news & events

As Purple Line Touts Reaching 75% Completion, Businesses and Owners Pray for the End of Construction

Posted April 15, 2025 at 7:18 AM

Eminent Domain and Condemnation, Litigation, News & Events, Purple Line Project

Once open, the Purple Line will encompass 21 stops, beginning at Bethesda Metro station and concluding in New Carrollton, and will connect riders to Metro’s Red, Green and Orange lines as well as to MARC and Amtrak trains and bus service. But delays have plagued the project. Initially scheduled to be completed and operational in 2022, it is now hoped to be completed by 2028. And as the project drags on, the residential and commercial areas located along the line are suffering substantial adverse impacts from the ongoing construction.

The Purple Line team, Montgomery County, transportation officials, local Chambers of Commerce, and other community organizations have mobilized to offer some assistance to businesses that have experienced decreased revenues. But the minimal grants will not likely match the losses being suffered. What the impacted owners and businesses really hope for is a light at the end of the tunnel—and completion of the project.

“At the end of the day, it is hoped that the project will benefit business and land owners, and provide great economic growth opportunities in the county,” said Miller, Miller & Canby’s Joe Suntum, who focuses his practice on eminent domain and condemnation, “but, in the meantime, businesses struggle to hold on to their customers and residents have to deal with life in a seemingly permanent construction zone.”

Aware of the public’s frustration, the Purple Line Project has posted dozens of photographs depicting the status of construction to help the public psychologically hang on. Check out the photo galleries at: https://www.purplelinemd.com/progress/ The published images span the 16-mile length of the project. The online gallery shows construction progress, but the last 25% is still projected to take close to three more years to complete. Everyone is hoping this projected end date holds.

Questions? Joseph (Joe) P. Suntum is a principal at Miller, Miller & Canby and the firm’s Eminent Domain/Condemnation practice leader. His decades of trial experience and his in-depth knowledge of real property valuation and the law of eminent domain allow him to protect his clients’ property rights and maximize their compensation when their properties are targeted for condemnation. To learn more about our eminent domain and condemnation law practice and representative cases, click here.

RELATED NEWS & RESOURCES