Board Approves Plans for 455-Residence Development

The Montgomery County Planning Board approved site and preliminary plans for a development that would add more than 400 residences west of Germantown Town Center

The board voted unanimously during its regular meeting Thursday.

Developer Buchannan Partners proposes to build a community with four apartment buildings with 289 units, 166 townhouses and 14,426 square feet of commercial space on the 26.5 acres near the intersection of Wisteria Drive and Waters Road.

The development, known as the Martens property, would abut a 36-acre complex with 604 residences along Father Hurley and Waterford Hills boulevards, according to planning department records.

Amenities of the new community included swimming and wading pools, a volleyball court, and open lawns for play and common spaces, plus a dry pond with a walking path and outdoor fitness stations, according to county senior planner Sandra Pereria’s staff report to the board on Thursday.

Pereria said developers scaled back the number of townhouses initially proposed and included more open spaces in response to board input at a hearing in June. The proposal the board voted on also takes into account neighbors’ suggestions on how Waters Road should connect to Germantown Road.

“I hope with Sandra’s staff report you can see we took your comments seriously,” said Russell S. Gestl, executive vice president of Buchanan Partners, ahead of the board’s vote.