The Silver Spring Transit Center has taken a crucial step forward, with Montgomery County officials opening the project for construction bids.
The three-level structure, to be built on the stretch of pavement adjacent to the Silver Spring Metro Center, is slated to include space for Metrobuses, Ride On buses, taxis, Kiss ’N Ride drop off, and connections to the MARC and Metro stations. It also will make room for an intercity bus service such as Greyhound.
“It’s been a challenge to fit that all on the site and maintain the high standards of urban design fitted into the revitalized Silver Spring,” said Maryland Transit Administration spokeswoman Diane Radcliffe. “It’s that 10 pounds of sugar in a 5-pound sack kind of project.”
At the insistence of the Montgomery County Planning Board, the $75 million project will include design elements such as glass escalator covers and canopies that county officials say will keep the center from being an eyesore.
“There have been continuing design decisions that were made, and we were not able to pull everything together as quickly as was originally thought,” said Bruce Johnson, of the county’s public works and transportation department.
Construction on the center should begin this summer, Johnston said.
The Metro-owned land next to the center is expected to house mixed-use development.
In 2000, the transit agency selected local developers Foulger-Pratt and Mid City Urban to develop the site, but the companies withdrew their original proposal to build a hotel and two residential buildings after the housing market turned sour last year, Foulger-Pratt Vice President Hasan Askari said.
The developers now are working on designs for a hotel, a residential building and an office building, Askari said.
