Land Trade Ensures Affordable Housing Stays In Rockville, Expands

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County traded 2 acres of county land with a local apartment complex for the assurance that if redevelopment occurs, the number of affordable housing units will be maintained and could increase.

When any of the 564 units at the Halpine View Apartments are redeveloped, they will need to be replaced with an income-restricted unit of a comparable size and current residents must be offered the chance to return.

The County said the deal is essential to keep affordable housing in the county: in 2000, there were 45,000 naturally occurring affordable housing units in the county. By 2018 that number had dropped to 25,900, and the county estimates it could lose another 9,000. County Executive Marc Elrich said that one of the best things you can do to ensure affordable housing is to focus on retaining what you already have.

“As the County grows, development pressures threaten our existing naturally occurring affordable housing stock and we need to protect tenants from displacement,” said Elrich in a statement. “The Halpine View property owners showed a willingness to work with us to preserve access to affordable housing and expand it at deeply affordable levels. Even after development, there will still be 564 affordable units, existing tenants will have the right of return, and there will be additional deeply affordable units plus new market-rate units. This is a win-win for all of us.”