The Gazette
C COMMUNITY OMMUNITY NE N NEWS EWS www.gazette.net
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013
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Page A-4
White Flint developer is banking on apartments rather than offices, retail n
ProMark revises plans for North Bethesda Gateway
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
A development company has revised its plans for building in the White Flint area to include more apartments and no office space. The county planning board
on Thursday approved a sketch plan amendment for North Bethesda Gateway, a development planned for 5516 Nicholson Lane, just over a quarter mile south of the White Flint Metro station. ProMark Real Estate Services first submitted plans for apartments, offices and retail space on the property in 2010. Now, ProMark has revised its plans to eliminate proposed office buildings, reduce the amount of space allotted for retail and in-
crease the amount of residential space, according to a Montgomery County Planning Board staff report. ProMark held public meetings to discuss the revised plans in January. The Gazette reported at the time that the company planned to scrap its plans for two high-rise apartment buildings and an office building in favor of two lower residential buildings. According to the staff report, the first plans called for one resi-
dential building at 19 stories, another residential building at 16 stories and the office building at nine stories. The plans also included a separate retail building, according to the report. The new plans replace those four buildings with two residential buildings with retail at ground level. They are planned to be about 80 feet tall, according to the report. ewaibel@gazette.net
Oktober in Clarksburg
PHOTOS BY GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Christiana Drapkin (right) of Rockville, who performs as Organ Grinder Lola, leads Julia Boardman, 6, of Olney in a dance to a German street song during Oktoberfest on Saturday at High Point Farm in Clarksburg. Kaia Sanders, 6, of Montgomery Village puts the finishing touches on her scarecrow Saturday during Oktoberfest at High Point Farm in Clarksburg.
Residents celebrated Oktoberfest on Saturday in Clarksburg with food, dance and drink. Kids at the familyfriendly event stuffed their own scarecrows and learned German songs. Police officers serving in the area received awards at the annual event, which was held at High Point Farm. — SYLVIA CARIGNAN
Man sentenced to 55 years for killing girlfriend Murder culminated long, chaotic relationship n
BY ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
The stories that Rocio Nickaury Morcelo’s family members told Monday at her killer’s sentencing were brutal: a devoted mother who suffered years of domestic abuse and violence, from an obsessive lover. Martire P. Fulcar, 32, of Wheaton used knives and his fists, in the words of a Montgomery County judge, to Fulcar “intimidate, abuse, and torture” Morcelo, who was 37 when she died last year. Dressed in a black shirt and tan pants, flanked by the prosecutors and a victim’s advocate, Morcelo’s mother said that her daughter’s death weighed heavily on their family. “He didn’t just kill my daughter, but the entire family,” Miledys Paulino said, through an interpreter. On Monday, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl A. McCally sentenced Fulcar, or “Omar,” as friends and family called him, to life in prison, suspending all but 55 years. “I don’t know what demons plague you, but they are significant,” Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl A. McCally said, before imposing the sentence. After Fulcar and Morcelo had a domestic dispute in September 2012, Fulcar stabbed her 34 times. Besides cuts to her heart and neck, she had defensive wounds on her arms, palms, and fingers, prosecutors said at Fulcar’s guilty plea last month. When McCally asked him if he had anything to say before his sentence was im-
posed, Fulcar merely shook his head. Fulcar fled to Florida after last year’s stabbing, and tried to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of a Miami hotel. He landed on the roof of a car, cushioning his fall and saving his life, police said. Online court records show that Fulcar was the subject of several peace orders and protective orders as far back as 2003, but they were later dismissed each time when the person seeking the order failed to appear to testify at a court hearing. Fulcar’s family members have said he came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic when he was about 18. He had a green card and had last worked for a Chipotle’s restaurant, said Napoleon Puente, one of his brothers. Besides Fulcar’s and Morcelo’s son, Fulcar had two daughters — one in D.C. and one in the Dominican Republic, Puente said. “It’s a tragedy both ways,” he said, in an interview. “As family, we loved her. But he’s family too,” Puente said, adding that Fulcar would have to live with his deed for the rest of his life. He had visited Fulcar the day before the sentencing, he said. “He seemed OK. Accepting, calm. Talking as usual,” he said. Ron Gottlieb, Fulcar’s public defender, said Fulcar had shown immediate remorse and by pleading guilty, had accepted responsibility for the crime. McCally also ordered Fulcar not to have contact with any of Morcelo’s family — including the son he had fathered with her. “If you set foot [near] or have contact with any one of them I will return you to prison faster than you understand what has happened to you,” she told him. sjbsmith@gazette.net
City explores changes to moderately priced units in senior communities n
One possibility is capping cost of rent and service fees BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
The city of Rockville is looking for a better way to incorporate senior living facilities into its affordable housing ordinance. The ordinance requires new housing developments of more than 50 units to designate 12.5 to 15 percent of the units as moderately priced dwelling units, or MPDUs. Those units will be sold or rented at lower prices to people with moderate incomes, according to mayor and council documents.
The rents in MPDUs are lower, but they do not include fees for amenities that some apartment communities charge. In senior housing communities, the amenities might include food, transportation, house cleaning and other services. Senior citizens with a moderate income might be able to afford the rent, but not the additional services. The mayor and council asked city staff in August to look into ways to deal with senior and special-needs living in the dwelling-unit ordinance. They began discussing possible changes during Monday’s meeting. City staff have recommended capping the cost of rent and service fees for MPDUs that provide the majority
of needs for daily living, according to a report to the mayor and council. Under the proposal, rent and fees together would be capped at 70 percent of the median monthly MPDU income range. For example, the median eligible income for the MPDU program is now $2,796 per month, so rent and fees would be capped at $1,957, according to the report. To account for reducing the service fees, senior or special-needs housing facilities could be allowed to reduce the percentage of MPDUs required on site. The MPDU ordinance only applies to residences that offer facilities for sleeping, cooking and sanitation, such as apartments and houses, but not to nursing homes.
The staff report also includes possible clarifications on how developers could propose alternatives to providing MPDUs within their building projects, such as building more units elsewhere or offering the city money for its housing fund. The JBG Cos. and The Shelter Group are planning to build a senior housing community called Brightview Rockville Town Center on the site of a former Giant grocery store, just north of the Town Square area, The Gazette reported in June. At the time, a representative from Brightview said rents for the senior residences likely would start at about $3,000 per month, which includes some meals and transportation.
Another Brightview representative asked the mayor and council to consider modifications to the ordinance as they relate to senior housing. That prompted an inquiry to the staff from the mayor and council, according to the staff report. The proposed changes are in the draft stages. Rockville’s mayor and council are expected to discuss potential MPDU ordinance revisions at a future meeting. Construction on Brightview is expected to begin next year, The Gazette previously reported. ewaibel@gazette.net