Silver Spring would be home to second Birchmere location

Music hall eyed for old J.C. Penney site

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Laurie DeWitt⁄The Gazette Sonia Danishes, a commercial property owner in Silver Spring, expresses her gratitude to County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) after the unveiling of a sign where the new Birchmere music hall is planned along Colesville Road.

A sister venue to the Alexandria–based Birchmere would open in about three years on Colesville Road across from the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre, said Jim Matthews, a Birchmere partner. The deal is being worked out between Montgomery County, Maryland officials and the Lee Development Group of Silver Spring.

The second location, to be built behind what is now just the façade of the old J.C. Penney building, would have more seats than the 500-seat Alexandria hall, Matthews said.

At the request of County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) has agreed to commit $4 million to the project, which the county would match.

The state’s contribution will either be $4 million this year, or $2 million this year and $2 million later, said Henry P. Fawell, an Ehrlich spokesman.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D), who hopes to unseat Ehrlich, also supports the project and would back the request for $4 million, said O’Malley campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.

The concert hall would be one of Duncan’s final pieces in his 12-year effort to revitalize Silver Spring since taking office. A new transit center and civic center are also in the works.

Much of the county’s contribution for the Birchmere would also come from public funds, but the amount is to be determined in negotiations with Birchmere owners and Lee Development.

Lee Development would donate the land and build the new hall as a community amenity, as part of a plan for other development at the site, said Bruce H. Lee, LDG’s president, whose office building anchors the corner with Georgia Avenue on the same side of Colesville Road.

In the almost 40 years since its founding as a Mecca for bluegrass and acoustic musicians, the Birchmere has expanded, adding capacity and rock and pop performers to its roster.

The Silver Spring location is expected to draw similar acts, but provide a convenient option for fans who find the trek across the Potomac River too time-consuming and troublesome, Matthews said.

Adding the Birchmere could also draw ventures that could create what some boosters are calling ‘‘a Broadway effect” in downtown Silver Spring.

Activist Mike Diegel, co-founder of civic group Silver Spring Forward, which ran a petition drive to bring the Birchmere to the area, said it was critical to add another entertainment venue as well as ‘‘stability” to the other side of Colesville Road.

The project was first talked about four years ago, but stalled as the county, facing a tight budget, shifted its priorities to pay for a promised ice rink in Silver Spring.

County Council President George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park said he has communicated with a majority of council members and is confident that they will support the project.

‘‘Silver Spring has achieved an enormous amount, but there is still a concern that on Friday and Saturday nights, the streets are not as safe and active as we would like them to be,” Leventhal said.

The project also has the support of two Democrats seen as most likely to succeed Duncan as county executive — former county councilman Isiah Leggett and Councilman Steven A. Silverman (D-At large) of Silver Spring.