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A 3.5-acre development site next to the Pike & Rose project in Montgomery County is slated to go up for auction next week.
The auction, scheduled for Tuesday with Alex Cooper Auctioneers, was initiated by the substitute trustees that the lender appointed after the previous owner, PJ Silver Spring LLC, defaulted on its 2020 loan, according to the listing. It will be held at the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville.
The parcel is on the corner of Montrose and Towne roads in Rockville, directly to the northwest of the 24-acre Pike & Rose development spearheaded by Federal Realty.
Montgomery County has approved a preliminary sketch plan for the site that would allow three mid- and high-rise buildings with roughly 565 units over retail and parking.
PJ Silver Spring LLC appears to be controlled by private investor Jing Pan, according to public deed records. The entity acquired the property from Wilgus Associates LP for $23M on June 19, 2020, and it took out a loan totaling just under $18M on the property from Wilgus-Montrose Associates LLC the day before, public records show.
The lender's registered address is the headquarters for Willco, and its officer shares the name of Willco principal owner Richard Cohen. Willco's Clinton Smith confirmed the lender is an affiliate of the company.
In 2021, Willco pitched a 20-acre, eight-building development of its own near Pike & Rose. The plans included up to 2,063 residential units filling in around existing office buildings directly south of the parcel up for auction.
That proposed development, dubbed Rose Village, is bounded to the north by the subsequently renamed Josiah Henson Parkway, which forms the southern boundary of the vacant land. The Montgomery County Planning Board recommended the project's approval in October 2021.
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