July 30, 1999

Amid concerns of residents and merchants alike, the two groups looking to purchase the Fishman Building in Olde Towne Gaithersburg are in the process of amending their proposals to the city.

Tyler*Donegan and Journal Newspapers Inc. came back to City Hall on July 20 for a work session to pitch their plans for renovating and upgrading the aging facility at 315 E. Diamond Ave., which the city purchased a year ago from Sydney Fishman.

Tyler*Donegan, the management company that currently operates the building for the city, wants to install elevators and new telecommunications infrastructure into the building and make it a mixed-use facility with both commercial and residential elements.

The Journal, a Virginia-based chain of daily newspapers that serve the Washington suburbs, wants to move its Montgomery County offices there, as well as lease space to retailers and Montgomery College. The paper's lease at its current offices in Rockville expires next year.

Initially, there were four other entities that had expressed interest in the Fishman Building. RK Tects Studios, an architectural firm; the Charles E. Smith Co., a real-estate developing firm; Danac, the Bethesda developer that is already constructing two buildings in Olde Towne; and George Winkler, who owns the Granary Building where Buffalo Billiards is, all came to a pre-bid meeting for the Fishman Building.

Tony Tomasello, the city's director of economic development, said Winkler indicated to him that he had dropped out of the bidding because of time constraints. He said he did not know why the other three groups opted not to bid.

At the work session, Journal president Karl Spain announced a major amendment to his proposal. He has relinquished his plan to set up a printing press on the property. He cited a number of concerns from the building's merchants, such as trash, the noise from the trucks and the ink smell, as the main reason for the change.

"The merchants hated the press," Spain told the Gazette. "And if enough people dislike something, you're swimming upstream." Spain said he had no idea where the presses would go.

Spain told the council that employees of the Journal and Montgomery College would use the city's garage to park their cars. He added that his plan for the Fishman building would bring between 35 to 40 employees to Olde Towne Gaithersburg and "would be a tremendous asset for economic development" in the area.

Since they first brought their proposal to the City Council, Tyler*Donegan has actually not made any significant changes to their plans for the Fishman building yet. However, Chad Tyler, the company's vice president, said they plan to make a few changes based on comments made at the work session.

Tyler*Donergan is proposing to construct its project in two phases. The first phase will deal strictly with the Fishman building itself, while the second phase is focused on parking. Phase II would go forward only at the city's direction, which Tyler said makes his company's proposal more flexible than the Journal's.

The two proposals have drawn a variety of opinions from city residents in the form of letters to the council and sentiments uttered at the work session.

Not all residents have been partial to either proposal. "The high quality of the June 21 presentations for the Fishman building and Olde Towne Park gives every expectation for a beautiful and functional new core development for the city," Cedar Avenue resident David Shayt wrote in a letter to the mayor and council July 12.

But at the work session, Shayt said he was concerned about the size of the Journal building in Spain's proposal, contending that it is "too far out of scale" with what is appropriate for Olde Towne. "It think it's Danac III," he said, making reference to the offices Bethesda developer Danac is setting up on S. Summit Avenue.

Some people have said they are vehemently against the Journal's proposal. Audrey Brandt, a Germantown resident who frequents the Olde Towne area, wrote to the council saying she did not like the Journal plan because "their presence ... will undermine revitalization efforts that the City Council has strived so hard to achieve. Not only will the atmosphere of Olde Towne be diminished, but also I fear the actual appearance will be littered."

But one resident, John Stang, lent his wholehearted support for the Journal. "Karl Spain is a son of Gaithersburg," Stang said, adding that he hopes to be one of the newspaper executive's office tenants.

Other residents said they simply preferred the Tyler*Donegan plan. Bob Skelton said he liked the design of the proposal. "I like the Georgetown type effect," he remarked.

Betty Harvill, a business owner in Olde Towne, said she liked the "small town look" of the Tyler*Donegan proposal, but acknowledged that both plans look better since they were first revealed a month ago.

Austin Decker, a Gaithersburg resident for 16 years, wondered whether either proposal has anything to offer for people living outside of Olde Towne. He suggested whoever gets ownership should "come up with a nice public amenity," such as a fountain.

"Both of the plans don't benefit me at all," Decker remarked.

Regardless of which proposal the city approves, many residents are concerned about parking and the contributions the building will make to the economic development of Olde Towne Gaithersburg. Many residents expressed sentiments that having Montgomery College in the building will do nothing to foster a strong economic climate. However, Tomasello said the issue of tenancy in the Fishman building is not a point of focus yet, and that city officials are more concerned with the building's appearance at this point.

"We shouldn't do anything with either plan without alternatives for parking," said Henry Marraffa Jr., a former City Council member.

George Winkler, owner of Winkler Automotive in Olde Towne, argued that making building employees park in a garage would be a recipe for disaster. "We can't afford to sacrifice any parking in town and trying to get employees to park far away from the building is next to impossible," he remarked. "It just doesn't work."

The council will confer with city attorney Stan Abrams for guidance on how to proceed with the two groups before issuing a decision on the Fishman building. City officials did not offer a concrete timetable as to when they will make their decision. But Mayor Sidney Katz said he was pleased there are "two quality builders who want that spot," and promised, "We'll be back you as quickly as we can."