Air Rights Center Gets an Addition

The Bethesda block known as the Air Rights Center, currently featuring a 12-story office building and the 14-story, 216-room Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, is set to become a bit denser, as another 9-story office building will soon replace the smallest building on the southeast corner of the site. Chevy Chase residents adjacent to downtown Bethesda voiced concerns over the scale of the proposed office buildings upon its initial unveiling to the community. Begrudgingly resigned to the fact that the Purple Line train will soon be roaring through their backyards, residents seemingly decided to take their frustrations out on Donohoe. In the wake of the public pressure, developers compromised, using several setbacks to lower the residential-abutting facade to the recommended 60 feet and concentrate the height towards the center of the block, reaching 97 feet at its tallest point. Rewarding the flexibility of developers and their design partner BBG-BBGM, the Montgomery County Planning Board granted the approval to the applicant's proposal.

Fronting 7300 Pearl Street, the facade seems like a simplistic amalgamation of glass, concrete, and right angles, but a side-view from Montgomery Avenue offers a more textured and interesting vantage. Developers appeased the neighboring community not only with design successions, but will also redevelop a northern portion of Elm Street Park, just south of the development across the Capitol Crescent Trail. While their generosity may be genuine, it's not exactly altruistic, a twenty percent public space requirement is demanded by the Montgomery County development approval process. But all that green wasn't quite enough, as developers will put more on the roofs of the building in their efforts to earn LEED Silver Certification (also a MoCo prerequisite).

The cost to reconstruct the proposed portion of the park totals roughly $1 million. The project's landscape architect Parker Rodriquez has already offered designs for the park, while Donohoe will pony up $550,000-$600,000 for the actual improvements, including infrastructure, paving, lighting, fencing, landscape planting, signs, etc. The Chevy Chase Parks Department must approve a final design for the park, and finance the remaining balance. The Montgomery County Planning Board stipulated that no building use or occupancy permits will be issued until the park improvements are completed. Developers believe their compliance with the required park improvements could happen as early as 2012, with the office building delivery following shortly after.

Bethesda, MD Real Estate Development News

Bethesda Highrise Sets January Start Date

Bethesda's Monty will be underway by January, say developers of the 17-story apartment building, planning what will be the neighborhood's second tallest building. Florida based developer Bainbridge Companies closed on the Monty site just this June and expect to build by "late January," the only Woodmont Triangle project with construction timelines despite the area's long list of expectant projects.

Though Bainbridge only recently acquired the land, the deal had been in the works for several years and came with the original SK&I designs and the county's approvals, leading Bainbridge to predict that demolition of the current retail stores would commence by the fall. The mid-block apartment building will feature a 20-foot wide pedestrian right of way connecting Fairmont St. with St. Elmo's Avenue with retail fronting both streets as well as the ped path, cutting the long block and giving the building a corner presence. At 174 feet plus mechanicals, The Monty - a name that current team will retain - will be slightly shorter than the 200 foot Clark building.

"It will be very tall for the area, so its going to be like a sculpture" said Senior Associate Federico Olivera-Sala. "It will be shaped in a way that will give it some articulation, it disintegrates as the building goes up, like a box at the bottom, but parts start to disappear as it rises. This is meant to animate the Skyline of Bethesda." The building will feature a gym and terrace on the 15th floor for fitness buffs that prefer a view, and four levels of below-grade parking.

The Monty will bring 200 rental units with 30 moderately priced dwelling units and should begin occupancy by early 2013, the first high-rise mixed-use project to be constructed under the Woodmont Sector Plan. The project owners hope to achieve LEED Silver certification; a minimum of LEED certified is required for projects in the area.

Bethesda, MD real estate development news

Bethesda Church Moves Forward With Development, Receives Council's Blessing

Twice the Montgomery County Planning Board had approved the plans of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bethesda-Chevy Chase to build a 107-unit residential building combined with a six-story church and community center. And twice Hearing Examiner Martin Grossman had recommended denial of the proposal, citing a lack of "compatibility" with several nearby rows of single family homes. The Church's development team had reduced their mixed-use development plans from 53,000 s.f. to 25,000 s.f., as well as offered more dramatic setbacks and reduced massing in an effort to appease naysayers. But although Grossman called the augmented plans a "much closer call" he still predicted

the development to "dwarf the nearby single-family detached homes." Nonetheless, last week County Council became the "ultimate decider," settling the dispute with a 6-2 vote in favor of the Church's plans.

