New Friendship Heights Commercial, Residential Center Gets Underway

Demolition has now begun on Wisconsin Place, a mixed-use, 1.1 million s.f. project at the corner of Wisconsin and Western Avenues in Chevy Chase. Wrecking crews began a very visible demolition in January of the Hecht’s department store, while the foundation is currently being poured on the 480,000 s.f. residential tower, which is expected to come out of the ground in April. The nine-building, four-architect project, developed by a partnership of New England Development Company, Archstone-Smith, and Boston Properties, will be completed by 2009, and include 423 residential units, 305,000 s.f. of office space, retail space, and a 20,000 s.f. community center.

While there are a number of prospective vendors for the town center, Whole Foods Market and Bloomingdales are the only confirmed companies at this time. The trapezoidal Wisconsin Place will front four different streets; specialty retail and office space will overlook Wisconsin Avenue and the Metro Station, while Bloomingdales and other retail space will be located at the corner of Friendship Boulevard and Western Avenue. Connected to the community center, the residential tower will encircle a courtyard, with exterior units facing the new Whole Foods Market on Willard Avenue and a one-acre park at the corner of Willard Avenue and Friendship Boulevard.

Construction on the eight-acre property began two years ago with the construction of the Bloomingdales’ parking garage on which the store will eventually sit. Hecht’s Department store remained open until late last year, a condition of NEDC’s acquisition of the property from Hecht’s parent company, May Department Store Co., but has now been closed for demolition. Bloomingdales, expected to open in September, will take Hecht’s place as the plaza’s department store. The "Residences at Wisconsin Place", developed by Archstone-Smith and designed by Bethesda-based SK&I Architects will include 423 "luxury" rental studio apartments. According to Darryl South, Vice President of Development at Archstone, the residences will feature a high percentage of glass including living rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows. Initial occupancy of these one, two, and three bedroom apartments, starting at $1700 a month, will begin in June 2008.

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