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CONSTRUCTION NEWS TO KNOW

Ribbon Cut on First Private Development Around Purple Line Station

Ordinarily, this space is reserved for construction updates on our favorite light rail line; however, from time to time, we’ll also be highlighting private development projects that are under construction near future Purple Line station areas.

Why? Because many of the developments will improve the way people get to and from the stations and they will contain public amenities that will help create a sense of place along the corridor, so they can be every bit as transformative as the Purple Line itself. If you miss construction news, don't worry, we'll be covering construction news coming out of the Purple Line Community Advisory Teams in future newsletters.

This week, we’re taking a field trip to Chevy Chase Lake to visit “The Lindley” apartment building, which celebrated its ribbon cutting on Monday. The Lindley, located along Chevy Chase Lake Drive, is mere steps away from the future Chevy Chase Lake station. The only way you could live closer to the Purple Line is if you were living inside the station! The 11-story apartment building was a joint venture between the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC), which owns the land, and private developer EYA.

View from rooftop deck of The Lindley, looking northeast. Purple Line trains will run in Georgetown Branch right-of-way, pictured in bottom left)

Before The Lindley, the site was home to 68 garden style apartments. The Lindley allowed HOC to replace every unit from the old community and add an additional 22 units, so the development represents a net increase of 22 units of affordable housing. In total, The Lindley will contain 200 apartments, 40 of which will be affordable to households at 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), or approximately $41,000/year for an individual, and another 40 units will be set aside for work­force housing. Thirteen of the units will be 3-bedrooms, all of which will be geared towards families making 50% AMI.

Beyond the apartment building itself, the development also includes a new half-acre park, which will be programmed and operated by the Montgomery County Parks Department. The Jean Banks Park, named after a former HOC commissioner, will undoubtedly become a popular gathering space not only for local residents, but for users of the Purple Line and the Capital Crescent Trail. 

You don’t have to wait until the Purple Line opens to enjoy the park. The park is now open to the public.

The landscaped park features generous open space, a granite slide for children to play on, and a water feature that runs through the length of the park.

A water feature spans the length of the park, but you’ll have to wait until next spring for the water!

The Lindley may look ordinary from the outside, but an incredible amount of thought was put into how it interfaces with the surrounding community. The building was designed from the ground up to integrate with the future Purple Line station. An open-air passageway was incorporated into the design of the building to enable residents who live further down on Chevy Chase Lake Drive to cut through the park to make their way to the station. 

The passageway will give pedestrians easy access to the future Chevy Chase Lake station

The passageway connects Jean Banks Park to a brand-new street, Chevy Chase Lake Terrace, which will run underneath the Purple Line. In the future, Chevy Chase Lake Terrace will connect with Manor Road to the north, further enhancing the walkability of the neighborhood.

Chevy Chase Lake Terrace, which currently dead ends at the Georgetown Branch right-of-way, will one day connect to Manor Road to the north

The Lindley is one of the first, if not the first, projects to deliver around a future Purple Line station, but it won’t be the last. We’ll be bringing you additional stories on residential and office projects that are transforming neighborhoods along the Purple Line corridor for the better in the months to come.

PURPLE LINE NOW NEWS AND EVENTS

Upcoming Community Advisory Team (CAT) meetings:

• Riverdale - October 18, Purple Line Project Office (6811 Kenilworth Avenue - 1st Floor Training Room, Riverdale, MD 20737) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
• College Park - October 23, Purple Line Project Office (6811 Kenilworth Avenue - 1st Floor Training Room, Riverdale, MD 20737) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
• Silver Spring - October 25, Sligo Creek Elementary School (Cafeteria located in basement of the school, 500 Schuyler Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910) from 7 - 8:30 pm.
• Bethesda - November 27, Bethesda Chevy Chase High School (Cafeteria) 4301 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 from 6:30 – 8 pm.
• Glenridge – November 29,  Purple Line Project Office (6811 Kenilworth Avenue - 1st Floor Training Room, Riverdale, MD 20737 from 6:30 – 8 pm.
• Lyttonsville – December 4, Rosemary Hills Elementary School (All Purpose Room) 2111 Porter Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910 from 7 – 8:30 pm.
• University Boulevard – December 6, Langley Park-McCormick Elementary School, (Multi-Purpose Room), 8201 15th Avenue, Langley Park, MD 20783 from 6:30 – 8 pm.

Purple Line NOW will host its next forum in College Park in January. Stay tuned for all the details coming soon!

PURPLE LINE NOW ACTION

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