1 Preserve Parkway
Responses from Longfellow Real Estate Partners
April 18, 2023: Please see the responses to questions from the Board below from Longfellow Real Estate Partners.
We are happy to continue the conversations and information sharing with you all about our general plans for the building and our experience owning and operating life science real estate. We cannot set the expectation that sharing specific information relative to building design and operation or tenant relations is standard practice. It takes a tremendous amount of time and resources to get necessary approvals for everything we plan to do to the building, ensuring that all aspects meet code requirements. We are not seeking a change to zoning or permitted uses, and all of the restrictions applicable to the zoning are available for anyone to read on county websites. I hope the answers below are helpful, we are happy to have a follow up discussion if needed.
Question: Can we get copies of the Wind Wake Analysis and Noise Study? When can you provide them to us?
WE HAVE HAD BOTH OF THESE DONE AND ALL FINDINGS FROM THOSE STUDIES ARE THAT THE BUILDING REMAINS IN COMPLIANCE – WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ISSUED PERMITS IF THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. WE HAVE NOT INSTALLED ANY NEW EQUIPMENT OR HAD ANY LAB TENANTS MOVE IN, AND THE BUILDING IS CURRENTLY OPERATING THE SAME WAY THAT IS HAS SINCE IT WAS BUILT – THE ONLY CHANGE IS THAT THERE ARE FEWER OCCUPANTS.
Question: Can you provide us with more information on the emergency generator for the building? (date of construction, horsepower, fuel type, emissions etc)
WE HAVE MAINTAINED THE SAME ROUTINE GENERATOR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE THAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER DID, AND HAVE RECENTLY ALTERED THE TIMING SO THAT IT DOES NOT HAPPEN FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. THE NEW GENERATOR THAT WILL BE INSTALLED WAS DESIGNED WITH A HOSPITAL GRADE MUFFLER FOR FURTHER NOISE MITIGATION IN ADDITION TO THE ENCLOSURE THAT WILL GO AROUND IT. IT IS DESIGNED FOR 55DBA WHICH WILL BE WELL UNDER THE NOISE ORDINANCE LIMITS. WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE PERMITS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED IF ANY OF THE CURRENT OR FUTURE EQUIPMENT WAS NOT WITHIN PERMITTED LIMITS.
Question: Our understanding is that you don’t yet have a tenant, but go through a rigorous due diligence process in leasing to one. While we understand and appreciate that emission standards and air quality control laws will closely regulate activities in the building, these regulations also depend on the particular source under consideration (e.g. size, nature of emission, exceptions for certain use cases such as R&D) Can you describe what type of research or laboratory tenant you are looking for or currently marketing to?
LONGFELLOW CURRENTLY PARTNERS WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TENANTS THROUGHOUT OUR PORTFOLIO, WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT USES. ALTHOUGH THEY CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS LIFE SCIENCE RELATED, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT AT THIS TIME TO DESCRIBE THOSE WE ARE MARKETING TO. REGARDLESS OF COMPANY MISSION, THESE COMPANIES CANNOT GET THE NECESSARY PERMITS TO BUILD SPACE IN THE BUILDING IF THEIR PLANS DO NOT CONFORM TO THE ALREADY APPROVED ZONING AND PERMITTED USES FOR THE PROPERTY. SINCE WE ARE NOT SEEKING A REZONING FOR THE PROPERTY, THERE WOULD BE NO CHANGES OR EXEMPTIONS TO THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS.
Tower Oaks Neighbors,
As many of you are aware, 1 Preserve Parkway (the office building directly next to our community on the Flats side) was purchased by Longfellow Real Estate Partners (https://lfrep.com/) in June 2022. Longfellow is based out of Boston and specializes in the conversion of existing office buildings to “laboratory and bio-innovations” buildings.
Their plans were brought to the attention of the community in January when a meeting was held with the City of Rockville Planning Commission to discuss a waiver to allow Longfellow to install additional mechanical equipment on the roof of the building. As Abaris reported in an email to the community on January 31st, this waiver was granted unanimously by the Planning Commission.