Virginia-based MTFA Architecture is the project architect, and seem to be busy with several church-residential combo projects, as another of their client's in Arlington (The Views) recently emerged in tact after a similar drama. The Church project will occupy two-acres, currently inhabited by a church building and attached community center, several single-family homes and a surface parking lot, all of which will be razed. Parking needs will be satisfied by two levels of below-grade lots. The complex will cover a college-size indoor athletic field for community use, public green spaces, affordable residences serving the elderly, transitional housing for the homeless, and a range of other social-work programming.

While Councilman Mark Elrich "was frankly appalled" at the plans to essentially box in the contesting enclave of residential homes, others saw this sort of development as inevitable, and not much of a change in the grand scheme of zoning in the area, as many other large projects nearby have already been approved. Councilman Roger Berliner seemed to take a less reactionary stance, and painted a broader picture in which he concurred that "substantial compatibility" was present in this proposal give the urban nature of the immediate area.

But Church representative Barry Lemley said there is still about a year before construction can be expected, as preliminary site planning and securing building permits should take a significant amount of time. Having originally partnered with Bozzuto in 2006, and then left the agreement to tackle planning and approval process on their own, the Church will once again look for private development partner to see the plans through.

Lemley says they remain undecided on whether to release a RFP immediately, or sit on the approvals until the market further stabilizes. "For an urban infill project like this, in this slow economy, some of the bigger firms that passed on it originally, may have an interest now," Lemley said. And even though construction might be further down the line, and delivery probably won't happen for "two to three years," Lemley and his church are relieved to have the support of County Council. "We always thought we had a unique project here," he explained, "and while some people thought that it was too much, others thought that it was just what the community needs."

Bethesda, MD Real Estate Development News

Betting on Bethesda: The Net Zero Energy House

The Olympics are a memory and few in D.C. are high jumping in the searing summer heat, but in the case of Bethesda Net Zero Energy House, an architect’s leap of faith may surely result in winning the Gold - or even Platinum: LEED Platinum.

“Jimmy Carter had solar panels on the White House,” Meditch Murphey Architects Principal Marcie Meditch recalled, an image which may have fueled her vision from time to time and compelled her to build a 4,000 s.f. net-zero energy “spec” house in Montgomery County’s comfortable, cohesive Bannockburn community. Mulling over the concept for a year or two, concerns about building a market-rate house that was green and had a net zero energy footprint - or used as much energy as it produced - and which would sell in a conservative market had precluded immediate action. “I couldn’t find a client,” Meditch said, recalling the “serendipitous meeting of a friend of a friend” at a conference whose mother had recently passed away. The mother’s mid-century wood frame slab-on-grade house in Bethesda had not aged well and needed to be sold, but the family didn’t want a “McMansion” built on the property in its place.

With siting a key requisite, Meditch recognized the potential and seized the moment for her energy efficient home that would make the best use of the sun, as well as of passive natural energy from water and cross ventilation.

Nature and NASA
“We believe that the best place to start when you’re trying to do energy efficiency is not by conceiving of all the high-tech things, but rather how do you create a house which is thermally efficient, has very efficient walls and proper placement of windows,” said project architect Mike Binder. “If you look at the plan for this house, it’s very simple, for instance the living room windows are right across from each other…so air can flow through the house and cool it naturally rather than having to use mechanical energy. There’s a very strong element of sustainable design that has nothing to do with technology but is more about using what nature provides already,” he said.

Nature withstanding, yet conceding that “nobody lives in this area without air conditioning,” Binder, who was a NASA engineer and literal “rocket scientist” before transitioning to architecture, said a ground source heat pump was designated for the house: two wells planted 375-feet deep that store air at a constant ground temperature of about 50 degrees. In the summer, instead of trying to take the heat from the 78-degree air inside and push it into the 95-degree air outside (a huge expenditure of energy), it is taken from the house and mitigated in the ground. The same principle applies to winter air, where rather than creating heat from the 30-degree air outside, it is culled from its constant 50-degree base in the ground.

With an energy-efficient envelope warranting extreme insulation, Meditch Murphey Architects used a layer of insulation on the outside of the house’s framing to act as the first line of defense. Additional insulation was used between the studs, which Binder explained typically act like a “thermal bridge” for energy loss: energy getting into and out of the house. And with a structure that is essentially sealed the way this one is, an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) preconditions or removes the heat, cold and moisture from the air that’s leaving and puts it into the air that’s entering, according to the seasons, which saves on energy.

Light and Water
On the roof, a flat-panel photovoltaic solar array and flat-panel solar hot water collectors harness and utilize available energy, as does the home’s recirculation loop which uses the cold water supply as a return. “When you turn on the hot water in the bathrooms, unless you’ve got tankless water heaters in each of them, which would be costly, there’s this lag time while you’re waiting,” Binder said, noting all the potable cold water gets flushed down the drain in the meantime. “We take that water and actually put it back into the cold water line, and it goes right back to the hot water heater, so nothing is wasted.”

