White Oak City Plan Supplants Attainable Housing Strategies

In response to critics who say he squashed the Montgomery County Planning Department's Attainable Housing Strategies initiative without providing alternatives, County Executive Marc Elrich announced plans today for White Oak City, "giving the county affordable housing capacity for the next 50 years."

The White Oak City plan is based on Hong Kong's renowned Kowloon Walled City, which housed 35,000 residents within its 6.4-acre territory. White Oak City will be built on the 7-acre site of the former Sears located at 11255 New Hampshire Avenue, bolstered by a $2 million grant from Maryland's National Capital Strategic Economic Development Fund.

The county planning commission proposal, now considered DOA, would have allowed for properties where there are single-family homes to become duplexes, triplexes or small apartment buildings.

"Building three $500,000 homes where a $1.2 million home already exists does nothing to address the affordable housing problem. Thirty-five thousand flats starting at $350 a month solves it for two generations," Elrich said at a press conference.

A trade visit to Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City gave Elrich the idea for White Oak City

Local governments were quick to endorse the White Oak City proposal. Takoma Park volunteered to pay salary and moving expenses for its most talented architect to relocate to White Oak and oversee construction. The Town of Somerset in Chevy Chase will match Maryland's $2 million development grant, with funds earmarked for Metro's new Black-and-Tan line connecting White Oak to the Friendship Heights station.

Elrich says the beauty of White Oak City is that it makes affordable housing attainable for ethnicities that cannot afford homes in the Wootton cluster. "The average income of Black and Hispanic residents is about $75,000. This is a clear indication we need a unique community for people like them," Elrich said. The median household income in Montgomery County was $125,371 in 2023.

Opponents of White Oak City worry that its Hong Kong model was rife with gangs, crime, and drugs. "Have you been to White Oak lately?" Elrich asked in response. "Not much will change."

In lieu of public hearings, Elrich will hold a series of 8-minute dumpster-fireside chats behind the Enclave Silver Spring Apartments, where he will belittle and disparage work performed by county employees while making the case for White Oak City.