ROCKVILLE, MD - The Tower Companies announced today that The Blairs, a residential complex built in the 1950s and 1960s as a suburban neighborhood, bordering East-West Highway and Colesville Road in Silver Spring, MD, and Eastern Avenue in Washington, DC, will be transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use, transit-oriented integrated and smart-growth community through a new urban concept.
The family-owned real estate development company, founded in 1947 by Albert Abramson , presented their vision as an evolution, which will see the transformation of existing surface parking lots into new residences including townhouses and apartment towers as well as approximately 4.11 acres of open urban parks, such as Blair Park , Terrace Park and Postmaster Park, laced throughout the community. The Blairs Master Plan will also include additional dog parks as well as fitness parks, new restaurants, and retail shops anchored by a grocery store, a hotel, office building, and numerous other amenities.
"The new Blairs community will enhance the smart-growth living experience with pedestrian and bike-friendly shared travel lanes, public parks and gathering places, connecting with the surrounding neighborhoods, all within a five-minute walk to the Silver Spring Metro station," stated Jeffrey S. Abramson, principal of The Tower Companies.
Montgomery County approved the current zoning on February 1, 2000, which allows for the proposed additional density that the Master Plan reflects, an additional 1,400 residential units for a maximum of 2,800 units within the community and 450,000 square feet of commercial and office space. As always, Tower will develop these new spaces in an environmental friendly manner, offering a sustainable lifestyle for Montgomery County's growing population.
The Blairs community is located on 27 acres across from the Silver Spring Transit Station, which includes the Metro Red Line, the future Purple Line, the MARC commuter rail, and numerous Metro Bus lines. The live work play campus is a mixture of 1,400 existing apartments, a Giant anchored retail center, and The Blairs Office Building, all managed by The Tower Companies.
The Tower Companies' Blairs Master Plan team includes Architect Planner, Bing Thom, Principal of Bing Thom Architects (BTA), Alan Ward, Principal of Sasaki Associates and Ed Murn, LEED® AP and Tower's Director of Development.