Underground Homeless Encampment Discovered Beneath Wheaton Redevelopment Site

A Montgomery County-based news outlet has published a detailed report documenting a multi-level underground homeless encampment beneath a major redevelopment site in downtown Wheaton.

Montgomery Fix reported this week that a large underground structure beneath the former Ambassador Apartment property, now part of the planned Wheaton Gateway mixed-use development at the corner of Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard, is being used as an active homeless encampment.

(Photo courtesy of Montgomery Fix)

According to the report, the underground space is a former parking garage that remained intact after demolition of the apartment building above. Photos and video obtained by Montgomery Fix show multiple makeshift sleeping platforms, blankets spread across wooden pallets, large amounts of debris and trash, bags of clothing, hanging food storage, and signs of regular activity.

The outlet’s reporting indicates that the encampment extends across multiple underground levels, including additional rooms and lower garage areas accessed by interior ramps. The space appears unstable and unfit for human habitation.

A ramp leading to lower levels of the structure is obscured by darkness. A trail of debris and sheets tied to the grating indicate recent habitation. (Photo courtesy of Montgomery Fix)

Montgomery Fix characterizes the situation as both a humanitarian crisis and a public safety issue, noting that individuals are living underground during winter conditions in an environment with compromised structural integrity, unsanitary conditions, and significant life safety risks.

In follow-up posts on social media, the publisher, Glenn Fellman, stated that the situation was reported to the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs and to the Department of Health and Human Services through its Services to End and Prevent Homelessness division. Fellman told The Patch that he also emailed and messaged several members of the County Council, including President Natalie Fani-González, whose district includes the site.

Since the article and an accompanying 11-minute video of the encampment were posted online less than two days ago, there have been tens of thousands of responses across social media platforms, with commenters largely expressing sorrow over the conditions shown and outrage that such a situation could exist in Montgomery County.

A few on social media were critical of the outlet for exposing the encampment so publicly, fearing harassment of the unhoused individuals and expressing regret for their likely displacement. In a Facebook comment, Fellman said those issues weighed heavily in the decision to publish but the need for expediency won out. "Once we discovered the extent of the Wheaton encampment, we couldn't stomach the thought of submitting a complaint on 311, waiting 10 days for the case to be assigned, another 10 days for an inspection, and then 30 days while the owner addresses the inevitable abatement order. This needs to be addressed now," Fellman wrote. "The public exposure and extensive photo documentation is purposeful, to generate public attention and urgency, and thereby increase the chances that the county and property owner step in immediately to secure the site and help those in need."

Fellman told The Patch that, as of publication, none of the contacted officials had responded, though it had been less than 48 hours and notifications were sent on Saturday, the same day Montgomery Fix learned the extent of the underground complex.

The full Montgomery Fix report, including photos and video, can be found here: Hidden in Plain Sight: Wheaton’s Underground Homeless Encampment.