Where lighting was concerned, a combination of LED lights, halogen and other incandescent types were used in the five-bedroom (one is part of an au pair suite), four-bath home, with halogen used in strategic locations such as bathrooms and the kitchen. “LED’s are still a little cool in their color rendering,” Binder said, noting a more balanced light is important “when you’re looking at your face or when you want to see what color your food really is.” He added that the firm doesn’t subscribe to the tenet of “energy efficiency at the expense of all else, including comfort.”

Wood and Glass

To that end, bathroom features are a confluence of sustainability and aesthetics. Custom vanities were crafted by Ray Amos of Pennsylvania’s New Oxford Studios, whose philosophy mandates using reclaimed lumber. Flooring in much of the home is maple from a sustainably-managed forest, where documents show the trees were harvested without impinging on the ecosystem. In the basement, engineered flooring called Eco Timber, a composite that includes a plywood layer, means the highest quality wood is reserved only for the top where it is visible. In the kitchen, substrate for the cabinets is particle board which, instead of being made with traditional high-VOC binders, has a high recycled wood content that is low-VOC with no formaldehyde added to help promote the home’s indoor air quality.

When the home, not yet finished, sold quickly in the fall of 2009, new homeowner Ann Luskey got involved early enough in the process to choose her own tile for the kitchen and downstairs floors, according to Binder, selecting Ecocem (part cement; part cellulose fiber) which is entirely recycled. Countertops are Eco-Terr, which is cement and polished, recycled glass. “It looks like Terrazzo because of its really beautiful finish,” Binder explained, “but it doesn’t have to be shipped all the way from Italy.”

Earth and Trees

Outside the home, Joan Honeyman of Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architects selected trees endemic to the region that would not require artificial irrigation. The trees, deciduous to open the home’s exterior to the sun in winter, will grow as high as the eaves, and not the solar panels, in order to shade just the house in the warmer months. Eco-Lawn, a drought-tolerant grass which requires no watering once it’s germinated and no fertilizers, was also used. All of the patio areas around the house were constructed with pavers: essentially bricks without grouting around which water can flow into the cracks and soak into the ground. Pervious concrete used for the driveway, which Binder said resembles Rice Krispies, allows water to penetrate through to an underlying gravel bed and ultimately to the ground beneath. A flat roof over the master suite and garage was designed to be green, but the architects weren’t sure they could afford it so took a step back. However Luskey, with a background in design, resourcefully went to the Mall at the end of the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, where 20 collegiate teams had built solar powered homes, and wrangled a green roof destined for the green roof graveyard. “She has maybe half of the area covered. Hopefully some day the house will have a complete green roof,” Binder said, noting the house was designed to be able to evolve easily with its occupants’ needs.


Endorsed by the owner and angling for a LEED Platinum rating, the architects didn’t know until the spring if the grass would come in properly, a prerequisite for the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) LEED inspection which is pending this month. During construction, the architects made ample use of government subsidies for energy efficiency such as property and income tax credits and loan programs from the state, which meant that somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of the cost of the home that sold for $1.8 million was defrayed. “They are essential in making these things attractive to people from a financial point of view,” Binder said.

Photography by Anice Hoachlander

Ten Years and Two Locations Later, Subsidized Housing Still Beats Private Development

Montgomery County will soon begin construction in downtown Bethesda on a transitional residence; work on the 12-unit project may start as early as this month. The diminutive project, tucked among other moderately sized residential buildings and small commercial buildings, will fit in at 4913 Hampden Lane and serve as permanent housing for the formerly homeless. After swapping land with two developers and facing many delays of its own, Montgomery County's project will actually outpace its neighboring private residential projects, at 4901 and 4917-4921 Hampden Lane. Just blocks from the Bethesda Metro station, the Housing Opportunities Commission's (HOC) project should begin construction before the end of the month, according to Construction Manager Scott Kataline. HOC will develop, own and manage the property.

In 2000, Armont Development, the team behind the proposed Edgemoor at nearby 4821 Montgomery Lane, originally proposed the idea of a land swap to provide room on Hampden Lane for the moderately priced dwelling units for its development. Montgomery County began working on a site plan for 4917 Hampden Lane in 2003 and the land swap took place in January 2004, according to John Poyer, HOC's Housing Acquisitions Manager. The county was ready to begin construction when a second developer under the name Hampden Lane Associates LLC acquired properties on either side of Montgomery County's space with plans for a now-stalled 60-unit condominium.

