Bethesda Lot 31 Project Delayed (Again) Until February

Groundbreaking for Lot 31, the public-private StonebridgeCarras-PN Hoffman project on Bethesda Row, in the works since 2004, missed its January target date after being delayed yet again. But lead developer Stonebridge and Montgomery County government officials say it's not because the project is flagging on the home stretch - nor was the delay a response to complaints from local businesses about the closure of the lots and of Woodmont Avenue during construction.

"Just paperwork," said Esther Bowring, Montgomery County public information officer. "The project is still very much full steam ahead. We just need to make sure all the paperwork, all the permits, are in place before we proceed."

Doug Firstenberg, principal at StonebridgeCarras, agreed. "The hard part, the financing [with Northwestern], is already done, we formally closed on that in late November. I'm not sure I would even use the term 'delay.' With a partnership of this magnitude, there are so many I's to dot and T's to cross, we just want to get all the documentation straight." StonebridgeCarras originally set a start date of last summer, then pushed that back to January of 2012.

The SK&I-designed Lot 31 project, which will straddle Woodmont Avenue, is a keystone of the ongoing revitalization of Woodmont Triangle. In addition to 40,000 s. f. of retail space, and two residential units - The Flats, 162-unit apartment complex, and the Darcy, an 88-unit condominium building - the project will also incorporate a massive underground parking garage of nearly 1200 spaces. Of these, around 940 are earmarked for public use, with the rest associated with the two residential buildings. Presently, Lots 31 and 31A offer just under 280 parking spaces, so the finished complex will represent an almost fourfold increase.

Growth comes at a price. The existing spaces will be unavailable once construction starts, and the new garage isn't projected to open until two and a half years from groundbreaking. In addition, a stretch of Woodmont below Bethesda Avenue is going to be closed for twenty months as developers correct the distorted 'x' of the intersection, prompting some local businesses to wonder if they can weather an extended period of (perhaps sharply) reduced foot traffic.

Ultimately, those concerns were outweighed by what some see as Bethesda's urgent need for more parking. The zoning in the area requires zero parking for residential projects, a policy designed to steer people towards public parking and public transit.

Short-term, locals will have a number of alternatives once Lot 31 closes. Aside from increasing Circulator bus service, the county is shifting many long-term spaces out of the immediate area, as well as creating over a hundred new short-term spaces. They're also optimizing the parking that already exists. "We're installing a car-counter at Garage 57 [Bethesda-Elm Parking Garage] so people will be able to get the most out of that facility," says Bowring. "Right now you have to drive all the way to the top to see if there are any spaces, and that can be tight. Hopefully if we have the available spaces displayed on the outside for everyone to see, it will encourage people to use it."

In the big picture, Lot 31 is just one of several projects currently underway in downtown Bethesda. Stonebridge is also building a residential tower on the former Trillium site, Bainbridge Bethesda (formerly the Monty) is coming along on schedule, and JBG/Ross are turning 4900 Fairmont Avenue into a residential rental units. And of course, the Purple Line is on the horizon for 2014.

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Woodmont Triangle Apartment Developers Seek Approal for Trillium Successor

The barren, long-fallow Trillium site in Bethesda, long considered an unwelcome reminder of the untimely demise of the local market, is set to bounce back. Bethesda-based StonebridgeCarras, which in partnership with Walton Street Capital purchased the site in early 2011 for just over $29 million, filed their new plans for the site with Montgomery County just last month and hope to be before the planning board early this year.

“This is my new favorite project,” enthused Ellen Miller, Principal at Stonebridge. “This building is a gateway to Bethesda. The lot to the north [at the corner of Woodmont and Wisconsin] is owned by NIH and is a beautiful greenspace, and coming from the north you'll look across that and see this very handsome glass and brick building.”

The new plans are “quite different,” from the Trillium plans, says Miller. Where the Trillium plan, a Davis Carter Scott-designed series of three towers, was slanted heavily toward the high-end condo market, the Stonebridge development calls for around 370 rental units, from efficiencies to three-bedrooms, and a limited number of townhouse units that open directly onto Wisconsin Avenue. It also incorporates a significant amount of underground parking, and a grocery story on the ground floor - sort of.

