After library project relocated, Clarksburg Town Center developers want land back

Plans changed after feasibility study determined co-locating affordable housing on original site was not advisable

August 12, 2026 12:55 p.m.

Rendering of a library building. — Rendering of the one-story Clarksburg Public Library. Photo credit: Screenshot of from Montgomery Planning documents

McLean, Virginia’s Elm Street Development wants a Clarksburg property back from Montgomery County after plans to construct a library on the parcel did not pan out. The county’s Planning Board and at least one member of the County Council last week agreed.

The Clarksburg library, a long-promised amenity in the Upcounty, was initially expected to be built on a 1.1-acre site that was dedicated to the county in 2015 by Third Try LLC, the other developer of Clarksburg Town Center.

County master plans had for years identified the town center as the recommended site for the library. But in 2023, the County Council passed legislation requiring the Department of General Services (DGS) to study the feasibility of co-locating affordable housing with new public facilities.

The Clarksburg library was the first project to fall under the new law, according to Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2), whose district includes the community.

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Through an October 2024 feasibility study, DGS found that “co-locating housing at the Town Center site was not advisable.” The department recommended an alternate site about a 13 minute walk away, which the county ultimately purchased. The county still owns the land in the town center.

Kate Kubit, partner vice president at Elm Street, told the Montgomery Planning Board during a July 30 meeting that the developer would like the county to reconsider relocating the library project, arguing that the initial location was carefully selected and the community was planned around it.

If the county intends to move forward with the new site, Kubit said, “we would like the parcel back to try to work with the community to come up with something … that could be complementary to the other uses in Clarksburg Town Center.”

Balcombe told Bethesda Today in a Friday interview that she would be open to the idea. But the decision ultimately rests with the executive branch, which has not yet expressed a willingness to relinquish the parcel.

County ‘failed to deliver’

Commissioner Shawn Bartley said during the Planning Board’s July 30 meeting that he thought Elm Street’s request for the return of the initial library site was “fair and honest.”

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“Montgomery County is responsible for it. They failed to deliver upon a promise that they made to Elm Street and the citizens who purchased properties there,” Bartley said.

The new site, which was approved by the County Council through its Capital Improvements Program in 2024, is across from Dowden’s Ordinary Park, commercial shopping strip and less than half a mile from the Clarksburg Elementary School. The county acquired the site in April 2024.

“As part of every capital project, DGS evaluates the feasibility of incorporating affordable housing and/or childcare into the project, these analyses are typically conducted during site selection and facility planning,” Ossont told the board on July 30. “But in this case, however, both the site and the program had already been established, making the introduction of an affordable housing component significantly more challenging.”

According to Ossont, DGS evaluated multiple development scenarios at the Town Center property with various kinds of housing constructions including multifamily apartments and townhomes.

However, in each case the county determined that incorporating housing on the town center site would have “substantially increased project costs, negatively affected the library’s operations through reduced parking, staffing challenges and a smaller library program, generally, delayed delivery of the library and ultimately produced a relatively small number of affordable housing units,” Ossont said.

Also, the new site would be better suited to allow for the construction of new affordable housing co-located on the library property, according to Ossont. He added that more housing could be delivered on the new site than the original town center location, though specific plans for the housing, including the number of units and type of housing were not discussed

“We appreciate the lingering concerns about the shift in sites. But the result will be a superior public facility and more housing opportunities,” Ossont said.

Balcombe said she agrees about the need to change sites.

“What’s important is that this library is the Clarksburg library. It’s not the Clarksburg Town Center library,” Balcombe said. “I do understand the disappointment of the people who live there, but my view is that this site will serve the entire community more effectively.”

Process ‘degraded’

At the board’s July 30 meeting, some board members also voiced displeasure with how the county went about its process of acquiring a new property to construct the Clarksburg library.

During their meeting, the planning board reviewed mandatory referrals for the acquisition of a 5-acre property on Stringtown Road and development of the library. The board also reviewed forest conservation and water quality plans related to the project.

Mandatory referrals are plans submitted by government entities regarding land acquisition, sale, use or development. The board reviews the plans on an advisory basis and typically provides comments on the plans.

Board members said that while they were generally supportive of the project and wanted the library to be built as soon as possible, they were disappointed that the county acquired the property in April 2024 and was bringing their application to the board retroactively.

“I just feel like the process was sort of degraded in that way,” Board Vice President Josh Linden said. “I hope that in the future, you know, even though it’s advisory, I hope that the process can be followed because it allows for a healthier and more robust conversation where all these things can be considered.”

Commissioner James Hedrick agreed saying it was a “poorly done situation.”

“We haven’t been given the information that we need to make the decision here,” Hedrick said. “It’s brought to use as essentially fait accompli. There’s no reason to blow it up at this point. But I still don’t understand it.”

Linden added that while the board has only an advisory role for mandatory referrals, the board may not have agreed to the site two years ago.

Ossont did not directly respond to a question from Bethesda Today about why it took so long for the mandatory referral to come before the planning board and whether their comments might have impacted the county’s decision to acquire the new parcel.

He noted that the acquisition was part of the county’s annual budget process, which included a public hearing, work sessions and deliberation.

“Understandably, the Planning Board viewed the land acquisition piece as retroactive and untimely,” Ossont wrote. “Notwithstanding, the merits of relocating the project remain unchanged.”

Linden also took issue with how the county said presented the library project with an affordable housing component but did not include site plans for the housing, saying county has done this before and referring to a project to build a new public parking garage on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.

He said the county similarly presented the garage project with an affordable housing component but did not include plans for housing.

Presenting both plans together, Linden said, would give the board better understanding of how the project would come together and “have confidence the housing is going to come.”

Commissioner Mitra Pedoeem agreed with Linden that the land acquisition coming to the board retroactively was “disheartening.” But Pedoeem said she understood that trying to plan both components of a public building and housing project can be a “nightmare” and cause more delays.

“We shouldn’t keep the library hostage,” Pedoeem added. “But if we all have the best interest of the Clarksburg community, regardless of who owns the land, we should work together to create a good public amenity there.”

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine