Matthew Gordon is a Partner in the firm’s Land Use and Zoning Practice, where he advises developers, property owners and institutional clients on all aspects of the land development and entitlement process. His practice spans the full lifecycle of development projects, from pre-acquisition and due diligence through regulatory approvals and public hearings. Matthew has extensive experience representing residential, commercial, industrial and institutional developments, with particular depth in mixed-use and infill redevelopment projects throughout the Washington metropolitan region.

Matthew brings a strong public-sector perspective to his private practice. Prior to joining the firm, he served as an Associate County Attorney in the Prince George’s County Office of Law, where he routinely acted as legal counsel to the Prince George’s County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE). In that role, he advised County agencies on zoning, land use and regulatory compliance matters, and worked closely with planning and permitting officials on complex development issues. This government experience allows Matthew to provide clients with practical, strategic guidance and a nuanced understanding of local regulatory processes in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.

Representative development projects he has worked on include:

• Represented a joint venture with responding to and successfully being awarded an RFP for redevelopment of two County surface parking lots in Downtown Bethesda and processing regulatory applications to allow for construction of multi-family units (including increased affordable housing), replacement public parking spaces and public parkland.
• Assisted with obtaining approval of Rezoning/Sketch Plan and Schematic Development Plan applications for the ±100-acre Lakeforest Mall site in Gaithersburg, a proposed mixed-use redevelopment with 1,600 residential units and approximately 1.2 million square feet of commercial uses.
• Represented various non-profit affordable housing developers with obtaining approvals from the Montgomery County Planning Board for Missing Middle and high-rise multi-family projects.
• Helped a property owner obtain approval of a Detailed Site Plan for a ±200,000 square foot self-storage facility in Prince George’s County.
• Assisted with obtaining concurrent Planning Board approval of Sketch, Site and Preliminary Plan applications for the Marriott International Headquarters project, a mixed-use redevelopment with approximately 1 million square feet of office and hotel uses in Downtown Bethesda.
• Helped with obtaining combined Planning Board approval of Sketch, Site and Preliminary Plan applications for the Avocet Tower, a mixed-use redevelopment of the old Bethesda Police Station with a trophy office building and hotel along the Wisconsin Avenue Corridor in Bethesda.
• Represented an industrial landowner through the zoning map amendment process in Prince George’s County to successfully allow for uniform industrial zoning.
• Assisted with land use and zoning representation for the Twinbrook Quarter Project Plan and Phase I Site Plan approvals, an ±18-acre mixed-use redevelopment with proposed multi-family, restaurant, grocery, retail and office uses in the City of Rockville.
• Represented a regional automotive dealer with obtaining Preliminary Plan and Site Plan approvals for a ±40,000 square foot automotive sales showroom and service facility in the Montgomery Auto Sales Park.

A lifelong Montgomery County resident, Matthew is admitted to practice in the Maryland state courts and the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He has served as a business representative to the Bethesda Downtown Implementation Advisory Committee since 2017. Matthew was named a Bethesda Magazine Top Attorney in 2021 and 2025.

Articles

• Co-authored, ”Insights into Montgomery County proposed zoning and tax incentives to convert vacant offices into housing,” Washington Business Journal, April 1, 2025; published as “Montgomery County Proposes (and Adopts) Zoning & Tax Incentives to Convert Vacant Offices into Housing,” com, April 10, 2025
• Co-authored, “How Montgomery County can reinforce the goals and strategies of Thrive Montgomery 2050 to solve housing affordability crisis,” Washington Business Journal, June 1, 2024; published as “The Impact on Housing of the Montgomery County 2024 Growth and Infrastructure Policy,” com, June 24, 2024
• Co-authored, “Downtown Bethesda Surpasses ‘Soft-Cap’ Established in 2017 Sector Plan,” com, October 11, 2023; SelzerGurvitch.com, October 11, 2023 
• “Montgomery County Green Building and Energy Requirements – Update,” com, July 27, 2023
• Co-authored, “Is the Montgomery County Housing Policy at a Crossroads?”com, June 19, 2023; SelzerGurvitch.com, June 6, 2023 
• “Montgomery County Speed to Market Initiatives: Sign Ordinance Rewrite Emerges from Economic Advisory Work Group,” com, July 15, 2022
• Co-authored, “BOZ Density Expected to Exceed ‘Soft Cap’ by October 1,” com, September 17, 2021
• Quoted in “Here are the top land use issues for developers as the ongoing buildout of downtown Bethesda continues,” by Laura Newpoff, Washington Business Journal, September 8, 2021
• “Building Energy Use Benchmarking and Performance Standards (BEPS),” com, August 27, 2021
• “An Introduction to the Bethesda Unified Mobility Program,” com, June 17, 2021