Bethesda's Auburn Avenue Project Approved

The Montgomery County Planning Board has unanimously approved plans submitted by Auburn Building Associates LP, for Auburn Avenue, a condominium project to be located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Auburn Avenue and Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle - across the street from Imagination Stage. The approved plans call for a 126,000-s.f., nine-story building featuring 60 residential units (nine being moderately priced dwelling units),19,000 s.f. of office space, and 12,000 s.f. of retail (with DCmud hoping the Italian deli now at this location finds a home in new the building). There will also be a two-story, below ground parking space for 140 vehicles. Although final renderings of the project have not been released, initial designs included extensive use of glass along the northeastern perimeter of the building. Bethesda-based SK&I is designing the building.

The developer, which has already announced that DC artist Mindy Weisel will create an oxidized green copper structure for the façade of the building, hopes to have the final site plan and all project specifics ready around the end of the year. The county had approved the project up to 110 feet, but the developer is planning to cap the project at 90 feet. The site is currently occupied by two and three story office buildings.

Bethesda's 4900 Fairmont Avenue Project Up For Approval

You know you want it … you know you need it – more Bethesda development! Yes, would it be an official week of dcmud blog posts if we didn’t have at least one new Bethesda project to lay out for you all?

This week, the Montgomery County Planning Board is set to hold an approval hearing on 4900 Fairmont, a mixed-use development submitted by Fairmont Development LLC to replace the one-level row of shops and restaurants (including Haandi, a tasty Indian place) at the southwest corner of the intersection of Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues in the Woodmont Triangle section of Bethesda. Fairmont is looking to replace the current structure with up to 154,864 total sf of new development in a 16-story building, with possibly 118 residential condo units (15% being moderately priced dwelling units) on top of 5,500 sf of ground-floor retail. A four-level underground garage would hold 168 spaces. The developer will also be expected to improve the streetscape along Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues, as well as the land along the northern part of Norfolk in Veteran’s Park. The Planning Board is expected to grant approval to this proposal. No timeline is yet known for project completion. The 4900 Fairmont application can be viewed here.

The 4900 Fairmont project is just around the corner from Duball’s Lionsgate, a new 12-story building with 150 upscale condos on the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road, and joins other new buildings in the immediate Woodmont Triangle area of Bethesda, such as the 71-unit Rugby Condominium, the 46-unit Woodmont View, and the 60-unit Auburn Avenue project), as well as the other new projects a little south down Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda Row.