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The plan includes a public plaza that will be joined with the existing pedestrian space at the neighboring Bainbridge Bethesda. A 30' pedestrian plaza will be the result, a place designed for people to relax and enjoy, Robins said. Many aspects will remain the same as the current Bainbridge patio, such as tables and chairs for seating, and plantings.
What's new? A clock will be one landmark on the St. Elmo Apartments side, and a curving design will replace the straight pass-through now at the Bainbridge.
While there will be retail on both sides, the level of vibrancy that will contribute is questionable at present. The retail spaces at Bainbridge have been slow to lease up, and Robins said he expects retail tenants at the St. Elmo to be oriented more toward providing services to building residents than to restaurants.
What's the timeline going forward here? Robins predicted the project would get a hearing before the Montgomery County Planning Board about 4 to 6 months after the plan submission. A final site plan would then require 6-8 months to complete. Groundbreaking would follow about two years later, meaning that we're talking about 2017 or 2018, depending how long the process takes.
The St. Elmo will be a 16-story tower with 210 apartments, and up to 15,488 SF of retail and office space. Designed by David M. Schwartz, the tower will offer 15% affordable units, higher than the required 12.5% under Montgomery County's MPDU program. The garage access for residents will be from the St. Elmo Avenue side of the building.
Images courtesy Lenkin Companies
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"Many aspects will remain the same as the current Bainbridge patio, such as tables and chairs for seating..."
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that those tables and chairs will still follow the slope of the pavement, rather than being leveled appropriately?
Yeah that slope is horrible. The tables are sloped too.
DeleteI hope you don't delete this comment because it includes an outside source reference, bu it is the only place I could find the quote from Lenkin.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bethesdanow.com/2015/02/09/renderings-of-16-story-apartment-proposed-for-woodmont-triangle/
So the current cut through is 20 feet wide and Lenkin is only adding 10 feet to make it 30 total. Lenkin previously said they might double it and go to 40 feet, but now they are only contributing 1/3 of the shared space. That kinda sucks - 30 feet is really, really close. How wide is Upstairs at Bethesda Row's Bethesda Lane cut through? I think about 40 by casual pacing, plus there is a small setback balcony on each side. 30 feet is going to be really close to our neighbor. Look at Triangle Tower and Gallery - they are so close now and they at least have a road and sidewalks in between them!!
I can't wait to rent an apartment in the St. Elmo so that I can jangle my junk at the Bainbridge residents on the other side of the airshaft.
ReplyDeleteNo need to guess about how the pass through will look and feel. .. The renderings are right here.
ReplyDeleteLenkin never promised a large plaza...just a walkthrough.
They talked about 40 feet and settled at 30. Just underwhelming, under delivered, and kinda crappy how close the two buildings are.
DeleteAren't we a little redundant in the header with the word "public"? Just sayin.
ReplyDeletePresumably there could be private outdoor areas for residents only. It looks like the new Arlington Road apartments will have a private outdoor area.
DeleteBest to make clear that this is public.
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ReplyDeleteWhy come at Robert in such a negative way? You can always contact him directly about stories. He's a reasonable person.
DeleteI wouldn't call this apartment highrise project trivial though!
The public meeting was last night so this is appropriately timely and relevant.
Delete7:01: A new, 16-story apartment tower with a new public plaza is "trivial crap"? Not for people who live downtown, want to live downtown, and/or follow development in downtown Bethesda closely. Then you try to tee up a Google search for yesterday's news - literally - from a competing website. Nice try, Sir Spam-a-lot. The meeting was just last night, like Flynn said, for Pete's sake.
DeleteDeleting his/her original comment does make our responses kinda pointless and confusing though....
ReplyDeleteI was at the meeting last night and the talked about doubling the cut through. They stated that the bases of the buildings will be 40' apart. Although at times they also said that the current opening was 15' and would be doubled to 30'. Either way, there will still be more public hearings before the final site plan is approved. I would suggest that anyone that has concerns should go to those meetings, which is a much better way to voice your concerns. Very few people took the time to attend last night's meeting. If you aren't willing to be part of the process, then you shouldn't complain about the outcome.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a lot of developers trying to sell these spaces I don't imagine being used for more than walking through. Nice to have nice lit area to shortcut between buildings but not a civic space. Same thing with the competing plans for a "park" over the metro stations. Zoomed in renderings that have more people than I can ever imagine wanting to sit and hang out at the corner of East West hwy and Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteYes, those Metro space renderings seemed off. And to call it or compare it to new york's Central Park is way off. Not comparable at all.
DeleteThe scale seemed off in the bethesda metro rendering...seemed larger than it is.
they've identified a legitimate problem (a terrible metro plaza), but there solution needs work.
The metro plaza went downhill when it lost the food court and ice rink.
If they made it like Bethesda Lane then yeah I can see it working well as an activated space. But not with the current and proposed layouts.
DeleteRegardless of the width, neither building appears to be going after the type of upscale retail/restaurant uses that Federal Realty brought to Bethesda Row. I'd expect dry cleaners, a deli, a hair salon. I hope I'm wrong!
DeleteJudging from the backlash against FRIT's Bethesda row recent signings, that's probably a good thing.
Delete"public downtown Bethesda public plaza"
ReplyDeletePresumably there could be private outdoor areas for residents only. It looks like the new Arlington Road apartments will have a private outdoor area."
You mean he should have typed...
1) Private downtown Bethesda public plaza?
2) Public downtown Bethesda private plaza?
or
3) Private downtown Bethesda private plaza?
So did Dyer ask any questions at this meeting, like a good journalist should?
ReplyDeleteOr is he content just to regurgitate press releases verbatim?
5:16: There was no press release. You're frustrated for a number of reasons.
DeleteSo you didn't ask any questions. Because you don't care about Bethesda, only Westbard.
ReplyDeleteUm, Westbard Avenue is a street IN Bethesda.
Delete7:07: Yeah, I guess that's why I made sure to get info about the plans for the retail, and then gave some analysis of what the impact of that would be on the surrounding area. Yeah, OK. Westbard is in Bethesda. A map might help you.
DeleteAnd "cookie cutter clocks" are just fine when they're in Bethesda.
ReplyDelete12:13: Nobody's worried about clocks. They're concerned about overcrowded schools, jammed roads, and other serious issues. Westbard doesn't have a Metro station. Downtown Bethesda does. Again, that map might come in handy for you.
DeleteI applaud Lenkin for coming up with the expanded pass through. It's the best scenario given the limited space.
ReplyDeleteSo why don't you mention that the latest proposal for Westbard includes a new elementary school?
ReplyDelete7:58: That elementary school was in the draft way back in November. Neither site specified was large enough for an elementary school. Even if a landowner were to donate enough land to fit an ES and all the facilities required, that would still leave overcrowding at Pyle and Whitman. Remember, Pyle is where kids are currently taking gym class in hallways.
Delete