By Susan M. Pourian, Board Secretary
Parkside is a garden style condominium community of 954 units within 102 buildings in Bethesda, MD. Built as a rental community between 1954 – 1966, it converted to condominiums in 1981. It is located near the beltway and Route 355, the major roadway heading north to Rockville, MD and south to Washington, DC.
The community is spread across 69 acres backing up to the natural environment of Rock Creek Park on the southeast side. Other bordering/nearby neighbors include Garrett Park, Strathmore Music and Arts Center and Grosvenor/Strathmore Metro station.
Besides its natural beauty and great location there is a strong sense of community at Parkside. There is very active participation by committee members and volunteers who bring people together with a sense of camaraderie, neighborliness, and shared purpose. Not only are there community social, seasonal and holiday events, there are also a number of volunteer opportunities within the community that include litter walks, weeding, food and toy drives, and planting trees. In addition, residents have organized a long-standing monthly book club, volleyball, pickle ball and cricket games and various listservs including an aging-in-place Parkside Village Listserv. Neighbors often help each other with household tasks, a referral for services or a ride to the store or medical appointment./p>
Committees also help the board and management in researching improvement opportunities. The Green Committee has been very successful in acquiring grants for projects including a Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund Stormwater Action Plan, and Conservation Landscape and Rain Garden RainScape. Ad Hoc committees are also helpful to management/board and have included EV Charging, Pool, Laundry and Energy & Utilities ad hoc committees.
Parkside has a unique management model that is self-managed with a managing agent for guidance and oversight, bringing strength to the whole system of management and community.
The management and staff are the wheels of progress at Parkside. With a long list of completed and in-progress improvement initiatives over the past few years, the team continues raising standards in workmanship, preventative maintenance and customer service. Residents often bring snacks, a vase of flowers or cards of thanks to the office in appreciation.
There are five board members that serve 2-year terms with annual meeting and elections held in April. Board members come with a wide range of expertise and interests, most of whom have served as volunteers, committee members or chairs.
The managing agent, general manager, a board member and others on the management team have weekly management meetings. These meetings help build a strong foundation in working toward the goals of providing quality in performance and services in ways that are fiscally responsible and sustainable. Weekly management team meetings provide a time for follow-up and guidance, and are held with a spirit that challenges everyone to always work better.
All of these parts of Parkside come together, with everyone contributing in vital ways toward improvement initiatives, making Parkside an amazing condominium – one that enriches the quality of life for everyone who live, work and volunteer at Parkside.