Over the past few weeks, the Board has heard various concerns from community members regarding potential health issues related to the new use of 1 Preserve Parkway. The Board has reached out to our General Counsel, Kim O’Halloran-Perez at Rees Broom, to request her advice and opinion on this matter. Please see Kim’s response to the Board, below. At this time, the Board accepts Counsel’s interpretation and is not planning additional action. The Board is willing to revisit this issue if new information comes to light.
Message from Kim O’Halloran-Perez, dated February 9, 2023:
I wanted to pull the waiver application and some of the historical planning data for this building and the HOA.
I confirmed [by] reviewing those materials that there has been a long-standing intent in the comprehensive plan and the original redevelopment plans for the Reserve community to allow for research businesses in this area of the City. Further, when I pulled the waiver application the application details confirmed that City staff has already opined that research use is allowed.
Given these findings – i.e. an established intent for research use in this part of the City, it would be very challenging to now fight the plans to convert the office to research use. The issue is that the community would have to fight more than 40 years of comprehensive plan data supporting research use. In these sorts of cases, the City often takes the position that citizens can and should research the comprehensive plan when they move into a new area. The reality is that most people don’t take the time and effort to pull these plans when considering where to buy their forever home.
Now that the application has been approved, the decision of the Planning Commission is deemed to be final. There is a process to seek reconsideration within seven days of the written Planning Commission Decision. Given the timing of the meeting on 1/23, we are likely outside of that window. Then, the only process is to appeal to the Montgomery County Circuit Court as an appeal of an administrative action. This is a very limited appeal review process, which looks for procedural errors by the Planning Commission or an abuse of process – here neither exist. I also believe any motion for reconsideration is unlikely to be successful given the long-standing plans to allow research uses in this area of the City.
I can see why there are concerns about emissions as the new plans envision having a generator in the garage and additional exhaust “stacks” on the roof.
The important thing for the Board to be aware of are the numerous emission standards and air quality control laws that will control what the research facility can vent into the air – and it extends to the generator too. These regulations are administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). The new research facility will be required to provide annual reports each April on the outcome of routine testing of the system.
There is also the following number available to report complaints:
Do you have an air pollution complaint?
If so, call (410) 537-3215 to report it.
Given the issues with challenging the recent approval by the Planning Commission, I think that the Board could arm residents with this complaint number to report issues as they may arise.
Date: January 31, 2023
Dear Reserve at Tower Oaks HOA and Flats at Tower Oaks Condominium Owners,
A Virtual Meeting was held on January 25th, 2023, with the City of Rockville Planning Commission to discuss a waiver “to Allow for the Placement of Mechanical Equipment Within an Area Greater Than 25 Percent of the Existing Building’s Rooftop and to Allow the Top of the Mechanical Equipment to be Visible from Street Grade, at 1 Preserve Parkway in Tower Oaks; Longfellow Real Estate, Applicant.”
The Mechanical equipment they requested for approval will cover 28 Percent of the rooftop and be visible from street grade. Instead of the allowed 25 percent and no visibility from street grade. The existing rooftop enclosure will be replaced by a new enclosure covering most of the mechanical equipment except for the top of the exhaust stacks. Neither the enclosure nor the proposed mechanical equipment will exceed the maximum height of 125 feet currently allowed within Tower Oaks.
Longfellow Real Estate ensured that all occupants would follow the City of Rockville’s Health and Safety guidelines. The fumes that will be exhausting from the building will be safe for occupants and surrounding residents. Furthermore, the exhaust’s sound level will operate at a max of 37 decibels, below the maximum of 55 decibels in the City of Rockville.
Homeowners were allowed to speak and extend their concerns to the Council. They were heard and answered by Aaron Altman, Director of operations of HOK, whom Longfellow Real Estate hired to modify the existing building.
After deliberations, the Council approved the waiver request, and the mechanical equipment will be visible from the street grade.
Please view the link below for the agenda and minutes if you have more questions about the hearing.
LINK: https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/PreviousVersions/_01252023-6789
Thank you,
Shireen Ambush, CPM, PCAM
Executive Vice President Abaris Realty
Community Manager for Tower Oaks
