Wheaton Gateway’s Role in Achieving Montgomery County’s Climate Action Plan
The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC), one of the three development partners of Wheaton Gateway, recently submitted a report on Wheaton Gateway’s role in achieving the goals of Montgomery County’s Climate Action Plan, released by County Executive Marc Elrich earlier this year.
“In the pursuit of a more equitable society, we, the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, believe the principles of environmental and climate justice are among the top priorities,” the report’s cover letter begins. “As an organization located in Montgomery County, MD, which has been a national leader in response to the challenges imposed by climate change, imparts increased importance on the HOC’s focus on sustainable, resilient design.”
The report highlights the clarion call of the Montgomery County Council in 2017, declaring a climate emergency and demanding the focus of all available resources toward achieving zero carbon emissions by 2035. In response, the County’s Climate Action Plan outlines a strategy to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80 percent by 2027 and 100 percent by 2035. The Climate Action Plan details the effects of a changing climate on Montgomery County and includes strategies to reduce GHG emissions and climate-related risks to the County’s residents and businesses, as well as the built and natural environment.
Outlined within the Climate Action Plan is a “Vision for Building a Healthy, Equitable, Resilient Community.” This includes specific priorities of newly constructed buildings, including:
High-performance buildings should be equitably available to all County residents.
Increase energy conservation and efficiency and decrease fossil fuel use in all buildings, with the County leading by example with its own building portfolio.
Support sustainable, carbon-neutral building design, improvements, and energy sources.
Building upon the same sustainability and resiliency efforts previously programmed into HOC’s proposed Hillandale Gateway development, the Wheaton Gateway project will strive to exemplify all these priorities, as well. The Wheaton Gateway development partnership’s goal is to leverage HOC’s well-located assemblage of properties to develop, in several phases, a vibrant, mixed-use, mixed-income community of modern, energy-efficient buildings that host a variety of uses and amenities that the marketplace demands. In addition, the development will be to a scale and of a character encouraged by the Wheaton Central Business District and Vicinity Sector Plan, which was adopted in 2012.
What’s Next in the Development Process
The Wheaton Gateway development team continues the project’s development process as it pursues its Sketch Plan and has requested an extension until February 2022 to continue refinements. Until then, the Sketch Plan is scheduled to go before the Development Review Committee on September 28, 2021.
As the Wheaton Gateway project continues to move through the development process, we invite you to learn more about the philosophies of our development partners, the project’s sustainability targets, the proposed building program, and to help us realize our innovative and forward-thinking, mixed-income and mixed-use development known as Wheaton Gateway, coming soon to Wheaton, MD.
About Wheaton Gateway
Wheaton Gateway is a proposed mixed-use residential and retail property in Wheaton, MD featuring mixed-income, multi-family housing, and exciting new commercial spaces. The proposed redevelopment project is located at the intersection of University Boulevard and Veirs Mills Road.
The project is led by a partnership formed by The Duffie Companies, a family-owned real estate company focused on highly sustainable building practices and headquartered in eastern Montgomery County; Willco, a leading developer, owner, investor, and manager of first-class commercial real estate based in the Washington, DC metropolitan areas; and the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) of Montgomery County, a quasi-governmental agency that provides affordable housing and supportive services to enhance the lives of the low- and moderate-income families and individuals in Montgomery County.
For the very latest information about Wheaton Gateway, please see our news and updates or the frequently asked questions on the project website. If you have any other questions or comments, you can contact us directly.
Sincerely,
The Wheaton Gateway Development Team