What’s happening with the old White Flint mall development?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Exactly! MoCo is in the dumps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

There are plenty of sites that could be viable for one use but the owner holds on hoping on for a higher return use.

Literally in my neighborhood there was a plot of land that wasn’t built on for 25 years because the owner thought they could get a multifamily zoning waiver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

Nonsense. Why should they build now and make money, when they can wait for (something) and make huge money? As the PP says, it's common for property owners to do this. It's called land speculation. No doubt some of the owners of those shopping centers y'all keep saying WHY DON'T THEY BUILD HOUSING ON THOSE SHOPPING CENTERS INSTEAD OF IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD about are also speculating. If you want to discourage speculation, tell your state legislators to institute a land value tax.

[Anonymous]

The Burtonsville shopping center was vacant for years. The developer was using it as a tax write off. The community fought for years with the developer and county to do something with this eyesore. Finally it is being developed into a lovely strip mall with a bunch of chains. Better than it being vacant but not at all what the developer promised which was outdoor gathering spaces for picnics and concerts, mom and pop stores….

[Anonymous]

The answer here is an excise tax to account for the impact that this sites and others like it have on housing affordability when owners don’t build on them. The tax could feed into the county’s affordable housing fund and be used for low-cost financing for developers who want to build now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

Agree, though it’s a bad cycle because the longer that lot sit, the less attractive that area becomes. It’s a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

Nope. That's something I don't understand about MoCo, lots of large pieces of commercial property that are just allowed to deteriorate and owners don't seem to care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The answer here is an excise tax to account for the impact that this sites and others like it have on housing affordability when owners don’t build on them. The tax could feed into the county’s affordable housing fund and be used for low-cost financing for developers who want to build now.

This. Just tax the hell out of it until they develop it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Burtonsville shopping center was vacant for years. The developer was using it as a tax write off. The community fought for years with the developer and county to do something with this eyesore. Finally it is being developed into a lovely strip mall with a bunch of chains. Better than it being vacant but not at all what the developer promised which was outdoor gathering spaces for picnics and concerts, mom and pop stores….

This is an issue in Glenmont as well. Almost all neighbors want the Glenmont arcade to be redeveloped to be an actual viable shopping center, right now there are just a few good businesses there. Owners / developers apparently don't care we want them to take our money! Lots of new townhomes and sfhs have been built nearby and apparently no one cares.

It seems like most of east county retail is being used as a tax write-off. Thankfully Plaza Del Mercado was recently redeveloped, and at least they are doing something with Burtonsville. Believe it or not, families live on the east side too.

So not surprising developers are just letting White Flint stay the way it is,there must be some incentive in MoCo for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

Nope. That's something I don't understand about MoCo, lots of large pieces of commercial property that are just allowed to deteriorate and owners don't seem to care.

Land banking is not a only-in-MoCo phenomenon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

Nope. That's something I don't understand about MoCo, lots of large pieces of commercial property that are just allowed to deteriorate and owners don't seem to care.

Land banking is not a only-in-MoCo phenomenon.

It’s harmful to communities and to the housing supply, which is why it should be taxed. You’d think that the YIMBYs would be screaming loudly about this at least in the interest of intellectual consistency but they never do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The site isn’t commercially viable right now. The fact that it isn’t commercially viable tells you everything that you need to know about Montgomery County’s economy.

Alternative explanation: the property owners are sitting on it, waiting for ... something.

If the site were commercially viable now they wouldn’t be sitting and waiting. They would be building and making money.

Nope. That's something I don't understand about MoCo, lots of large pieces of commercial property that are just allowed to deteriorate and owners don't seem to care.

Land banking is not a only-in-MoCo phenomenon.

It’s harmful to communities and to the housing supply, which is why it should be taxed. You’d think that the YIMBYs would be screaming loudly about this at least in the interest of intellectual consistency but they never do.

Then you're not paying attention. Many Georgists are YIMBYs/many YIMBYs are Georgists.

[Anonymous]

Who is paying the real estate taxes on this land?