“Given the topography of the site, how it falls almost twenty feet from Battery Lane,” says Miller, “the grocery store will be largely submerged on the Wisconsin side, with the main entrance on Woodmont.”

The u-shaped building, designed by WDG Architecture, features an interior green courtyard, which will incorporate an entrance to the as-yet-unnamed grocery store. Miller was coy when asked who it would be – Harris Teeter? Safeway? - but said that while they're still in negotiations, she thought the neighborhood would be very pleased with the mystery tenant. “This grocery amenity will not only serve the neighborhood, but also draw people in,” she said.

The site, way back when, was once home to the Clarion hotel, which was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Trillium project, the defunct condominium complex spearheaded by Houston-based Patrinely Group.

Doug Firstenberg, another principal at Stonebridge, told DCMud last year that he hoped this project could “anchor the redevelopment of Woodmont Triangle." Woodmont Triangle, situated as it is between the Medical Center and Bethesda metro stops on the Red Line, has attracted quite a bit of attention from developers recently. In addition to this project, developers are now building a pair of 17-story buildings in Woodmont - Bainbridge Bethesda as well and the long-delayed rebuild of 4900 Fairmont Avenue.

Just as the vacant Trillium site, which after last year's hurricane had fallen into open disrepair (Stonebridge has since cleaned up the lot) was seen by many as a symbol of the market crash, perhaps the long-overdue redevelopment could be a harbinger of an upturn? Local developers, no doubt, are hoping.

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

JBG/Ross Gains Momentum at 4900 Fairmont Avenue

The new mixed-use project at 4900 Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda looks to have a clear path to approval, with the site plan going to the Maryland Parks and Planning Commission next week, with an eye towards pulling permits in Q3 2012, and breaking ground in Q1 2013. Located across from Veteran's Park, the forthcoming tower represents a major step in the ongoing revitalization of the Woodmont Triangle area.

Representatives from lead developer JBG revealed many details about the mixed-use (but mostly residential) building at a community meeting on Thursday night. The seventeen story building, designed by the Preston Partnership, is projected to have 236 dwellings (rentals, with 15% MPDU), 6500 s.f. of retail space, and 3.5 levels of underground parking.

The design for the new building incorporates a large flat panel/bay window on each face, bookended by glass towers on the corners. According to Mark Lange, principal at Preston, the central panels are meant to “inspire recollections of more traditional Bethesda buildings,” and if you squint, they do resemble the boxier designs of a bygone era. The ground floor retail faces mostly east, onto Norfolk, and a 4300 s.f. roof area will include a pool, changing rooms, and views down Wisconsin towards the District. Of course, this is the second plan for the site. The original site plan was very similar to the present plan, but impeded access to the adjacent county parking garage, creating a narrow, potentially unsafe passageway from the street to the garage. When JBG became a venture partner with Ross/CIM, they took a fresh look at the plans and shifted the building's footprint east, creating a wide “paseo” along the west side of the building that would double as a path to the parking garage and as community space. Only one problem – there was no garage entrance there. Luckily, after meeting with county officials at the site, developers were able to convince them to allow a renovation.

The Woodmont Triangle area was once, in attorney Bob Dalrymple's words, “ground zero not long ago,” but much of the energy has moved southwards in the past several years. A recent zoning plan amendment was the city's first attempt at revitalizing the area, and just across Fairmont is Bainbridge Bethesda (formerly the Monty), also a 17-story building, and the first project using the new standards of the zone. (Excavation on the Bainbridge site is just about halfway done, so expect to see cranes soon.) The amendment encourages new, denser development (read: residential), though even with the new zoning standards, 4900 had to purchase density rights from four nearby buildings.

But not everyone was happy with the project as laid out at the meeting. Representatives of a property across Fairmont protested that the shifting of the front entrance from Fairmont to Norfolk would “create dead space and turn Fairmont from a retail street into a service street.” After observing the new building would reduce the amount of retail space from around twenty thousand square feet to less than seven thousand, they went on to note the new design could worsen an already dicey traffic situation. These representatives claimed the placement of 4900's loading dock directly across from Bainbridge's loading dock would virtually guarantee daytime gridlock, citing deliveries and trash removal, and also noted that even a 5% vacancy rate could translate to as many as 300 moves a year, further slowing traffic.

