“The White Flint Sector Plan represents the transition from car-oriented suburbs into livable, urban-style communities with access to transit. Pike & Rose exemplifies this exciting change and sets a high bar for the mixed-use developments to come,” Planning Director Gwen Wright said in an announcement.
The first phase includes an eight-screen movie theater and 240-seat concert venue from Strathmore, which opened earlier this month. A beer garden restaurant concept and Italian market are expected to open on the first floor of the Persei apartment building later this year.
The entire project will represent a $500 million investment from Federal Realty, a national property owner and developer with its headquarters on nearby East Jefferson Street.
“This award confirms our philosophy of placemaking on even the most challenging sites,” said Evan Goldman, the developer’s point man on the Pike & Rose project. “We are proud that the initial phase of Pike & Rose has surpassed our expectations in creating the ‘there’ in North Bethesda with a vibrant, new center of activity.”
The developer and Planning Department will be honored next month during the Planning Association’s national conference in Seattle.