D-C Radio: County Passes On Bidding For WMAL Property

Montgomery County, MD will not submit an offer for the 75-acre WMAL 630 AM transmitter site in Bethesda, likely ensuring the open green space will become hundreds of new homes, according to The Sentinel.

Chief Administration Officer Timothy Firestine cited the expensive price – potentially nine figures, according to some estimates – as the biggest obstacle keeping the county from buying the Greentree Road property and maintaining it as community space.

“The challenge is that the price is way beyond what we can do,” Firestine said. “You’re talking about a million (dollars) per acre, and that’s a big chunk of land. We don’t have the resources to do that.”

After The Sentinel reported WMAL’s owner Cumulus Media put the transmitter site up for sale, local residents contacted local officials to ask whether the county could save the space, where people have come for decades to walk dogs, run and play sports.

With the county out of the running, all signs point to a massive residential development on the property.

Companies have until March 12 to submit an offer to CBRE Group Inc., the real estate broker representing Cumulus. CBRE Senior Vice President John Sheridan declined to comment on the number and nature of applications he’s received, but said his team will review all the offers and approach selected companies in a few weeks.