Another local, who lives at the nearby 14-story Triangle Towers, was concerned that the taller 174-foot-tall 4900 Fairmont building would cast a shadow over Triangle's rooftop pool. (Though it wasn't available at the meeting, Dalrymple assured him they'd done a complete shade study.) The local also noted the new building could block radio and satellite dish reception in Triangle. (Some at the meeting laughed; the local replied it was no trivial matter to people who live there.) The citizen went on to say he was only there to give the developers something to think about, not to stop the project, which is just as well. Along with Stonebridge's oft-delayed-but-still-inevitable Lot 31 project and their development of the former Trillium site, and the Bainbridge Bethesda (nee the Monty), the redevelopment of Woodmont Triangle is looking unstoppable.

(One final note - because of the way the new building is designed, it will have a Norfolk Avenue address. Goodbye to 4900 Fairmont.)

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Bainbridge Starting on 17-Story Bethesda Apartments

If Bethesda Row has bloomed into the urban village experience, Woodmont Triangle may one day be its downtown. While no large projects have begun in the quadrant just north of Bethesda Row - though many have been planned - that is about to change in a big way. The Bainbridge Companies will begin construction this week on their 17-story, highly amenitized apartment building a few blocks north of the Bethesda Metro station. Once known as the Monty, the project will be rebranded as "Bainbridge Bethesda" by the Florida based developer.

One of the tallest projects in the area, the apartment building will feature a four-story underground parking garage and is meant to animate both the skyline and street level, the former with its height and periodically receding facade, and the latter with a new pedestrian boulevard that will feature retail and art, breaking up the block and endowing the building with a corner presence.
Some sources say the project could cost $80m to build. The selling feature, to developers, is the raised amenities, placed at the top to take advantage of views over Bethesda and Washington D.C. The building will feature a gym leading out to a 15th floor terrace and rooftop pool. "Obviously that's really expensive real estate that high that we're forgoing, but its the kind of thing that inspires people on a daily basis" says Josh Wooldridge, Senior Development Director with Bainbridge. "You just can't compare that to a gym in a basement."

The project is a long time coming, having been before the county planning board for 5 years. Bainbridge purchased the site with approvals last summer, and expected to break ground almost immediately, but equity issues have held up construction, which has been billed as nearly imminent since that time. Now Bainbridge has corralled equity partners, including Greek shipping company Restis Group and DC-based National Real Estate Advisors, along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to provide the needed capital, having closed on financing just two weeks ago today. Since the county adopted the Woodmont Sector Plan 6 years ago, no highrises have been built in the area (Lionsgate was planned previously).

Bainbridge will now start 3-4 weeks of demolition, followed by an estimated 18-20 months of construction. The building will take over mostly vacant retail space, replacing it with a 20-foot wide pedestrian passageway that links Fairmont and St. Elmo Streets, with retail fronting both streets. Wooldridge says design of the 7500 s.f. of retail will be finalized next year when the project is under construction.

Architects at SK&I have designed a LEED Silver project with green roof that will be notably taller than the low density architecture of Woodmont Triangle. "We'll be 5 stories taller than anything else around" says Wooldridge, although the 174-foot project will fall short of the Clark building at 200 feet. With demolition permits in hand, site work will commence immediately.

Bethesda, MD real estate development news

Donohoe's Trifecta in Woodmont Triangle

At the end of this month, the Montgomery County Planning Board will likely hand down its approval - with possible amendments - to Donohoe Development Company's Woodmont Central, the multi-phased, mixed use project that will redefine the urban landscape of the underutilized Woodmont Triangle area. "We've been working on this project for many years," said Peter Gartlan, President of Donohoe. "We've made many amendments, we've gotten our site plans re-approved and we're looking forward to moving ahead with our plans."

