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Montgomery County uses right-of-first-refusal to keep 52 affordable units in Bethesda and Rockville
Summary
County Executive Mark said the county invoked its strengthened right-of-first-refusal law to preserve 52 naturally occurring affordable units at Tilbury Gardens (Bethesda) and Argyle Street Apartments (Rockville), with 24 units to remain income-restricted.
Montgomery County said on Wednesday that it used its updated right-of-first-refusal authority to preserve 52 naturally occurring affordable housing units that were at risk of redevelopment.
"This was a nice little two-story building and they would have been redeveloped," County Executive Mark said, describing how the county stepped in to prevent demolition. Mark said the county worked with Yolk Management Partners to preserve units at Tilbury Gardens in Bethesda and Argyle Street Apartments in Rockville and said 24 of the preserved units will be restricted to lower-income households.
Mark said the county strengthened the right-of-first-refusal law in 2024 to allow the county to step in when affordable properties are put up for sale and assign purchase rights to a qualified developer to avoid net losses of affordable housing. He described residents direct involvement in advocating for preservation and credited the countys Department of Housing and Community Affairs and staff such as Scott Brutin for arranging the acquisition.
"We preserve naturally occurring affordable units across two properties, Tilbury Gardens in Bethesda and Argyle Street Apartments in Rockville," Mark said. "Now, 52 units won't be torn down and replaced with higher-end new developments. Twenty-four of these units will be restricted to lower income households."
County officials said this action is part of a broader effort this fiscal year to preserve over 913 affordable units across the county. No sale price, developer financing details or long-term subsidy commitments were provided at the briefing; officials offered to follow up with reporters on specific fiscal and contract terms.
Officials asked reporters to contact the Department of Housing and Community Affairs for more details and to confirm unit-restriction terms, timeline for resident relocation support (if any), and whether the preserved units will receive additional long-term affordability covenants.
