North Bethesda's Latest Project to Break Ground

North Bethesda better brush up on its knowledge of protons and neutrons because there will be a lot of particles moving around when construction starts this summer on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission building. On Monday, developer LCOR received a final approval from the Montgomery County Planning Board to build a new 362,000 s.f. office building at North Bethesda Center Metro, a.k.a. White Flint, a.k.a Rockville. About a year ago, LCOR, in a partnership with USAA Real Estate Co., won out over several competitors for the opportunity to build the project for the General Services Administration and in October signed a lease that will make the new building home to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for at least 15 years. According to Mike Smith, VP of LCOR, the project should begin construction in mid to late May; a formal groundbreaking will take place May 17th.

Approximately 1,300 NRC employees will occupy the new 14-story building, across from the NRC campus, which has been designed by HOK to meet LEED Silver certification. The new government building will join LCOR's residential project, Wentworth House, which delivered in 2008. That project brought 312 units and a brand new Harris Teeter to North Bethesda, on a 32-acre site approximately halfway between downtown Bethesda and downtown Rockville. In total, LCOR's project are to bring eight highrise buildings to the area, encompassing eight city blocks (when subdivided), and will include 1,274 multifamily housing units at its completion, but little has happened on the site, which remains nearly in the state as it was when it served as a golf course.

Smith was hesitant to predict the future of any of the other buildings, saying "we are waiting for market conditions to improve" before beginning work on the "next residential or another commercial project." The developer has not filed any plans with Montgomery-National Capital Park and Planning Commission for additional developments on the site.

CB Richard Ellis and Transwestern represented the LCOR-USAA joint venture (officially North Bethesda Center Office One, LLC) in the lease transaction, commercial real estate tenant rep firm Studley represented the GSA. Turner Construction will serve as general contract.

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