On Thursday, October 12, in Silver Spring, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the county’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. to mark the completion of the first project under the Countywide Façade Improvement Program (CFIP). The festivities will take place at the Hillandale Center, located at 10210 New Hampshire Ave in Silver Spring.
The owner of the Hillandale Center property, Ben Bran Associates, invested $579,804 in the improvements. The Hillandale Center now features a freshly painted façade, improved signage, a redesigned look with an upgraded aesthetic and color scheme, a new mural and better parking lot lighting. The CFIP aims to transform the exterior of commercial properties and/or businesses that are at least 10 years old to bring them up to current commercial standards and improve their visual appeal. The projects encourage and create more visually attractive and safer commercial environments throughout the county. Under the CFIP, property and business owners fund eligible improvements up front and are reimbursed for 50 percent of those costs at the end of the project through the county’s purchase of an easement.
