As 2026 begins, it marks the start of the fourth year of our journey toward building affordable housing on the campus of Silver Spring United Methodist Church. With congregational and community support, the BBCC and our development partners are now farther along the path to making that goal a reality.

Following the awarding of 9% low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) from the State of Maryland in October 2025, we have begun developing a site plan for the project. You may have seen surveyors around the SSUMC property in the last days of December indicating the initial phase of that process which will take up to six months. The overall project timeline is detailed below.

Also in December, we received meaningful financial support from the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. Their $250,000 grant to SSUMC “reflects our deep confidence in your leadership, your congregational readiness, and your faithful imagination. Silver Spring United Methodist Church’s project demonstrates how the Church can hold together continuity and transformation—remaining a place of worship and discipleship while opening its doors, quite literally, to neighbors in need of safe, dignified, and affordable homes.” SSUMC will use this generous grant to offset costs.

TIMELINE:

Here are some of the major steps that must be undertaken leading up to the County Planning vote on the final plans, with approximate timeframes for completion:

  1. Prepare a detailed site plan and other required documentation for county zoning officials. This step is underway and will require 4-6 months to complete.
  2. Apply for a zoning “conditional use” under the rules of the Montgomery County FAITH ZTA. This will likely not start until the site plan is ready. A county hearing examiner will conduct one or more public hearings as needed during this process. The examiner may require changes to the architectural plans. This step will require 4-6 months to complete.
  3. Apply for preliminary plan of subdivision approval. This may be undertaken concurrently with the application for a conditional use, but the preliminary plan will not be approved until the conditional use has been granted. County officials responsible for reviewing the plan may require changes to it.
  4. Finalize all plans for development of the site, including Church renovations, and for financing of both the housing and Church renovation projects. Upon approval of the site plan, final engineering and construction documents can be processed to get ready to apply for permits. This step will require 15-18 months.

Altogether, and assuming all goes smoothly, we are likely over 2 years away from the possible start of the housing construction and major church renovation, and over 4 years from the start of housing occupancy.

Both the housing and Church renovation projects will undergo additional planning and scrutiny. These plans will be updated and finalized, and subjected to another vote of the Church membership, prior to the start of implementation.

 

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