In order to have a contiguous site, the developer offered to swap land and reimburse the county for any costs it had already incurred. The two parties signed a development agreement in June 2005 and 4913 became the new HOC project site. HOC has since reworked the design for the new site and secured financing so that now, ten years after the seed was planted, the permanent supportive-housing-for-formerly-homeless-project will find its home at 4913 Hampden Lane.

The four-story wood frame structure was designed by NOA Architects and will be constructed by recently selected general contractor, Hamel Builders. A single-family home on the property will be demolished to make way for the new construction. The building will consist of six studios and six one-bedroom units, financed in part by federal low income housing tax credits through the Maryland Community Development Administration. The building will be built to LEED certification standards, but HOC will not apply for certification by the USGBC, given the extra costs entailed.

Residents will receive Section 8 vouchers to cover their rent and the operational costs of the building. A resident counselor/on-site building manager will provide necessary assistance for residents, ranging from job training to computer instruction. Unlike temporary or transitional housing, the project's residents "will not be on a clock that forces them to leave after a preset time," explained Poyer. The goal is to give residents services "to help them move on to a more independent lifestyle." Despite the progress on the shelter, none of the related private developments nor any of those planned for Hampden Lane have moved forward.

Bethesda, MD real estate development news

Bainbridge Buys Bethesda's Monty, Readies for Construction

A new 17-story mixed-use project may soon grace the skyline of Bethesda now that Bainbridge Companies closed on the Monty site at 4918 St. Elmo Avenue, just blocks from the Bethesda Metro. Bainbridge had been under contract with property owner Robert Hillerson since 2008 and settled just last week. The Monty will bring 200 rental units, including 30 moderately priced dwelling units, 7,200 s.f. of retail and four levels of below-grade parking to a site currently occupied by vacant one- and two-story office and retail buildings. Bainbridge worked with Hillerson and architects SK&I to gain project approval last summer and is in the process of obtaining building permits. Demolition and excavation are said to begin this fall and the entire project should deliver in October 2012.

According to Thomas Keady, President of Development for Bainbridge, the project receive unanimous approval from the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) and will be the first high-rise mixed-use project to be constructed under the Woodmont Sector Plan. Keady said his firm, which has projects along the east coast but is concentrated in Florida, chose the location because of its proximity to the Metro, restaurants and shops, scoring high for walkability.

The design team at SK&I includes Senior Associates Federico Olivera-Sala and Marty Towles. Olivera-Sala said the relatively low-density of the remainder of the block, which is populated by three- and four-story buildings, posed a challenge for the design team in creating a tall but contextual structure. The chosen design features several setbacks and varying levels of volume,"it's very 3-D," said Olivera-Sala. Towles explained that the setbacks are planned in different directions on different levels: the second story setback acknowledges the height of neighboring street-level buildings and offers a courtyard area, a sixth-story setback creates the wings of the building, and the fifteenth-story setback creates a terrace that connects to the party and exercise rooms. The breaks in the facade also effectuate a plan to minimize shadows on the street.

The design calls for a largely brick face in three different colors to emphasize the varying volumes of the building, and includes an 18-20 foot wide cut-through between St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues, which Towles described as a "good way to energize mid-block. The retail will front three sides, including the new cut-through. Olivera-Sala said the Monty will have windows on all four sides: "the building basically has no back." Towles added "the thing that is exciting...is that the owner put so many amenities up in the air, creating opportunities for great views" as people exercise or party on the 15th floor. The project owners hope to achieve LEED Silver certification; a minimum of LEED certified is required for projects in the area.

Bethesda, MD real estate development news

Shelly Weinstein to Safeway: Tear Down this Wall

Tempers are flaring in Bethesda over the reconstruction of the Safeway at Arlington Road and Bradley Boulevard, a project that is expected to kick off any day.

On Thursday, May 20th, the Montgomery County Planning Board considered a site plan amendment that altered the location of a planned screening wall between Safeway and their residential neighbors in the adjacent Kenwood Forest Condominiums. Although a wooden fence already exists between the two properties, the proposed stone and masonry wall was to act as a more substantial sight and sound barrier between the new 43,097 s.f., two-story shopping center and the neighboring backyards.

The plan is part of the redevelopment that will replace the 1950's era architectural pockmark with a more attractive, larger store sitting above a parking garage. Elza Hisel-McCoy from the Montgomery County Development Review Division explains that the original plans for the dividing wall were "added sort of last minute" by the Safeway team on the morning before their July 23rd, 2009 site plan review hearing.

