The former home of Marvin Memorial United Methodist Church at the intersection of University Boulevard and Colesville Road is now listed for sale with Cresa, a global commercial real estate firm.
The asking price for the Four Corners property is $5 million, said listing agent LaMean Koroma, and has already generated a lot of interest.
The land actually consists of four parcels, with slightly different zoning classifications, which could have an effect on how the new owner uses the property.
Three of the parcels, where the building sits now, are zoned to allow a broad range of commercial and residential uses, according to Montgomery Planning staff, particularly assuming the current building is taken down.
However, the density and height restrictions at the site would limit any redevelopment possibilities, staff added.
Nevertheless, there would still be opportunities. For example, the CRT (Commercial Residential Town–see map below) parcel could be redeveloped with a restaurant, a retail store, a small residential building, or similar use.
The largest parcel, which is essentially the parking lot on the east end of the site at 33 University Blvd. E., is zoned R-60, typically associated with single-family detached homes.
However, as a footnote on the Planning Department website notes, “Detached House or a Building for a Cultural Institution, Religious Assembly, Public Use, or a Conditional Use allowed in the zone.”
That could include a public school or a park. With conditional use approval, it could be developed with a daycare, a private school, or a few other uses, according to Montgomery Planning staff.
Any significant alterations to the property would have to be approved through the county’s planning process, which would include opportunities for public input.
Marvin Memorial UMC dates to 1872 when a group of Four Corners residents organized to build a church on donated land on what was then called Old Bladensburg Road, according to an online history of the congregation.
The church was known by several different names until 1941, when it was renamed to honor Bishop Enoch Marvin, a church leader in the post-Civil War era.
The current building’s cornerstone was laid in 1946, and the west wing of the building was finished in June 1968.
The congregation merged in 2014 with Woodside United Methodist Church to create the Silver Spring United Methodist Church.
The Woodside location was designated as the Worship Center for the combined congregation, while the Four Corners location became the Mission Center.
In recent years, the building has hosted operations of Gandhi Brigade Youth Media, Manna Food Center, a Boy Scout troop, a preschool, and other faith congregations, among others.
Photo by Mike Diegel. Screenshot of the zoning map from Montgomery County Planning Department website.