What you need to know
The study follows the approval of a September 2023 land swap deal between Montgomery County and Howard Hughes for a new community center and South County library.
“We do not own any land in this area. It has been a request of the development company as well as the county for the township to look into the development of a community park that could support the infrastructure of the farmers market area,” township Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes said to the board during the meeting.
Currently, the township does not own any portion of the land at the Grogan’s Mill Village Center. Nunes said the feasibility study is based on a verbal request between the county and Howard Hughes.
What they’re saying
“What we're asking to do is ... see what is actually required to make a village neighborhood park or community park that can support community park infrastructure, as well as support the farmers market,” Nunes said.
“The next steps are going to be a very important part of the process, making sure that we own our piece of property and have access to a piece of property,” township board director Brad Bailey said. "We can do incredible parks ... but we've got to be able to own that park and operate that park and have the ability to do that and provide an amenity to our community.”
“It’s a chicken and egg problem. Without this initial review, we can't even know if it's viable to proceed. So I think that's what we're doing is trying to make that determination,” township board director Kyle Watson said.
“We do not have [anything] in writing, so we don't have a legal document,” township President and CEO Monique Sharp said. “This is just the very first base to complete, ... and we would not go forward any further than this without all of that nailed down.”
What’s next
The township will not move forward on any work or engineering on a potential community park until the feasibility study is completed and more formal agreements are arranged, Sharp said.
Township officials repeatedly emphasized the preliminary nature of the feasibility study and the possibility of the park not moving forward due to a lack of sufficient resources or space.
