HO HUM:

BETHESDA'S LATEST

GATEWAY CONDO

PROJECT FAILS TO

IMPRESS

Following years of delay, the Trillium condo project at the northern gateway of downtown Bethesda has been altered yet again.

The long-empty site has its latest plan, and it leaves much to be desired. First, the proposed building is smaller and far shorter than it should be, within walking distance to Metro. Density in that spot shouldn't be the maximum because that walk to Metro is not a short one.

Second, the design is decidedly ho hum. A cross between a hospital and a cookie cutter office office building, the Trillium is poised to be the latest gateway property to disappoint.

At the south entrance to town, you are confronted with Staples. This was a chance to do something bold. When arriving in Bethesda, you should be greeted by bold architecture, glass, steel and innovative design. Maybe an 8 story fountain.

Instead, we're getting this bland, utilitarian and squat commercial style building. To top it off, the C-shaped courtyard design faces drivers entering Bethesda, from the plans I've examined.

The vague promise of a grocery store that will draw people to the site suggests one name: Wegmans. But will it really be Wegmans, or Harris Teeter, which the same developer has contracted with in one of its DC projects? I will say that getting Wegmans would go a long way to compensate for the underwhelming design.

It's not too late to come up with an alternative. The Planning Board needs to stop trying to throw up skyscrapers in residential neighborhoods, and start trying to build them in downtown Bethesda instead. And it's time to start rejecting the same old, cookie cutter designs every other town is using.

The building that stands at the gateway to Bethesda ought to represent Bethesda.