The Greenbelt City Council met on April 17 in a worksession to discuss the proposed Detailed Site Plan (DSP) for a senior condominium development submitted by Armory Place, LLC, the owner of 7010 Greenbelt Road. The condominiums are to be built on the site of the former Greenbelt Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which was demolished in 2006. Councilmember Silke Pope noted this project has been in progress for a long time and, when the units are finally built, the development could be a showcase in Greenbelt.
Representing Armory Place, LLC at this worksession were Thomas Haller, Esq., of Gibbs and Haller; Michael Postal, manager, and Ian Black, project manager, both of Armory Place, LLC; Silvia Silverman, civil engineer, CV Inc.; and Lisa McCulley, market manager, NVR Inc. From the city, Terri Hruby, director of planning and community development, and Jaime Fearer, assistant director of planning, attended, and from the Advisory Planning Board (APB), Matthew Inzeo also attended the worksession.
Planning Memorandum
Hruby discussed the proposed DSP mentioned in her staff memo of April 12. The memo states that Greenbelt Square will have four four-story apartment buildings consisting of one-level condominium units. At the request of the city, one of the projected 96 units in the southeast building will be replaced with a community meeting room, resulting in a total of 95 for-sale age-restricted units. All units are proposed to be two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Each building is served by one elevator and two staircases. The green area proposed, which includes a community garden, a pavilion, low impact exercise area, pickleball court and a sitting area, makes up approximately 60 percent (a slight increase from previous concepts) of the site. Access to the site is from an existing access road off Md. 193 that is shared with University Square apartments and the former National Guard Armory site.
Hruby and her staff are generally supportive of the proposed DSP as it provides a housing option that is not readily available in Greenbelt and will increase housing opportunities for Greenbelt’s aging population. The current proposal is not without its issues, and staff and APB will be working with Armory Place, LLC to satisfactorily address any issues and have a report for council discussion at its regular meeting on May 8.
Greenbelt Square
Haller began his presentation with council’s requirements that this development must be age-restricted senior housing, have an attainable value that Greenbelt residents can afford, be available only “for sale” and have one-level living units and an elevator. Haller noted that a product which satisfied all these requirements could not be found until Armory Place, LLC partnered with NVR Inc. NVR markets and builds such products.
Haller talked about working with the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) regarding a median to improve traffic circulation and is waiting for the SHA determination on the median. He mentioned that LED and on-site lighting will be provided for the parking areas, the courtyard and the buildings. The DSP calls for dark sky lighting, which is designed to direct light to the ground, not up into the sky where it can contribute to light pollution. Councilmember Ric Gordon inquired if the pathways would be lit also. Hruby discussed how lighting is evaluated (foot-candles from a photometric plan) and will consider all lighting including the signage lighting.
Mayor Emmett Jordan asked how a resident would walk to Roosevelt Center. Hruby noted that that walk would be challenging at this point because of missing connectivity in front of the Armory. Haller noted residents could use existing crosswalks which would lead to Southway and into Old Greenbelt.
Purchase Price
Councilmember Rodney Roberts asked what the cost for a unit will be. Postal, of Armory Place, replied that the first building to be built, the southeast building, will be priced in the upper $300,000 range as consistent with the county according to other similar developments in Westphalia and Brandywine. Square footage of the units is 1600 to 1800 square feet.
Parking
One hundred and nineteen total surface parking spaces will be allocated by the condominium association. Postal noted that the Takoma Park project of Armory Place, LLC allocated one space per unit assigned initially plus some visitor and disability spaces.
For Councilmember Kristen Weaver’s question of where else these plans had been built, McCulley responded that a recent NVR project in Midlothian, Va., is very similar to what the Greenbelt project will look like.
Green Buildings
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. McCulley discussed NVR Inc’s use of BuildSmart, a version of LEED green home practices, which are designed to be 30 percent more efficient in new NVR constructed homes compared to other newly constructed homes.
EV Charging
Gordon asked if electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be available on the property. Postal had proposed two EV charging stations and Hruby had asked for four EV spaces. Postal then considered running four conduit lines to hold electrical wiring (one from each building) and letting a third party provide the EV charging stations as a more practical solution to expanding EV charging on premises.
Trees and Wetlands
Roberts asked how many of the original trees on the property would be left. Haller talked about stormwater management being added to the site and how that would call for a new landscaping plan. The original trees on site were of low quality and had grown up around the foundation of the old nursing home, so those trees had to be taken down to grade the site for stormwater management. The original trees which front the property will be retained and enhanced by landscaping with native vegetation to provide screening for the property.