Stephen Alfandre of Toll Brothers City Living, which is currently building the Hampden Row luxury condos in downtown Bethesda, got it right. Alfandre argued "poor job growth in Montgomery is holding [attraction of millennials] back," according to Bisnow. His examples of locations where efforts have been more successful - Arlington County and DC's 14th Street - both share one thing in common: proximity to high-wage government, defense and government contracting jobs. If Montgomery County can add more of those type of jobs, it will provide the same draw for young professionals.
Rich Jordan of The JBG Companies identified another major draw - affordable housing. Although, one could argue, if there were enough new high-wage jobs, that would increase the spending power of millennials for housing. If you look where the studies show millennials are currently located in downtown Bethesda, they are clustered most in the Battery Lane and Bradley Boulevard corridors. With demolitions of several older apartment buildings already approved for Battery, that street will have a net loss in affordable units. We're hearing more and more rumors about redevelopment (a.k.a. demolition of existing housing) in the Bradley area, as well. Those ideas will have to be reversed, if Montgomery really is serious about retaining the millennials it has now, much less attracting new ones.
I give both of these guys credit for cutting through the nightlife/"vibrant places" baloney. Millennials vacation and party in Las Vegas, but they sure as heck aren't moving there like they are to DC, Rosslyn, Pentagon City, Clarendon, etc. to start their professional careers.
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