The biggest draw for the area is 8280 Wisconsin Avenue, now the site of a Texaco station, the area's only car wash. Once the building is razed, Donohoe will develop a 91,600 s.f. Class A office building with 11,000 s.f. of retail. Gartlan said he hopes to break ground on this facet of the project in 2013.

Nevertheless, Donohoe plans to break ground on the two residential buildings in the second quarter of 2012. First up is Phase 1B, also known as The Gallery of Bethesda at 4800 Auburn Avenue. The building will replace old commercial buildings and surface parking with 234 units, 5400 s.f. of retail and its own pedestrian street with public art displays. The second building, now dubbed Phase 2, also know as The Gallery of Bethesda II, will be a 221-unit building at 4850 Rugby Avenue with 19,500 s.f. of ground floor retail. WDG Architecture is on the hook for design of each of the three buildings.

The Montgomery County Planning Board has already approved the preliminary plans of a project that's been in the works following the amendment to the 2006 Bethesda Sector Plan.

Until the 2006 amendment, said Gartlan, density was site-specific. "The adjustment that allows non-contiguous transfer of density was changed specifically to help cultivate the redevelopment of Woodmont Triangle, which is what used to be the center of Bethesda," said Gartlan. Because of the amendment, Donohoe was able to transfer density from one of their sites to another. "We have designed our plans in accordance with the adjustment, working closely with the city, which seems to really like our final designs."

Jad Donohoe, Development Director for the company, told DCMud, "[The transfer is] a new idea and the thought was that because there is such fragmented ownership in that section of Bethesda, this would be a way to bring the density needed to make more of a Bethesda Row-type of experience."

Woodmont Central is much further along than another huge Donohoe project, the hotel, jazz club and retail outlets the company is planning to build called the Arts at 5th and I in Mt. Vernon Triangle. Because the project has yet to be financed, ground breaking isn't yet on the horizon.

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

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

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

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.

Washington DC commercial real estate

A New View in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle?

Montgomery County will decide tomorrow whether a lot on the northern edge of the Woodmont Triangle section of Bethesda can do the impossible: build a residential project in the city's low-rise neighborhood. Okay, not technically impossible - but seemingly difficult, and a slew of competitors have failed to pierce the heavy veil of financial gloom. With developers for the Monty, Trillium, Rugby Avenue, 4900 Fairmont, Auburn Avenue, 4851 Rugby Avenue all unable or unwilling to move forward in Woodmont Triangle, developer Laurence Lipnick and Battery Lane, LLC will try for site plan approval of Woodmont View at the Thursday meeting of MNCPPC.  The question is whether to allow 46 two-bedroom condominium units in a 9-story building, replacing the small office building on the corner of Battery Lane and Woodmont Avenue, and turning the single family home on the north end of the site into a "philanthropic" venue. The county's planning staff report has recommended approving the project, but with a few catches. The plan began with an approval in March of 2004 for construction of townhomes on the site, but with a 110-foot building going in across the street, or at least the prospect thereof, and lots of low-income and multi-family housing in the vicinity, building townhouses no longer seemed like such a good idea, and so the developer made a plea for the extra density. 

