The plan will first go before the Development Review Committee (a multi-organization body that represents multiple utilities and public agencies) at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, May 26. It is currently scheduled to come before the Montgomery County Planning Board at its July 30 meeting.
A south tower would be constructed first, with the north tower following later. The site is bordered by the Capital Beltway, the Pooks Hill Marriott hotel, and the existing Promenade, Bristol Square, Pooks Hill Tower and Whitley Park Terrace developments.
While the multifamily buildings are very consistent with much of the existing character of Pooks Hill, placing this number of additional units a mile from the nearest Metro station gives many residents pause. Smart growth advocates have regularly cited a quarter-mile to half-a-mile from Metro as the ideal zone for high-density, transit-oriented development. This site is not within that proximity.
The developer is floating the idea of a Metro shuttle. That would seem like a necessary step, with the project potentially dropping 600 more cars into that immediate area. I also doubt that the Marriott parking lots are as underused as described during well-attended events at the hotel. Somebody will have to figure out where those cars are going to go on X-number of days out of the year. There is also the question of how to prevent traffic from the additional development from affecting the nearby single-family home developments. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase master plan's last update recommended turn and entry restrictions to address that matter.
Quadrangle is proposing to offer 15% affordable units, higher than the 12.5% minimum required by Montgomery County. The buildings are planned to be 160' in height, with approximately 625 units in total.
Among the amenities on-site will be a paved central plaza with a water feature, outdoor pools, club rooms, roof decks and landscaped gardens. Parking will be underground, and one of those garages will be constructed in Phase 1. The two towers are described as "chevron-shaped", and are being sited to preserve existing views from the surrounding residential buildings.
Images via Montgomery County Planning Department
The proposed BRT includes a stop at Pooks Hill.
ReplyDelete5:18: That's the whole reason BRT is being proposed - to allow development of places like this and Wildwood, Georgetown Square, Westlake, Aspen Hill, Olney, etc. (despite the temporary reprieve for the Georgia Avenue property owners).
DeleteSo BRT is good then? Allows for more density along the main corridors. More housing supply in denser areas.
DeleteSo it's bad when there is development away from mass transit, and it's just as bad if not worse when development occurs next to mass transit.
ReplyDeleteGot it, it makes perfect sense.
5:34: BRT is not Metro. It doesn't have the ridership, speed or capacity of a subway system. BRT is simply a cheating way to add fake "people through-put" capacity to an area developers want to build in. At least the people around the Silver Line had the guts and sense to invest in actual rapid transit. That's why Tysons and Loudoun are going to clean our clock, along with Dulles and the ongoing highway projects over there.
DeleteGrowth can only occur in empty fields, in suburban neighborhoods less than 10 years old, or in the most urban of areas. Suburban areas more than 10 years old should not change unless you build a new McMansion.
ReplyDeleteI hope they would include some sort of a market in the building to help at least reduce car trips to the grocery store for residents. Something like Grosvenor Market but a little bigger.
ReplyDelete5:54: There is precedence for that at The Promenade.
DeleteAre you saying Metro should build in-fill stations at Pooks Hill? And at Cordell Avenue?
ReplyDeleteAnd just a minor rerouting of the Red Line between Frendship Heights and Bethesda could accommodate a station at Westbard.
The Promenade was well planned and self contained. There's even a restaurant in there.
ReplyDeletePooks Hill really may need a small grocery store if it builds out further.
Dyer hates it when people get to live where they want to, because of "greedy developers".
ReplyDelete6:43 AM Did you read the same article that I did? I don't see anything about trying to stop folks from living at Pooks Hill.
ReplyDeleteI am all for investing in more Metro.
ReplyDeleteA station at Westbard, Cordell, and Pooks Hills sound like great ideas.
6:58 AM Dial back the snark a smidge.
ReplyDeleteHow was 6:58 smudge? I would love that too. The idea that metro could connect local areas instead of simply servicing commuters into DC would be fantastic!
Delete"There is precedence for that at The Promenade."
ReplyDeleteI specifically didn't mention The Promenade because the market they have is really a glorified convenience store and it only serves the people of that building. Grosvenor Market is a proper neighborhood market that serves people beyond just the Grosvenor buildings and boast fresh produce and meats from local farmers. You can buy almost all your groceries from Grosvenor Market, Promenade Market not so much.
Yeah I tend to agree - totally different. It's tiny and barely has anything.
DeleteThe bus rapid transit system is of no use to the Promenade (it's a tough walk up or down steep Pooks Hill Road to Wisconsin), so this will mean nothing but congestion. Pooks Hill Road and Wisconsin Ave are already jammed at rush hour from the existing community, NIH, and Walter Reed. This is only going to make it worse.The people in the Maplewood-Alta Vista neighborhood are screwed.
ReplyDelete