Montgomery County Celebrates $580K in Facade Improvements in Hillandale

Montgomery County executive Marc Elrich joined the Hillandale community on Thursday to celebrate a fresh look for a group of businesses along New Hampshire Avenue near Powder Mill Road. Upgrades include better signage, a unified look for area businesses, a wall mural and improved lighting for the parking lot. The program encourages business and property owners to invest in improvements that help the community. Upon completion of the work, those owners are reimbursed up to 50 percent of their costs. Around $580,000 was spent on the Hillandale improvements.

“I want to thank our Department of Housing and Community Affairs for working with business and community leaders interested in the program. Last year, we unveiled a similar project in Burtonsville (with the help of our State delegation) and received lots of positive feedback from the community. Over the next five years, the County will spend $3.5 million dollars through the facade improvement program to help neighborhoods across the County update properties that are more than 10 years old. These are changes that can help attract new businesses and show our communities that their tax money is being spent to help their neighborhoods.

East County will also benefit from the County’s plans for Bus Rapid Transit. The Flash currently runs on route 29 and the addition of a route on New Hampshire Avenue is being studied to help people get where they need to go with fewer stops and direct access to major areas of our County. Another addition will come from Montgomery College. I was pleased to help them in their plans to open a campus and education center in East County in Spring 2024. Signs for the education center went up this week.” Elrich said in his weekly message to the community.

“Façade improvements are one way to help people feel better about their community, attract more customers to businesses and foster economic growth.”