This project supports the County's portion of the estimated expense for demolishing the existing Elizabeth House multifamily building, which is directly adjacent to HOC's Alexander House, HOC's The Leggett, and Montgomery County's South County Regional Recreation and Aquatics Center "SCRRAC"). These are all part of the larger Elizabeth Square redevelopment of a city block in Downtown Silver Spring. Elizabeth Square will be a mixed-income, multigenerational, mixed-use development consisting of three (3) buildings: The Leggett, formerly known as Elizabeth House III, under which will reside the SCRRAC; the redeveloped Elizabeth House; and the renovated Alexander House. One of the key elements of Elizabeth Square will be The Leggett, a highly amenitized, mixed income, senior living community that comprises 106 units of relocated former Public Housing, 134 Low Income Housing Tax Credit units, and 29 market rate units. The SCRRAC will be a place that welcomes people from both surrounding neighborhoods and across the region to a state-of-the-art public aquatic and recreation center, promoting physical health and intergenerational activity. A destination where seniors can thrive within modern residences, benefit from a senior wellness center, and enjoy shopping and dining, surrounded by green spaces and walking paths, for a truly holistic living experience.

Elizabeth House will be demolished in advance of the opening of the SCRRAC facility in the first half of 2023. The total anticipated cost of $3 million will be shared by the County and HOC. The estimate assumes the cost to prepare the building and site for demolition, obtain necessary permits and County approvals, disconnecting various public utilities, removing, and abating hazardous materials, and providing for contingency fund for project unknowns.

The Commission selected the Berg Corporation for the demolition at the April 5, 2023, Meeting of the Commission. Notice to Proceed was provided in August 2023 and the demolition activities started immediately as all of the existing tenants had relocated by July 2023. The entire demolition process was expected to conclude by spring/summer of CY 2024. In March of 2024, having substantially demolished the interior of the building, the contractor identified additional work scope from environmental hazards found from the inspection of the interior of the exterior walls of the building. To complete demolition of the building, greater remediation of these environmental conditions related to the deconstruction of the exterior walls was required. These materials had to be properly removed in strict accordance with State and Federal guidelines, hauled offsite, and replaced with clean material for backfill. With the additional scope described above, the demolition is now expected to be completed by the early spring 2026.

On March 7, 2024, Berg submitted change order #2 for $1,808,074, which included $1,340,074 to remove sensitive materials on the exterior concrete walls behind the brick facade discovered during pre-demolition activities. These materials had to be properly removed in strict accordance with State and Federal guidelines, hauled offsite, and replaced with clean material for backfill. Also included in the change order was the cost of the backfill material to offset the material that will be removed from the site. These costs totaled $468,000, increasing the total demolition project cost to $4.8M.

Demolishing the Elizabeth House within the specified timeline will provide numerous benefits to the County, including increasing visibility to the SCRRAC from Second Avenue and Fenwick Lane, eliminating security and life safety concerns associated with a building remaining vacant while The Leggett and new SCRRAC facility are fully-operational; reducing disruptions to future residents and occupants, which inherently come with demolishing a building of this scale; and expediting the master planning and predevelopment process for the final component of the Elizabeth Square Master Plan.

FY23 supplemental in Current Revenue: General for the amount of $1,500,000.

Department of Finance, Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Department of Permitting Services, Department of General Services.