Metro plans to demolish and redevelop abandoned Glenmont KFC

Metro’s operator plans to demolish the abandoned KFC next to the Glenmont subway station and seek a development partner.

Montgomery County has left the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) holding the bag financially since a county Ride-On bus smashed through the fast food restaurant’s front window in May 2011, according to an email message from someone at WMATA passed along to That’s Silver Spring by Ken Silverman, senior legislative aide to County Councilmember Nancy Navarro, D-District 4.(see thatssilverspring.blogspot.com/2014/05/eyesore-of-month-year-forever-in.html)

But the worst eyesore in Glenmont  could soon become Metro’s own little grassy knoll, according to the following WMATA message:

“WMATA has still not been reimbursed by the County for the accident. As a result of the accident, along with the age of the building, it has been determined that it is in such a state of disrepair and structural instability that it is not marketable and it is economically more reasonable to demolish it. WMATA is preparing the property for demolition and is in the process of finalizing the documentation to apply for a demolition permit from the County. Following demolition, the property will sodded/seeded and maintained as a vacant lot pending eventual incorporation into a future joint development effort.”

That’s an optimistic sign from WMATA, which has shown little interest in development in Glenmont since plans were laid 40 years ago to build the station. Passage of a new Glenmont sector plan last year is spurring new discussion of the area’s untapped development potential.  http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/glenmont/

WMATA recently approved turning over a small parcel on the west side of Georgia Avenue next to the Metro garage, where the Housing Opportunities Commission plans to build apartments for seniors. But that’s an idea that’s been kicking around at least since the last Glenmont sector plan was approved in 1997, a year before the station opened.

The new sector plan also carries over the 1997 plan’s endorsement of WMATA teaming up with the Georgia Avenue Baptist Church for redevelopment of their adjoining properties. The church sits at the northern edge of the Metro station on the east side of Georgia Avenue. The church—which was recently designated on the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation—has been cited as an example of mid-20^th century modernist religious architecture.

The sector plan design guidelines passed May 1 by the county Planning Board say the church property could still be developed, stipulating that the church itself be preserved and “redevelopment should not obscure any significant features of the historic building.” The guidelines add that any new development should be distinguished from the church and “avoid imitating historic elements as it may diminish the singularity of the historic original.” http://www.montgomeryplanningboard.org/agenda/2014/documents/item10FinalGlenmontDesignGuidelinesMay2014_000.pdf

The church features symmetrical glass window walls and prefabricated concrete perlite panels designed by renowned local architect Charles Goodman.

Whatever WMATA decides to do with the KFC and surrounding Metro properties, any redevelopment would likely follow plans already in the works for the Forest Glen and Grosvenor-Strathmore stations on the Red Line, and numerous subway stops in Prince George’s County and Northern Virginia.