Metro News Release
For immediate release: October 12, 2005
Officials Celebrate Opening of Parking Garage At White Flint Metrorail Station
The new parking structure at the White Flint Metrorail station on the Red Line is open, and officials are looking at it as a way to encourage transit use and enhance transit-oriented development in the immediate area.
The new parking facility features 1,270 spaces on six-levels of parking. It does not add any new spaces, but replaces surface parking on the north side of Marinelli Road near the existing Kiss and Ride surface lot.
The $17.4 million parking facility opened on October 8 and was financed from proceeds from the sale of the White Flint West and Grosvenor south sites and Metro’s fiscal year 2005 Transit Infrastructure Investment Fund revenues. It took one year to construct.
"This is a real celebration for all of the transit riders in Montgomery County," said Maryland Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan. "The opening of this facility will make Metrorail more user-friendly and will allow even more individuals to take advantage of public transit. After all, we want people to park their cars and use public transit. This new parking facility will allow them to do just that."
Secretary Flanagan was one of several officials on hand today to celebrate the opening of the parking facility. Also in attendance were Metro Board member Robert Smith, Vice President White Flint LCOR LLC, Mike Smith and Metro General Manager/CEO Richard A. White.
The construction of the garage is part of a larger joint development project (North Bethesda Town Center) adjacent to the White Flint Metrorail station. In January, 2001, Metro signed a joint agreement with LCOR White Flint, LLC for the development of a 32-acre parcel of land adjoining the White Flint Metrorail station. The site is located on the east side of MD Route 355 between Marinelli and Old Georgetown roads. It is a $650 million mixed-use development, the largest joint development project ever approved by Metro. This is the third of three developments on the Red Line south of Rockville.
Under the terms of the agreement, LCOR will develop the property in phases under a long-term land lease from Metro. Plans call for a 2.8 million-square-foot mixed-use development, including 1.2 million square feet of office space, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 1.4 million square feet of residential development. The project is expected to generate an estimated 6,496 additional daily Metro trips at the White Flint station. The first phase lease will close by the end-of-the-year with construction to begin shortly thereafter. The last phase lease is expected to begin construction in 2012 with the entire project complete in 2014.
Parking at Metro-operated parking lots is free on weekends and holidays. The weekday rate at the White Flint facility is $4 if the vehicle owner takes a Metrorail trip using the same SmarTrip card to pay for the rail trip and parking. For non-Metrorail riders, the daily parking fee is $7.75.
News release issued on October 12, 2005.