7900 Wisconsin Avenue, a 174' tall mixed-use building with 450 units that will span the block between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenue, has received recommendation of approval from Montgomery County Planning Board staff, with conditions.
Because the building will have an underground parking garage, an adjacent building owner fears a repeat of the Fresh Grill disaster on Fairmont Avenue. Namely, that the Big Dig will cause his smaller building to "crack or become unstable," Signs Express owner Greg Kiel wrote to planning staff on March 18.
Kiel also expressed (pun not intended) concern that a planned relocation of a Wisconsin Avenue fire hydrant would take needed street parking away from his customers.
While there is no guarantee provided by planning staff that excavation won't affect his building in any way, they have amended the site plan regarding the fire hydrant. The hydrant will now be moved north of the 7900 Wisconsin driveway.
One other minor issue nearby residents might want to know, is that a tree on Wisconsin Avenue will be removed as part of the construction process. The tree is the northernmost tree in front of the future building.
The good news is that, as I discussed months ago, this building has unique and impressive architecture, as well as the landscaped green space that will provide a pedestrian connection between Wisconsin and Woodmont. Two of the most significant elements are the reflective ceiling of the pass-through promenade, and the cantilever design of the structure.
The park-like area and ground floor restaurants, grocery store and retail space will liven up a dead stretch of Woodmont between the Landow Building and St. Elmo Avenue. The southern part of the block has activity now, because of The Parva and residential traffic to and from Fairmont Plaza.
Obviously, residents of Fairmont Plaza's north-facing units may not be thrilled with the loss of views, and the construction noise that very likely will include blasting. Will the new shopping and dining outweigh that? Only those residents can answer that, and are welcome to post their thoughts in the comments below.
3 comments:
Oh wow, I have been renting at the Fairmont Plaza for about a year now, and I had no idea... I have no experience with such things, but what's a realistic guess of when construction would start if everything is approved?
I've heard January 2014 as the groundbreaking date, if all goes well. But the same developer is also putting up a 17-story building where that vacant green shopping center is, across Veterans Park from you, and that has been delayed for months. They've had the demolition permit on that since late last year, as I recall. So these schedules can definitely change.
As of late JBG has been notorious for starting construction on their projects several months/years "late."
4900 Fairmont Ave/770 Norfolk, as you mentioned was supposed to start in January, but didn't get demolition permits until March 2013. As of now, demolition has yet to take place. The project has shown signs of activity though, with foundation building permits likely to be issued within a couple of weeks with demolition/groundbreaking likely to follow soon after.
As for 7900 Wisconsin, I wouldn't hold my breath for a Jan 2014 groundbreaking, especially considering the many other apartments units going up around dtown Bethesda. With all the supply JBG might not want to risk low returns upon delivery, and may delay the project. Even if they do proceed they're likely to take their time getting permits pulled, just like 4900.
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