A Missing Middle Housing Project in Montgomery County Moves Forward

• June 22nd 2022

by UrbanTurf Staff

A project proposed by Montgomery County's affordable housing partner that would bring missing middle housing to Sandy Spring is moving forward. 

The Housing Opportunities Commission, its subsidiary RAD6 Development Corporation and Townscape Design LLC filed plans a year ago to add 22 missing middle units to the Sandy Spring Village Center (map). Now, that project will go before the county's development review committee just after July 4 for comments. "Missing middle housing" describes the insertion of denser residential development in single-family neighborhoods, often in ways that retain the area's physical appearance.

The 14-acre Sandy Spring Meadows Subdivision that includes the subject site was built with 60 affordable rental detached houses in the early 1980s, and these units remain relatively affordable despite the moderately-priced dwelling unit (MPDU) status expiring 20 years after construction.

The current application pertains to approximately three acres of the subdivision and would insert six duplex units, 12 triplex units, and four carriage houses, along with a 900 square-foot central community space, amid 11 existing detached units. Ten of the proposed units would be MPDUs, and all of the units would incorporate green building principles and "low impact design techniques" like cisterns to harvest rainwater. 

The application would rezone one of the parcels to match the R-60 zoning on the remainder of the site, and would also create a new sidewalk network and connections to the existing houses.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-missing-middle-housing-project-in-montgomery-county-moves-forward/19789.