Protecting small businesses from suburban redevelopment

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett says his administration must do a better job of protecting small businesses during the redevelopment of Wheaton, Maryland, than the county did when downtown Silver Spring was being redeveloped.

Many of the small businesses near the commuter rail and bus hub in Silver Spring “were shoved aside because they could no longer pay the rent or stay in Silver Spring, even though they were there for a long period of time," Leggett said Jan. 17. He said he doesn't want to see that happen in Wheaton, where the county, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, and developer B.F. Saul are teaming up to build 600,000 sq. ft. of office space, 40,000 sq. ft. of retail, a 120-room hotel, and a town square.

Intensive mixed-use development has been taking place near a number of Metro commuter rail stations in the Washington suburbs. This is helping the region to mesh its mass transit and real estate development patterns—shifting away from the energy-wasting, single-use, automobile-oriented patterns of the past. 

But as new concentrations of suburban mixed-use development emerge, criticism is beginning to come from those who see existing businesses being shunted aside. The Montgomery Gazette reports that the Coalition for the Fair Redeveloment of Wheaton presented a petition urging the county and B.F. Saul to provide financial aid to small business owners before and during construction.  

Many of the small enterprises in the "Wheaton Triangle" are Latino-owned. The Latino Development Corporation is urging that they be protected from rising rents and business lost during construction. 

Business owners say they want more detailed information from the county about what will be done for them. By 2019, between $200 million and $300 milliion of redevelopment is expected in Wheaton.

A Washington Post article in November described the affected section of Wheaton as somewhat "junky-looking" but also as "comfortable," with its mix of Asian markets, Latino shops, and other family-owned enterprises serving an ethnically diverse clientele. 

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