"When Safeway engineers went back to look at the placement of the wall, there were issues," and since the Safeway engineers felt a wall on Safeway's property would no longer be possible, "an amendment to place the wall on the condo's common area" was put forth.

The seven members of the elected Kenwood Forest Board went for the idea, but at least 40 members of the Kenwood Forest Homeowners Association did not.

A Kenwood Forest resident for more than 30 years, Shelly Weinstein is heading up the opposition to Safeway's new wall location proposal. While the movement of a wall might not seem like such a big deal on paper, Weinstein characterizes the issue as a symptom of the larger problem: namely, that homeowners in the Kenwood Forest community are being deliberately excluded from on-going development negotiations between Safeway and the Kenwood Forest Board - negotiations that she says allow Safeway to encroach on private residential property, increase traffic flow through neighborhoods, and construct a parking garage without making assurances that dynamite will not be brought in to blast rocky terrain.

According to Weinstein, the Board has the right to enter into contracts with a developer or contractor without consulting the other 116 homeowners in the community if the work that's taking place will last less than a year. "If the Board enters into a one year contract with Safeway to build a wall on our property and then renews that contract annually, then they can get around getting permission from the individual homeowners for the work and get around easement requirements."

That's a tall order, says Weinstein, especially when you're talking about negotiations that could allow Safeway "in some cases, to put a wall within 6 feet of some of our homeowners' decks."

At the time of publication, Safeway PR representatives could not be reached. When asked about the results of the May 20th Planning Board hearing, Safeway Eastern Division Real Estate Manager, Renee Montgomery, confirmed that she was heading up the project but preferred "not to be quoted" and referred us back to Safeway's PR team.

Staying quiet about the subject might be understandable when you consider that, for the time being at least, Safeway has the site plan approval it needs to move forward with construction and an agreement with the homeowners' association.

"The screen wall is no longer a condition of the site plan approval," says Hisel-McCoy, who adds that private agreements between the Kenwood Forest Board and Safeway reps will determine just how that portion of the plan plays out.

Safeway hopes to begin demolition and construction work any day now and the new store is slated to open by the 2011 holiday season. But don't count Weinstein out just yet. The Bethesda resident also happens to be the former Environmental Director of the Department of Energy in the Carter White House and has found a cause in this issue.

The Kenwood Forest Board met last night at Concord-St. Andrews United Methodist Church to discuss, among other subjects, the Safeway development. Weinstein planned to use the opportunity to announce that she's filed an official complaint about the Safeway negotiations with the Maryland Attorney General's Office. With any luck, she says, "We can stop the Board from moving forward with any contractual agreements with Safeway until we can re-open this process and let the homeowners get involved."

With the Attorney General's Office mediating the development, she hopes to answer once and for all "whether or not the [Kenwood Forest] Board violated its authority by not including the homeowners."

She anticipates opposition from the Kenwood Forest Board but says "It's senseless to get into an argument with them when we've been trying to get involved with the project for over a year." Wall or no wall, a new Safeway is on its way.

Maryland Real Estate and Development News

The Monty: St. Elmo's Spire

According to sources close to the project, developer Monty LLC's planned-17-story, mixed-use building, The Monty, located at St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle, may witness development activity within the next few months.

Robert Kronneberg, Lead Reviewer for the Montgomery County Planning Commission, confirms that the site plan for the project was approved last July, with final plans approved just this past February, finalizing all county reviews needed for the project. So if the details of the design are finalized and the site plan has been approved, does that mean building permits are on the horizon?

According to the architects at SK&I, the "owner is working on getting financing like anyone else," but they are "hoping to break ground by September or October of this year." Kronnenberg says Hillerson has sent consultants to meet with Planning Board staff "to look at the streetscape requirements," but adds carefully that "in terms of any kind of permits that have been submitted for buildings, I don't know that right now."

The SK&I design for The Monty will include up to 200 residential units, 7,700 s.f. of ground floor retail and and 5,500 s.f. of "animated" art experience, according to the artist - when it gets off the ground. Project Manager and Senior SK&I Associate, Marty Towles, says his team was proud to help usher in such a large-scale project in a neighborhood notorious for its abundance of "low-rise" single family homes.

"The design of the building on the 15th floor takes advantage of the views to the south of the city and panoramas over to Rosslyn," says Towles enthusiastically, who adds that planned amenities like The Monty's rooftop pool and sweeping terraces are not currently so easy to come by in Woodmont Triangle.

