Marriott's New Bethesda HQ

The skin on the 22-story Marriott headquarters in Bethesda is nearly installed, providing an early look at the one of the many projects that will line the Bethesda stretch of Wisconsin Avenue.  The site 800 feet north of the Bethesda Metro station at 7750 Wisconsin Avenue will serve as Marriott's new global headquarters opening in mid 2021, and include an "urban campus," chosen for its urban amenities and proximity to public transportation. The project will include a 244-room hotel operated by Marriott opening in 2022.  Boston Properties and the Bernstein Companies jointly own the land and are co-developing the hotelier's headquarters, while Bernstein will solely own and develop the hotel.  The projected $600 million project will be home to an estimated 3500 Marriott employees in the the 785,000 s.f. office building.

General Contractor Hensel Phelps is building the pair of towers that were designed by Gensler to achieve LEED Gold standards.

Bethesda Maryland commercial real estate news

JBG Smith Readies Another Apartment Building in Woodmont Triangle

Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle may be small in size (15 city blocks, give or take), but it continues to be one of the DC region's most active construction sites, delivering up some of the highest density in the region.  The latest of the projects is JBG Smith's apartment building, a 322-unit apartment building with retail, including an Orange Theory Fitness, along Wisconsin Avenue.

click image for photo gallery

Of course the world has changed since the start of the project, and design of the 420,000 s.f. building was revised from including originally approved 450 apartments down to 322 units, increasing the unit size and maintaining the same building envelope.  JBG declined to comment on the change.  15% of the units will be subsidized as required by the county.  Designed by NYC-based FX Collaborative, the building parallels Wisconsin Avenue with a staggered glass panel design, saving its more attractive curvilinear brick exterior to face Woodmont Avenue.  The 17 story project is expected to complete late this year, and will be joined shortly thereafter by the Marriott headquarters and hotel one block to the south.

Project:  7900 Wisconsin Avenue

Renderings: Libovich

Developer:  JBG Smith

Architect:  FX Collaborative

Construction: Plaza Construction

Use:  322 apartments, 20,000 s.f. of retail

Expected Completion:  Late 2020

Bethesda commercial real estate news

The Gallery of Bethesda Demolition Complete, Excavation Underway

With a $55 million construction loan recently secured, and demolition complete, developers Donohoe Companies and MPM Investments are aggressively moving forward on the Gallery of Bethesda, its 17-story 234-unit residential tower at 4800 Auburn Avenue.

“Donohoe Construction is making great progress on the site," said Jad Donohoe of Donohoe Companies.  "Excavation will finish up in November. The 17-story building will 'top out' in July of next year. And then by early 2014, residents will be moving in. The Gallery of Bethesda is going to bring more life and more activity to this part of Bethesda, and it’s going to prove all over again why Bethesda is one of the best places to live in the Washington region.”

The Gallery will be a quarter-million-square-foot tower featuring a 0.25-acre public plaza, a rooftop pool, and 4.600 s.f. of ground floor retail space.  The project is one of three towers that will make up downtown Bethesda mega-development in Woodmont Central; an additional residential tower is slated to be built at 4850 Rugby, with a six-story office building at 8280 Wisconsin Avenue (possibly breaking ground this summer), completing Donohoe's trifecta, not to mention JBG and Bainbridge, both of which are building 17-story residential projects in the neighborhood.  When all three phases are complete, WDG-designed Woodmont Central will bring nearly 600,000 square feet of residential, office and retail space to downtown Bethesda.

The $55 million construction loan, secured in mid-May, is financed by AXA Equitable Financial Services LLC, and sister company Donohoe Construction is the general contractor.

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Woodmont Central Office Building Up for Bid, Construction to Begin Midsummer

Donohoe Development's Bethesda office building at 8280 Wisconsin Avenue, one of three components of the developer's ambitious Woodmont Central megadevelopment, went up for bid last week, with an eye towards breaking ground in midsummer.

"Right now we're pricing it among subs as a GMP [Guaranteed Maximum Price]," said an estimator at Donohoe.  "Assuming things go forward as planned, it's supposed to start construction in July."

