County Council Approves Funding for Farm Women’s Market Parks Project

Funding Plan Complete

Today, the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved an $11.75 million contribution to build two new urban parks on the parking lots next to the Farm Women’s Market. A definitive financial plan for this $27.7 million project is now in place. The other financing components include $4.5 million from the Town, $8 million from the developers, and $3.5 million from the State. The project also includes a new underground garage that will replace most of the existing surface parking spaces and undergrounding the utility wires around the new parks.  

At today's meeting, Councilmember Friedson thanked the Town for its support and stated the importance of our financial commitment to the successful realization of the financial plan. Councilmember Friedson had also noted, at a committee meeting held yesterday, that the County Council had received letters or testimony supporting this project from 12 municipalities and neighborhood associations in the Bethesda area.

The four-way partnership comprised of the Parks Department, the County, the Town, and the developers will now work together to prepare the legal documents. The Parks Department also will host a public charette process early in the new year to hear from area residents about possible amenities for the new parks. We look forward to the engagement of our residents in this process. 

The developers hope to submit their site plan to the Planning Board by next summer or fall and break ground a year later in 2024. The redevelopment and expansion of the Farm Women’s Market and construction of the new park behind the Market should be completed in late 2026 or early 2027, and the park on the adjacent lot between Leland and Walsh should be finished later in 2027. 

A great deal of work lies ahead of us, but this vote marks a crucial milestone for this transformative project.