The owner behind Monty LLC's corporate veil is Robert Hillerson, the same developer whose Limited Liability Corp., Michael LLC, became entangled in a dispute with the Maryland Transit Authority over its Studio Plaza project. Located at the intersection of Georgia and Thayer Avenue in Silver Spring's Business District, Studio Plaza's ambitious plans call for 525 residential units and redevelopment of the public parking lot adjacent to the Purple Line. MTA got wind of the idea and lobbied to keep the lot vacant so it could be used in conjunction with future Purple Line development.

MTA eventually backed off from its parking lot crusade and Studio Plaza finally shows signs of moving forward. But with so many large-scale residential/mixed-use projects downsizing and sputtering to a halt inside the beltway, Hillerson is understandably uneasy when it comes to speculating about potential groundbreaking dates for his Monty project.

When asked about when his project will get off the ground, Hillerson told DCMud that he "would rather not talk about that project for a couple of months. But call me back June 17th." A developer with an exact date in mind for updates? Is that a sign of progress?

The architects are optimistic, and surmise that the developer is merely setting expectations. Towles reiterates that the developer's reticence to talk about the project until June could be a sign that Hillerson "wants to make sure everything's set in stone" before making any public announcements about groundbreaking dates. But since no one else is breaking ground in Woodmont Triangle, despite a surfeit of plans, one can't be too careful.

Silver Spring, Maryland Real Estate Development News

Bethesda Church Plays the Development Game

The Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bethesda-Chevy Chase in Woodmont Triangle is getting an education in what it means to be a developer - from parting ways with project team member Bozzuto Group, compromising with disgruntled neighbors, and now starting over after a zoning defeat. Back for more, the Church recently received two positive reviews from the Montgomery County Park and Planning staff and Montgomery County Planning Board and is waiting on two more from the County hearing examiner and then from the County Council. The process should commence in earnest by this June, God willing, when the search for an amenable development partner begins anew.

On the boards is an eight-story residential building with 107 residences and six-story church and community center, combined for an unlikely architectural partnering.

The original plan called for separation of church and, well, community center, but concerns raised by neighbors and the hearing examiner compelled the Church to adjust its plans and marry the two uses into one 53,000 s.f. structure, reducing the size of the overall project by 25,000 s.f. The church and community center will sit next to the new residential building. Virginia-based MTFA Architecture is the project architect.

The Church project will sit on two-acres, currently occupied by a church building and attached community center, several single-family homes and a surface parking lot, all of which will be razed. All parking for the new project will be in two levels of below-grade lots.

The Church originally partnered with Bozzuto in 2006. When the hearing examiner denied the application in 2007, thereby lengthening the development process, and the economic situation took a turn for the worse in 2008, the team "reevaluated" their relationship, according to Barry Lemley, the owner's representative for the church. Lemley said the partners looked into revising the sale agreement, but when "it became apparent we still had some differences, we agreed to not renew the sale agreement" in April 2009. The break up left the church without a private development partner and Bozzuto with the right of first refusal should the project be resurrected. Lauren McDonald, Manager of Corporate Communications at Bozzuto, confirmed that the company was "actually not involved in the project anymore."

"We are not your normal developer," said Lemley, "we are not in this for profit and we brought this to market - we were not approached by Bozzuto or another developer." Lemley was optimistic that the new plans would be approved and that either Bozzuto or another developer would come to the Church about partnering on the project. Lemley said the Church wants a developer to build the core of both structures and to finish the residential project. Another developer with expertise in such structures would likely work on the interior of the new church and community center. Suggestion: talk with First Baptist in Silver Spring to see how they're doing things, but MFTA has a similar project on the boards with the Views at Clarendon.

The building will include 17 moderately-priced dwelling units.

Bethesda real estate development news

Getting to Bethesda's Medical Center

Most Bethesda residents have given little thought to crossing Wisconsin Avenue from Metro to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. But those that have get that inchworm-on-the-road feeling, and now that the facility is due to swell with thousands of new workers, urban planners are trying to do something about it. To that end, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will hold a public information session on Tuesday to discuss potential options to improve pedestrian interface with the 7 lanes of autobahn just north of downtown Bethesda. Thanks to a federal BRAC decision to close the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and consolidate it at Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center, Montgomery County officials and the surrounding community have been working together to prepare for the influx of 2,500 employees and half a million (annual) visitors and patients expected to frequent the new location beginning in September 2011. Tuesday's meeting will include information on proposed options to provide more efficient transit options. The state had tasked Metro with completing the study after it received $20 million DOD grant to improve transit access to the medical center. In July of 2009, WMATA released an environmental impact study that detailed several options for moving people safely and efficiently from the Metro across Rt. 355. 

