Friendship Heights council clears Page Park design change; Red House renovation costs rise

The Friendship Heights Village Council unanimously approved a revision to the Page Park design on Oct. 14, removing a planned walkway at the north end of the park from the Stream Valley buffer zone to secure a Montgomery County forest conservation exemption, the council said at its regular meeting.

The change was presented by Jim Wilson, the village's project manager for Page Park and the Red House, who also briefed the council on the Red House renovation. Wilson said building-permit approvals for the Red House's zoning and electrical work have been secured and that the permitting cycle could allow construction to begin as early as late December or January. "We have submitted for building permits for the Red House," Wilson said. "...They would allow us to, potentially start construction as early as December. Probably late December, or January would be when we think we'd be ready for construction."

Why it matters: the walkway removal was required to obtain the county's forest conservation variance; keeping the concrete walkway in the Stream Valley buffer would have prevented…