Montgomery County has reached an agreement with Artspace to develop the former county police district 3 station on Sligo Avenue in Silver Spring into an arts center and affordable housing.
The former police building will be preserved and turned into artist studios and creative spaces by the Minneapolis-based arts organization that already runs area facilities in Mount Rainer and Washington, D.C.
The redevelopment of the building will also include 70 garden-style housing units and approximately 12 townhouses, according to the county.
“Investing in affordable housing and artistic centers at this location will create a strong anchor and transitional connection between the business district and residential neighborhoods,” County Executive Ike Leggett said in a statement. “With their extensive experience in developing artist-led community transformation projects, Artspace is the perfect choice to develop this property and I look forward to this project coming to fruition.”
A timetable for the project wasn’t provided in the initial press release, but community outreach is scheduled to begin this spring, according to the county.
County police relocated from the former district station at 801 Sligo Ave. to a new station at 1002 Milestone Drive in Silver Spring in May 2014.