In 1987 Joe Alfandre purchased the
352-acre Kentland Farm then surrounded by office parks, townhouse
subdivisions, strip
shopping centers and the 443-acre Nation Geographic Society property.
Following the 1988 charrette by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company,
Kentlands was rezoned to a newly created mixed-use zone to provide,
in addition new neighborhoods, a commercial center for the region.
In response to the original requirement to make the center a shopping
mall, and later a shopping center, numerous designs were developed
to integrate these distinct and inflexible retail types with a
traditional main street. One of the objectives, however, was to
connect the retail to the network of Kentlands' neighborhoods,
allowing residents to walk from one to the other. Higher density
residential and three-story "live/work" buildings containing
shops, offices and apartments facilitated the transition from neighborhood
to regional retail.
The Old Farm neighborhood was centered on
the original Kent homestead. New streets are an extension of Mr.
Kent's picturesque siting of his house, barn, firehouse and outbuildings.
Mr. Kent's mansion is now available for business meetings, conferences,
weddings, etc., and his Barn has been renovated as a Cultural Arts
Center. Both facilities are owned
and managed by the City of Gaithersburg. |
|
The Gatehouse neighborhood centers on
a circle formed by the elementary school, a church, a future corner store, a
child-care facility, townhouse and single-family homes. From this center a pattern
of streets follows gently sloping landscape into the neighborhood. The Lake District
includes three small residential neighborhoods each located between wetland fingers
and centered on wooded greens. The Hill District, centered on the Kentlands Clubhouse,
overlooks the other neighborhoods and the lakes.
The 352-acre property now includes: 520 single-family detached homes, 411 townhouses,
127 condominiums, 750 apartments (307 to be added in '04, see "Kentlands
Village"), 137 garage apartments, 30 live/work units, 870,000 sq. ft. of
retail space, 84,785 sq. ft. of office space, and civic buildings including a
church, elementary school, and clubhouse open space including lakes, wetlands,
parks, greens and squares.
Developer: Joe Alfandre, The Kentlands Initiative
Address: 10911 Candlelight Lane Potomac, MD 20854
Phone: (301) 379-4335
www.KentlandsCo.com
aldre9@starpower.com
Developer: Great Seneca Development Corporation
Address: 7501 Wisconsin Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301 280 7271
gfcampbell@chevychasebank.net |