Complicating the plan - please mind the arcanery - is the Bethesda-Chevy Chase school district's moratorium on new construction that began July 1st, intended to stop development until the school system catches up with population growth. The open-ended moratorium clearly proscribes the subdivision of lots, but may less obviously affect the conversion of an office building into a residential tower. Woodmont View does not subdivide the existing lot, but still raises the fur on the neck of planners who see it as breach of the meaning of the moratorium, and the county has to rule on the matter of its school impact before it will issue a construction permit. All this "for 1.9 children," according to Debra Borden, an attorney with Linowes and Blocher, referring to the number of children the study deems will need accommodation as a result of the development. No 1.9 children left behind, it seems. The height issue is the developer's Hail Mary to get 90 feet out of the site, originally zoned for 65 feet, and granted a 14 foot exception due to the provision of 8 subsidized units. The developer has requested an additional 10 feet 8 inches, an addition which would keep the building at 46 units but increase the size of each. A county synopsis of the project notes approvingly that the new design facilitates transit-oriented development, "help[s] provide a northern gateway to the Woodmont Triangle," contributes to urban planning guidelines with streetscape improvement and three levels of underground parking, and that 9 full stories would "be compatible with the surrounding buildings." Nonetheless, their Spidey sense tells them its still just too darn high. According to project architect Eric Morrison of Morrison Architects, who has designed renovations to local embassies for the Czechs and Argentinians, and was the local architect for the much vaunted Finnish Embassy, the apparent height of the building will not change, but will only add to the stepped-back level of the ceiling behind the ornamentation. Morrison says that the peaked facade is due to Bethesda's mandatory inclusion of attractive rooflines. The design will also be broken up so as to appear "not as one monolithic structure," according to Morrison, who also likens this and its twin on the other side of Woodmont Avenue, to "a nice gateway" to Bethesda. Oh, and Lipnick must provide and maintain a bicycle on the premises for travel to NIH (not for other purposes, mind you), along with pump, (not making this up) tube, bike lock, and both kid and adult helmet (color not specified). In perpetuity. Which seems like a very, very long time. 

Bethesda Maryland commercial real estate news

Bethesda's 4900 Fairmont Seeks More Delays

Inevitable, probably. Developers of the 4900 Fairmont project in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle are seeking an 18 month extension in the county's approval process, for the reasons you might suspect, including "the economic downturn and resulting freezing of credit markets" and "the current lack of residential market demand."

The would-be 16-story residential project would have replaced the eateries on the corner, including Indian restaurant Haandi, with 118 units of housing at the corner of Fairmont and Norfolk Avenues. With approval of the application likely, developer 4900 Fairmont, LLC has until January of 2011 to file a site plan with the county. The project was initially approved in December of 2007; the extension request will be formally heard at the county board's July 30th meeting.

Bethesda real estate development news

The Monty Makes (Another) Go of It in Bethesda

The would-be developers Monty, LLC will head back to the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday, July 2nd to shore up their final site plan for The Monty - a high-rise residential project on a 1-acre lot in Bethesda that currently hosts several vacant storefronts from 4915-4917 Fairmont Avenue and 4914-4918 St. Elmo Avenue in the Woodmont Triangle. Since its initial approval in May 2007, the 17-story residential development has grown (via an update to the developer's plans this past March) from 133 apartments to include "a maximum of 200 units" for a total of 210,188 square feet of new Bethesda real estate. Described by Planning Board staff as "an attractive urban infill redevelopment project,” the project is still planned to subsidize 30 moderately priced dwelling units, 7,700 square feet of ground floor retail and 211 underground garage spaces. One of the Monty’s more interesting flourishes will be the 5,480 square feet of (mandatory) public use space. A so-called “pedestrian promenade” on the building’s south side will include art installation, composed of a chain link backdrop and live bamboo, by artist Dan Steinhilber and the landscape architects of Parker Rodriguez. Once complete, the piece will “provide an animated experience as a person moves through the space” for a quasi-hallucinogenic stroll that would seem more Burning Man than Bethesda (and make it a sure-fire destination for area Zendik pamphleteers. Eew.) SK & I is performing the architectural design for the building. Since the first of this year, both the County’s Transportation and Environmental Planning divisions have both lent their final approval to the re-jiggered development scheme, as have Planning Board staff. Though the developer has not stipulated a final timeline for construction, once complete, it will stand directly across from the site of another Woodmont Triangle high-rise, the also delayed 4900 Fairmont development. The project has been approved in the past, but just might possibly happen this time. 

Montgomery County commercial real estate news

Donohoe Galvanizes Bethesda Development in the Woodmont Triangle

The Donohoe Development Company is in the early design and planning stages on what looks to be the largest mixed-use project to hit Bethesda since Bethesda Row went and upped the area’s chi-chi quotient a few basis points (see this month’s issue of Forbes for proof). Now, on the other side of town, in the decidedly less dapper (but getting there) Woodmont Triangle area, Donohoe has teamed with WDG Architecture to realize Woodmont Central: a multi-phase, mixed-use project that will bring office space, retail and, yes, apartments to Wisconsin Avenue and beyond.

