Press Releases
Leggett and Other Officials Participate in Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for New 2nd District Police Station
For Immediate Release: Monday, January 22, 2018
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett today participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Montgomery County Police Department’s new 2nd District station. The new station is located at 4823 Rugby Avenue in Bethesda.
“This project is another excellent example of creative County partnerships with the private sector that deliver state-of-the-art public facilities at little or no cost to the County, while returning highly-valued publicly-owned property to the County tax base,” said Leggett. “This project is a win for everyone and exemplifies our continued commitment to making the most of how we use our publicly-owned land.”
Joining Leggett were Montgomery County Councilmembers Roger Berliner George Leventhal, Director of General Services (DGS) David E. Dise, Chief of Police J. Thomas Manger and StonebridgeCarras Principal Jane Mahaffie.
The former 2nd District station, constructed in 1961, was nearly 60 years old and in dire need of major repairs. Located at a highly valuable corner in downtown Bethesda, the building had multiple site constraints, which made it challenging to meet the modern operational requirements and needs of a growing district.
Montgomery County partnered with Bethesda-based developer StonebridgeCarras to build the new station on an underutilized vacant lot within Bethesda’s Central Business District. The new location is adjacent to County Garage #35 (Woodmont Ave.- Rugby Ave.), which allows the project to maximize the use of public land by using a portion of the public garage for police vehicles and ancillary requirements.
By partnering with the private sector, the new 2nd District station was built largely with private funding at minimal cost to the County. In return, the County will transfer the old 2nd District site at 7359 Wisconsin Avenue, only one block from Metro, to StonebridgeCarras and its financial partner in the project, Buvermo Investments, as part of a 500,000-square-foot redevelopment that will include an office building and hotel.
This new private development project returns this valuable piece of property back to the County tax base, and meets the transit-oriented smart-growth goals identified in the recently adopted Bethesda Downtown Plan.
“This public-private partnership allowed us to take a vacant lot, deliver a much-needed new police station and contribute to local economic growth,” said Dise. “I am proud of the key role DGS served in creating the public-private partnership, leveraging the value of the land in an exchange that provides this important public service facility.”
“StonebridgeCarras is beyond pleased to have worked with the Department of General Services and the Montgomery County Police Department to bring this exciting project to completion” said Jane Mahaffie, Principal at StonebridgeCarras. “The 2nd District officers will now be in a state-of-the-art police station while the County overall will receive the benefits of a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment on the site at Wisconsin Avenue and Montgomery Avenue.”
“Our first Bethesda station opened 90 years ago in the basement of a County office building,” said Chief Manger. “Today, our 2nd District station serves 190,000 County residents and is, now, a state-of-the-art police station.”
The four-story, 28,000-square-foot police station was designed by Michael Baker International, constructed by Smoot Construction Company and will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certified.
The current command staff of the 2nd District Station includes Commander Paul Liquorie, and Deputy Commanders Lieutenant Jonathan Heiderich, Lieutenant Oneil Ormsby and Lieutenant John D’Albora.
The new 2nd District station is expected to be open to the public in mid-February.
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Release ID: 18-439Media Contact: Judy Stiles 240-777-6507