Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Mural added to Lot 667 redevelopment plan on St. Elmo Ave. in Bethesda (Photos)

A paneled mural is the latest addition to the Greenhill Capital Lot 667 redevelopment plan, as part of the project's public space along St. Elmo Avenue. The lower-case "b"-shaped lot is bordered by St. Elmo, and Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues, in downtown Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle. It includes the former BlackFinn Bethesda nightclub building and current Bold Bite properties (4901-A/B Fairmont Avenue), the former Fresh Grill and Dansez! Dansez! building adjacent to those on Fairmont, and former BCC Automotive and Red Tomato Cafe structures on St. Elmo.

The redevelopment plan, created by the architecture firm of Steven J. Karr, AIA, Inc., would add floors to some of the existing structures, delete one current vehicle driveway, and create new public space. Greenhill seeks to increase the maximum developable non-residential space on the site from 19,835 SF to 25,259 square feet. The Montgomery County Planning Board will take up the project at its September 17 meeting. Planning staff is recommending approval of the project.

Proposed public space on the site will be on both Fairmont and St. Elmo Avenues. A previous design rendering for public space on St. Elmo was shown on the SJKAIA, Inc. website, but the mural described in planning documents isn't shown in that earlier image. The latest blueprint-style rendering indicates that the mural will be on an existing wall of the Red Tomato Cafe building. Amenities will include landscaping, Bethesda Streetscape-standard brick pavers, a scored concrete surface, and chess/checkers tables.

An early design study did show a large mural on the Fairmont side, but that space was eliminated by a later design (it was where the vehicle entrance is off of Fairmont today). SJKAIA also designed a mural for a new retail building on Cordell Avenue, which has attracted a lot of attention for its New York via Las Vegas theme.

The driveway off of St. Elmo (depicted in the top image) will become the sole vehicle access for deliveries and trash removal, creating a better walking environment for pedestrians and a more unified design. Located within the urban parking lot district, Lot 667 does not have to include parking in its design.

Here are new aerial/blueprint-style renderings of the proposed public spaces on Fairmont (901.67 SF) and St. Elmo (975.39 SF):

Renderings courtesy Steven J. Karr, AIA, Inc.
All rights reserved

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank God Greenberg doesn't own Bangkok Garden or Hanaro. Otherwise those would be dead as well. I'm surprised that they haven't already strangled Bold Bites.

Anonymous said...

Where is their trademark, above grade, transformer? I don't see it in this latest round of renderings. I also can't believe they are not going to upgrade the facade on the existing Fresh Grill. These clowns got far more in lawsuits/insurance claims then they will spend on this renovation so one would think they would be willing to do something decent, but instead they are pinching pennies and pinching Woodmont even more.

Anonymous said...

New retail and restaurants arriving in 2022!

Anonymous said...

New "LEASE - GREENHILL" signs arriving in 2016. :(

Anonymous said...

Dyer, What happened to the 3 story plans?

http://www.greenhillcompanies.com/images/Lot667%202014%200408%20Renderings.pdf

Anonymous said...

There is no such thing as a 3-story Greenhill building. That should have been your clue.

Anonymous said...

It's so strange how protective Dyer is of Greenhill. Maybe Greenhill contributes to his campaign?

Anonymous said...

I think Greenhill is a source for a lot of his stories.

Anonymous said...

Isn't dyer pro high density development in public transportation accessible locations? I wonder why such support for Greenhill who builds and maintains low density spaces in a growing metropolitan area?

Anonymous said...

So weird, right? Dyer is oddly silent about anything negative related to Greenhill. Is there a connection?

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Look at the silence on this Greenhill article as he comments regularly on others. Prove us wrong please
Dyer.

Anonymous said...

I wonder why dyer and Greenhill both don't comment - is there a paid sponsorship going on?