Within the next few years, Phase 1A, as Donohoe is calling it, will be the 8280 Wisconsin - a commercial complex with 80,792 square feet of Class A office space, along with 10,820 square feet of ground floor retail, at the corner of Battery Lane and Wisconsin Avenue. At present, it's the site of a Texaco that boasts the area’s only car wash. Unfortunately for area auto buffs, both will be razed prior to build out. It will, however, be the first sign of new development at the very same intersection that had previously been slated to host the now indefinitely on hold Trillium Condominiums.

In a first for Woodmont Triangle development, Donohoe's office building will be followed by Phases1B and 2 - but not at the same site. It’s a split that will allow the development team to benefit from a recent amendment to Bethesda zoning statutes. Said Jad Donohoe, Donohoe's Development Director:

[The parcels] are three blocks apart, but in the same project…Back in 2006 there was an amendment to the Bethesda Sector Plan for the Woodmont Triangle. For the first time it allowed this transfer of density between sites that aren’t contiguous or are even across the street from each other…It’s a new idea and the thought was that because there is such fragmented ownership in that section of Bethesda, this would be a way to bring the density needed to make more of a Bethesda Row-type of experience. If you look at what Federal Realty Trust did on Bethesda Row, those things have been happening on that side of Bethesda for 10 years. By contrast, Woodmont Triangle has been kind of struggling. This is the solution and it’s one of the first projects to take advantage of that provision.

And take advantage they shall. Currently the home to a surface parking lot and "some old two-story buildings", the corner of Rugby and Del Ray Avenues will eventually host The Gallery at Bethesda - a high-rise with 457 rental apartments (including 51 MPDUs), 9,051 square feet of ground floor retail and public park that Donohoe describes as being comparable in size and scope to the nearby Veteran’s Park. "It’s really going to be one of the few green spots there in the Woodmont Triangle for public space,” said Donohoe.

Though still “a couple years away from breaking ground,” Donohoe speculates that "The Gallery will be home to approximately 900 new Bethesdans, with occupancy beginning in 2013. 8280 Wisconsin will deliver in late 2012." The team's first project plan was filed with the Montgomery County Planning Board in January and they're currently scheduled to make a second appearance before the Board on April 23^rd. Bethesda real estate is for sale.

Bethesda Condo Gets the Go-Ahead

Plans for Rugby Avenue Condominiums at 4851 Rugby Avenue went before the Montgomery County Planning Board for a second time this morning and were approved. In the fall of 2007, developers Polinger Shannon & Luchs (cleverly disguised as 4851 Rugby Avenue LLC) were denied their application for a 10-story, 71-unit condo building with 1,250 s.f. of public art studio space and told that the plans exceeded the nine-story (90 feet) zoning limit. The new plan shows a lower height and increased art space.

The Woodmont Triangle project will now include only 61 condominium units, 8 of which will be affordable, 2,000 s.f. for four art studios, and a 3,277 s.f. outdoor public plaza. Now nine stories, the building will replace two small office buildings on the north side of Rugby Avenue at the intersection of Auburn and Rugby Avenues, and will include two and a half levels of underground parking.

"Obviously we are in the Bethesda Central Business District – which is a dynamic market in and of itself," said Elliot Schnitzer, a manager at Polinger. "Walter Reed is relocating to Bethesda Naval. Our site is between the Medical Center and Bethesda Metro stops and in walking distance to Bethesda Naval," he said.

Schnitzer also told DCMud that the developers will now work with Guy Martin of CORE Architects on construction drawings. When asked about the likelihood of joining the go-rental trend, Schnitzer said the company was standing by their condo plans. As DCMud reported last week, Triumph Development canceled its plans for 4901 Hampden Lane in the center of the Bethesda shopping district just last week, citing the approval process and market factors.

“People who have changed to rental have already broken ground. We hope to time it to hopefully hit the market on the rebound,” he said. A construction schedule has not been set, though the project will certainly beat out its neighbor - 4823 Rugby Ave. - which has submitted plans for a 24-unit building but remains in the 'concept' phase.