Lessons learned on moving into a new 14-story LEED Platinum office building in downtown Wheaton…during a pandemic.

In this time of COVID-related upheaval, Montgomery Planning embarked on a long-planned move in September. Weeks later as I sit in the nearly empty offices of our bright, beautiful, new LEED-Platinum office building in Wheaton, I can’t help but reflect on the lessons learned and on the challenges that we will be facing in the months ahead.

Aerial photo of the new Wheaton Headquarters building completed in summer 2020.

Make room for creative solutions. We made many attempts to redevelop our 60-year-old building and adjoining surface parking lot in downtown Silver Spring, before accepting that it could no longer serve our needs. So, we embarked on a different course. We worked with Montgomery County leaders and a local development firm on a public-private partnership and land swap that resulted in our new Wheaton Headquarters building (WHQ).  Now that we have left Silver Spring, the site of our old building will be transformed into a mixed-use, 400-unit multi-family complex with a significant retail component.

This solution resulted in a true win-win. The Silver Spring project will provide much-needed housing near transit and community-serving retail uses. Our new WHQ brings many employees to downtown Wheaton who will support surrounding businesses and help spur revitalization. The Wheaton building provides co-location of many County departments that will result in a one-stop shop to conduct business.

Walk the talk. When the visioning process for the Wheaton project began, we emphasized a building that would reflect the ideas that we recommend in our master plans and development reviews. The WHQ epitomizes the planning principles that we have been preaching for decades while also taking us into the future. It represents design excellence, urbanism, transit-oriented development, co-location and environmental sustainability. We talk about “turning parking lots into places” and, at both the new WHQ and our old Silver Spring site, we have turned acres of asphalt into vibrant, walkable and sustainable places.

The WHQ is one of the first government buildings in Maryland to have earned a LEED Platinum certification. Among its green features are geothermal heating and cooling, integrated solar panels, green roofs and gray water reuse. The exterior incorporates rain screen facades and the plaza is designed to manage stormwater onsite. The building is located next to the Wheaton Metro station and we emphasize transit use, including unbundling parking for our employees.

Image of the sustainability features of the WHQ.

One of the sustainability features: a “living wall” in the lobby.

The design of the WHQ symbolizes the accessibility of the planning process with the community through intentional use of glass to create a sense of openness. The two-story lobby space will be available for public events and its living wall of greenery is a nod to the environmentally sensitive design.

The work must continue – virtually and in person. We moved in September 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. Thanks to technology, our planning work hasn’t skipped a beat while we work remotely. Change is hard and asking staff to pack up their belongings (in a socially distanced manner) at a building they hadn’t been to for five months only to have them unpack their work lives in a new, unfamiliar office building was asking a lot. It was important to build in flexibility and support for our staff knowing that any move can be stressful, much less during a pandemic – I am pleased that everyone came through like champs!

Now, we are slowly seeing staff begin to populate the new building. Some daily, some a couple of days per week and some are still teleworking 100 percent of the time. Although virtual meetings have been effective, we have noted that nothing can replace personal interaction. As the pandemic subsides, it will be a challenge to get back to “normal,” and I anticipate that many staff will telework at least one or two days per week. However, in order for the WHQ to fulfill its potential as a vibrant part of Wheaton’s revitalization and to make sure that it will be a place for creative, interactive planning work, we will need to address employee concerns so that they are comfortable coming back.

Gwen Wright,
Planning Director, Montgomery County Planning Department
Full Member
Member, ULI Washington Advisory Board

In ULI Washington’s new Leadership Insights column, ULI Washington will regularly feature member leader’s thoughts and insights as we adjust personally and professional to a “new normal.”