The rectangular six-story building, designed by WDG Architecture, will feature just over 81,000 square feet of office space, including 10,500 square feet of ground floor retail.  Developers anticipate LEED Silver certification. In renderings, the Wisconsin-facing facade is a visually interesting massing of planes, mostly metal and glass with a few precast concrete panels for contrast.  On the northeast corner is a vertical element that denotes the entrance to the Battery Lane District.

The first phase of the Woodmont Central project, the Gallery of Bethesda, kicked into gear last month, when demolition began at 4800 Auburn Avenue, the planned site of the residential tower.  That 17-story building will feature 234 dwellings, just under 200 below-grade parking spaces, and 4600 s.f. of ground floor retail space.  A second 16-story residential tower is also planned at 4850 Rugby Avenue, separated from the Gallery of Bethesda by a large plaza, but is reportedly still in the design development stage.


Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Heated Discussion Ends In Trillium Site Approval

In a slip-of-the-tongue Thursday afternoon during the developer’s presentation at the Montgomery County Planning Board Meeting, Harris Teeter was named as the grocery store slated for the StonebridgeCarras residential and retail development at the Trillium Site in downtown Bethesda.


Residents speculated and hoped for various stores including a Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, but it had not been confirmed before today.

In a heated discussion, the StonebridgeCarras team proposing a 9-story, 360-unit apartment building for the recently purchased Trillium Site pushed back against a few key conditions placed on their proposal by Montgomery County Planning Commission staff: calculated vehicle trips and required gateway architecture.

The site, filling the block along Battery Lane between Woodmont and Wisconsin avenues, is designated as a gateway in the master plan, requiring special treatment to the building along both Wisconsin and Woodmont. Neither side disputes that fact, but they do disagree on how to indicate the gateway.

Staff wants special treatment to the corners of the building along the streets, and they argue the special treatment is in the center of the development. Developers say they intentionally created understated, stepped corners to meet the requirement and used different techniques in the center to draw the public into the public space.

The Board weighed both arguments and ultimately decided to allow the developers to keep their deign.

Staff received a handful of community comments that focused on the lost arts incubator space in the new plan,  but that feature was not added back into the development.

With the new plans approved, Stonebridge can continue moving toward development.

Bethesda, Maryland, real estate development news

Planning Board to Consider New Trillium Site Plans

New plans for a single 9-story apartment building with  a grocery store and a public plaza at 8300 Wisconsin Ave. will make its way Thursday to the Montgomery County Planning Board.

StonebridgeCarras submitted its amended plans for Bethesda's former Trillium site back in January, and now it will seek approval from the Board. StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital purchased the site in early 2011 for $29.25 million from Houston-based Patrinely Group, which had planned to build three residential towers designed by Davis Carter Scott.

Northwest-facing view from Wisconsin

StonebridgeCarras now plans a U-shaped building designed by WDG Architecture with up to 360 apartments - nearly double the Trillium plan - and 55,000 s.f. of retail encompassing a 22,000 s.f. public plaza that extends to the adjacent National Institutes of Health open space.

Ellen Miller, principal at StonebridgeCarras, said the apartments will range from efficiencies to large three-bedroom units - the size and price of which are not finalized.

The plan amendment submitted to the Board shows 30 efficiency, 185 one-bedroom, 127 two-bedroom, and 18 three-bedroom units. Of those, 45 units -- or 12.5 percent -- will be moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs). Patrinely planned 198 units in its three buildings.

Intersection of Woodmont and Battery Lane

A grocery store Miller declined to name will anchor the building with entrances at the intersection of Woodmont Avenue and Battery Lane with a second entrance from the public plaza. Parking for 599 vehicles will be located on four levels below ground.

Removed from earlier plans is a 2,000 s.f. arts incubation space, a reduction that community groups opposed, but the developers say it no longer fits the project.

"We did try to consider how such a space might work in that location and in this project," Miller said. "In the end, we believed we had a different approach to the site. We had a use that was a magnet. We believe we have provided a beautiful public amenity space that has a very rich art component."