The study looked at options including an improved intersection, a shallow pedestrian tunnel, deep elevators and a below-ground mezzanine, a combo of shallow tunnel and deep elevator and even an elevated pedestrian bridge.According to MCDOT Deputy Director Edgar Gonzalez, shortly after the Metro study the County applied for a share of the $1.5 billion in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) funds, including options like pedestrian and bike crossings. To prepare for that award, MCDOT has undertaken its own environmental impact study, exploring a variety of options that, unlike the Metro study, are not restricted solely to pedestrian access. Gonzalez said the study has examined a range of options from pedestrian, to pedestrian and bikes, to having emergency vehicles connect between the NIH and Navy Medical. Some local groups and residents have made serious and public accusations against MCDOT claiming secretive government plans and auto access via an underpass, but Gonzalez insists that claims of a 4-lane auto underpass are "totally inaccurate" and that the very idea of a "secret plan is stretching it." You can find out for yourself at the meeting on tonight at 6:30 PM. The meeting will be at the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center at 4805 Edgemoor Lane.

Bethesda real estate and development news

Parking Fuels Anger in Bethesda

LOT 31, Bethesda's stalled mixed-use development, has come under fire again, this time for its $89 million, 1,100-space parking garage. The structures are part of two developments at Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues, a joint project between Montgomery County, PN Hoffman and Stonebridge Associates approved in 2007. In a joint press release this week, The Action Committee for Transit (ACT) and the Montgomery County Group of the Sierra Club blasted the five and four-story parking garages that will comprise Lot 31 as wasteful, poorly-planned targets for taxpayer money.

Designed by SK&I Architectural Design Group, the 3-year project is expected to begin construction at 4712 Bethesda Avenue across from Barnes and Nobel sometime in 2011, but has drawn fire from environmentalists since its inception.

ACT and the Sierra Club object to the what they view as an automobile-centric approach to development so close to public transit, at public expense to boot. As part of the deal to entice developers to build, the county offered to pay for much of the $89m parking garage, or $80,000 per parking space, which developers see as a misallocation of resources that could be better spent on public transit. As in previous requests, ACT and the Sierra Club argue that "the high cost of the garage means that even in the improbable event that the garage fills up, parking fees will not cover the cost of construction," and argue for a 300-space garage instead.

So, why is the cost of construction so high? During a 2008 interview with DCMud, SK&I President, Sami Kirkdil explained that the project is more complex than usual parking structures because it requires construction crews to dig five levels into rock while at the same time "basically, taking Woodmont Avenue away," by slowing the traffic patterns around the garage.

This justification does not sit well with environmental groups who believe the number of Bethesda-area drivers has been over-estimated by the County and that the construction of the planned Purple Line,which could potentially stop just down the street from the planned garage, will further dim the need for parking in downtown Bethesda.

For their part, PN Hoffman and Stonebridge promise a "public atrium" component to the project that will serve pedestrians by acting as a meeting point between existing shops along Bethesda Row and their planned mixed-use buildings, with 357,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and residential space.

Perhaps with all of the drivers heading to Bethesda to take advantage of the safer pedestrian environment, all that extra parking will come in handy.

Bethesda Real Estate Development News

Bethesda Police Station Swap

JBG and Montgomery County police officials are haggling over plans for the current and future Bethesda police stations at a time when JBG is reconsidering its development partners for the prime site which sits directly across from the Bethesda Metro. Last October, Montgomery County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for redevelopment of the 2^nd District County Police Station in downtown Bethesda. Located at 7359 Wisconsin Avenue, at the corner of Wisconsin and Montgomery, the site has approximately 21,400 ground s.f. to offer. After receiving two responses to the RFP, in the first quarter of 2009 the County selected the proposal submitted by a partnership headed by JBG. Negotiations for the terms of the agreement should be complete in the first half of 2010. Once JBG makes it official, the developer will begin the zoning process for the new police station.

According to Ken Finkelstein, Managing Director at JBG, in return for the site of the current station, the developer will likely do a land swap with the county for property sitting on Cordell Avenue between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues. When the JBG partnership initially submitted their RFP in December of 2008, the development group included JBG, one of their affiliates and the Goldstar Group. However, Finkelstein said it is "unclear at this time if Goldstar will continue to get involved;" a fairly major detail the group is "still trying to figure out."

The County opted for an RFP because the current station is too small and "it didn't make sense to put more money into it," according to Gary Stith, Deputy Director of Planning and Special Projects within Montgomery County Department of General Services. When the County released the RFP, they indicated they were looking for a mixed-use development with a long term lease with the County as landlord. The RFP also said developers with the means to build a new station at another site in the immediate area would be offered a juicier deal than offers looking for a “simple conveyance of the Site" - i.e., the title to the land without the obligation to build a new station or exchange land. Sounds like that's why the application review committee, which consisted of county and police officials, picked JBG.

