Lidl Proposes Mixed-Use Project that Includes Grocery Store and 200 Units of Affordable Housing in Rockville

Lidl Proposes Mixed-Use Project that Includes Grocery Store and 200 Units of Affordable Housing in Rockville

Lidl, a German international discount supermarket chain, has proposed a mixed-use project consisting of a 30,000-square-foot grocery store and up to 200 units of affordable multi-family housing at 15931 Frederick Road. The application for this proposal was received last month.

Lidl recently opened  stores in Takoma Park and Glenmont and is working on a third Montgomery County store in Montgomery Village.

Per the City of Rockville:

The mixed-use development would be located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Frederick Road with King Farm Boulevard on the west and the Shady Grove Metro access road on the east, adjacent to the Shady Grove Metro Station parking lot.

The proposed development would introduce Rockville residents to Lidl, the world’s fifth-largest grocery store chain. Lidl is a German company with its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Lidl aims to deliver superior quality products, with a focus on organic produce and meats, at the lowest possible price. Its stores emphasize an efficient, modern layout.

For the residential component of the project, Lidl has partnered with Foundation Housing, an affordable housing developer based in Rockville, Maryland with a 30-year track record developing, owning and operating best-in-class affordable housing communities across the country.

Foundation Housing proposes an eight-story multi-family building with up to 200 one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom dwelling units. All units will be affordable, with approximately 20 units affordable to households with incomes at 30 percent of the area median income (“AMI”), 20 units affordable at 50 percent of AMI, and 160 units affordable at 60 percent of AMI. Residential parking will be provided in two levels of above-ground structured parking.

The proposed project would take advantage of the Subject Property’s location abutting the Shady Grove Metro Station by offering high-density, affordable housing with excellent transit access and by providing a grocery store to serve residents, employees, and passersby in the vicinity.

Site History and Existing Conditions

The Subject Property is bordered by Frederick Road to the west and the Shady Grove Metro access road to the north. To the east, it confronts the Shady Grove Metro Station parking lot across Somerville Drive, a two-lane local road. To the south, the Subject Property abuts properties developed with commercial uses.

The Subject Property is currently occupied by a single-story building set back off the road behind a large surface parking lot. Substantially all of the site is paved, with vegetation limited to perimeter landscaping, parking lot islands, and a landscaped area near the building entrance.

In 2012, the Subject Property was annexed into the City of Rockville at the property owner’s request.

The annexation agreement provided as follows:

• Property to be classified in the MXTC zone.
• Density limited to maximum 458,225 square feet of floor area for a period of five years.
• All uses permitted in the MXTC zone allowed, provided that any required site plan, site
plan amendment, or special exception is approved.
In 2016, Level 2 Site Plan STP2016-00267 was approved for the Subject Property. The site
plan anticipated a 405-unit multi-family building and associated parking garage, with 15% Moderately Price Dwelling Units (“MPDUs”) and potential ground floor retail. That project was not implemented, and the Subject Property is under contract for sale to Lidl.