South-facing view from Wisconsin with NIH open space in the foreground

Instead, developers are working with Kent Bloomer Studio to bring a variety of artwork to the site. Miller said she hopes to present new renderings Thursday that better illustrate the integration of art.  At least five sculptures from other artists also are included in the plans.

The linear plaza will have a series of water features and various seating options for public use, and steps will lead down into the NIH open space.  More images of the plaza can be found here.

Planning Commission staff recommend approving the amendments, with some conditions such as streetscape improvements, an executed traffic mitigation plan, and using signs and focal points to draw people into the public space.

The Planning Board is scheduled to review the plan amendments at 2:15 p.m. Thursday.

Bethesda, Maryland, real estate development news

Planning Board OKs JBG's New Woodmont East Plans

JBG Companies on Thursday received unanimous support from the Montgomery County Planning Board for its amended Woodmont East plans that more than double the lot size and revive a previously eliminated hotel.

JBG already planned to build in the same block at 7200 Woodmont Avenue, located between Elm Street and Bethesda Avenue. Shalom Baranes Associates designed the project with landscape design by Oehme van Sweden Landscape Architects.

Plans for the new section involve constructing two additional floors of office space on the existing Artery Building, adding retail space along the ground level, and building a new 182,950 s.f. hotel.

The hotel (center) and office/retail space along Bethesda Avenue

Amended plans also add 168,950 s.f. of office space, 25,088 s.f. of retail space and eliminate 22,974 s.f. of space for the 210 residential units.

Incorporation of the Capital Crescent Trail (mostly the alternate route along Bethesda Avenue) continued to raise concerns for the Board. Some feared that the increased foot traffic along Bethesda Avenue could create safety and logistical problems for trail users. But they ultimately were satisfied with the plan to use landscaping, curbs, outdoor dining areas and pavement changes to separate the sidewalk from the trail.

Trail construction hinges on the future Purple Line, Lot 31, and third-phase construction. All parties agreed that if the trail benchmarks are reached after construction of the second phase and before the third phase starts, the company can choose to either build the trail or pay the county to do it.

The Board did not raise any significant concerns with the rest of the plan. If fully constructed, Woodmont East would provide a link extending the revamped downtown area.

JBG's Holly Hull said the development is "extending and celebrating Bethesda Row."

Woodmont East will focus on the pedestrian experiences, presenters said. Following the lead of Bethesda Row, the sidewalks will be next to retail spaces. Outdoor dining will be pushed way from the buildings to keep the sidewalks clear. Artistic benches scattered throughout the property offer a place to "lounge." And building setbacks will give the appearance of low building heights.

Robert Sponseller, principal at Shalom Baranes Associates, said they strayed from the standard approach in designing this project. "We have designed from the public space up."

When completed, Woodmont East will have more than 1 million square feet of new and repurposed office, retail, residential and hotel space. Construction could start as early as 2013.

Bethesda, Maryland, real estate development news

Demolition Underway at Woodmont Triangle

Demolition crews are clearing the way for Donohoe Development Company's high-rise apartment and retail development, The Gallery of Bethesda, in Woodmont Triangle.

Commercial offices and surface parking lots at 4800 Auburn Avenue will make way for 234 apartments and 4,660 s.f. of retail.The new 17-story building "includes its own pedestrian street, public art, and a variety of green amenities," according to the project webpage.

The Gallery of Bethesda is the first residential building Donohoe plans for the area. Another phase of development includes a second high-rise with 221 apartments and 14,520 s.f. of retail space at 4850 Rugby Rd.

Both residential highrises are part of a larger plan dubbed Woodmont Central that brings office space, residential units and retail to the neighborhood. A third building at 8280 Wisconsin Ave. will feature 81,000 s.f. of "Class A" office space and 10,500 s.f. of ground-floor retail space. WDG Architecture designed all three buildings.

Update:
New renderings were added to this post.


Bethesda, Maryland, real estate development news