Assuming everything works out in negotiations with the County, the developers will head before the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) pursuing review under the optional method of development, which gives developers the right to a significantly higher density in the downtown area in exchange for amenities like open space. Stith said the planning and zoning process could take a full year. Finkelstein estimated the groundbreaking would be another two or three years down the line, which is probably a relief to the current tenants of the older retail buildings on the proposed site of the new police station.

The site involved in the RFP would likely see demolition of the old police station, once the law enforcement agency moves into a shiny new home. JBG's proposal calls for an office at the Wisconsin Ave location, which Finkelstein said could be anywhere from 125,000 to 250,000 s.f. And in a sweet location to boot.

Update, Nov. 24: Michael Brodsky, CEO at the Goldstar Group, contacted DCMud to say he took "exception" to the statement made by Finkelstein, adding that the RFP was awarded to a 50-50 partnership between JBG and Goldstar. Brodsky stated that to the extent that the partnership ceases to exist in the future so does the RFP award which was given to the partnership. The partnership between JBG and Goldstar was closely linked to a building owned by Goldstar behind the current police station. The partnership would potentially then redevelop the entire corner, rather than just the police station. Brodsky said if JBG and Goldstar are unable to agree to a partnership, the "entire deal is off."

Bethesda Real Estate News.

Affordable Housing Coming Soon to Bethesda

Construction may begin as soon as the first quarter of 2010 on central Bethesda's new affordable housing project. The Edgemoor's 12 units of affordable housing on Hampden Lane near Arlington Road. The Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) in Montgomery County, MD plans for all units to be urban style residential units. The units will consist of an even split between one-bedroom rental apartments and studios.

John Poyer, Housing Acquisition Manager for the project explained that HOC will develop, own and manage the property, which will be financed with a combination of Low Income Housing Tax Credits and a loan from Montgomery County.
According to Poyer, the financing is lined up and construction should begin in 2010. HOC serves as a public housing agency, a housing finance agency and a housing developer, serving Montgomery County.

A mere two blocks from the Bethesda Metro, the Edgemoor will not offer onsite parking. The building will be four stories high and offer residents a courtyard for "passive recreation"and an interior "party room" for gatherings. The facility will also offer a computer room and fitness center for residents.

Other partners involved in the development are the designer, NOA Architects, and the civil engineer, Macris, Hendricks, Glascock, P.A. The building will be built to LEED certification standards, but HOC will not apply for certification, given the extra costs entailed. LEED Consulting was provided by EDG.

Bethesda's Battery Park Gets Recharged?

Can large condominium projects improve the aesthetics of an urban park? In the case of Bethesda's Battery Lane Urban Park, the answer may be yes. Montgomery County has approved a plan to renovate and improve the degraded Woodmont Triangle park, at the expense of local condominium developers. Planning is complete, with upgrades that will retain the general feel and facilities of Battery Park, while seeking to "enhance both active and passive recreation opportunities" within. Potential enhancements include a widened bike path, more attractive park entrances, relocation of utilities underground, a new gathering area for picnics, enlargement of the playground, and, less predictably, adding an "art and science theme into the site furnishings." Landscape architect Oculus has already prepared a detailed project plan, which the county approved, though the project would still require construction documents. The wrinkle? The $2.1m price tag for planning and construction. The initial planning documents were picked up by Polinger, Shannon and Luchs, the developer, on paper, of the nearby Rugby Condominium, a 61-unit project at 4851 Rugby Avenue that has yet to break ground, in lieu of public space amenities the developer would have been required to build. The Rugby condo developer had been rebuffed in its efforts to build a 10-story, 71-unit building to the immediate southeast of the park, but a little shrinkage (to 9 stories) and a donation for park love helped cement approval, but construction on the condo shows no signs of commencement. But that still leaves the county to come up with the remainder of the $2.1m, which, according to MNCPPC, the county is not even close to. Perhaps a few more condo projects could overcome the shortfall. Architects envision regrading the layout and replacing weed trees with native hardwoods, while removing some of the trees that block sitelines through the park. The extreme makeover also foresees acquisition of the two properties at the southern end of the park for better frontage along Rugby Avenue. Planners will likely close the park for the duration of construction, but that has yet to be determined. "The trick was to add and improve features to the park without damaging the things that people enjoy" said Justin Aff, a landscape architect with Oculus, who noted "alot of drainage issues" in the park at present. Oculus has also designed southwest waterfront metro plaza, which is in the final stage of construction. Polinger would not comment for this story.

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