Following more than a decade of planning, and the snip of several scissors, a 98-unit affordable apartment building on Sligo Avenue in Silver Spring opened Monday morning.
All units at Bracken Square are considered affordable to households earning between 30% and 80% of the area’s median income.
The first tenants are expected to move into the building next week, which cost $55 million to develop and construct. The apartments are near a future Purple Line rail stop, as well as close to downtown Silver Spring and the MARC train. A parking garage sits beneath the rental units.
Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs provided $9.5 million in financing for the project. Much of the other money came from federal tax credits under its Low Income Housing Tax Credits that were distributed to the state and then to equity investors who were willing to finance the project, according to Tom Ayd, principal of Green Street Housing, a project developer along with TM Associates.
This is the first all-affordable rental complex that TM Associates has worked on in Montgomery County, according to Bob Margolis, CEO of TM Associates.
“My ego was thoroughly tested on this development,” said Margolis, alluding to all the tax credits and zoning changes needed before the first shovel dug into the earth.
“We need more housing. We need more affordable housing,” Maryland Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-20) said during the ribbon cutting. “It’s a shame that it takes 12 years.”
She vowed to work in the General Assembly to speed up the process.
County Executive Marc Elrich called building affordable housing a plus for the community. “If we had more money, we’d be doing a lot more.”
If the governmental tax credits hadn’t been available, a private developer probably would have bought the vacant lot and built luxury apartments at market rates, according to Elrich.
“In this day and age, we can’t afford to walk away from any project,” said Elrich.
Since 2023, the county has built or preserved 4,500 affordable units, according to Elrich. During fiscal year 2025, the county closed on financing of $108 million for 118 affordable units.
“Those are big numbers,” he said.
