Carr Properties unveils redevelopment plans for Apex Building in Bethesda (Photos)

DC development firm Carr Properties unveiled two potential visions for the redevelopment of the Apex Building in downtown Bethesda, which it reportedly purchased for $105.5 million, at a public meeting last night. The Montgomery County Council approved a minor master plan amendment in February 2014 to facilitate potential redevelopment of the building, allow for a better Purple Line station beneath it, and to preserve space for a Capital Crescent Trail tunnel underneath Wisconsin Avenue.

Close-up of proposed Red Line
and Purple Line station access at
SW corner of Wisconsin Avenue
and Elm Street

Attorney Bob Harris, of Bethesda's Lerch, Early & Brewer, said last night that he believes two plans his client has developed will accomplish both of those goals. Developed by Shalom Baranes Associates, the plans envision breaking up the site into 3 buildings. Two residential buildings will hold about 600 units, and a third building fronting Wisconsin will house 350,000 SF of office space, Harris said. Retail would front both Wisconsin and Elm Street, and include "a potential retail user below grade," SBA principal Robert Sponseller, AIA, said. 

Attorney Bob Harris and
Shalom Baranes Associates
principal Robert Sponseller, AIA,
present Carr's sketch plan

The potentially-good news is that Sponseller said Carr is leaving open the possibility for Regal Cinemas to be that "potential retail user." Space sufficient for a multiscreen cineplex will be part of the design, a smart acknowledgement of the critical role Regal Cinemas plays in the downtown Bethesda economy. However, Harris and Sponseller stressed that the renderings and specifics are preliminary, and are not meant to represent the final design of the structures.

Urban plaza shown at upper right of
floorplan rendering; this version
of the plan requires removal of the
United Bank/Community Hardware
building at the southeast corner of
the property

But Carr representatives said the better of the two plans will require relocation of the historic Community Paint and Hardware building at 7250 Wisconsin Avenue. Now a United Bank, and relocated once before to accommodate the Apex Building, the building started in the 1890s as Wilson's Store. It is widely believed to be the only remaining structure from that early period in downtown Bethesda's history.

Rendering of basic plaza
area; not meant to be detailed
rendering of the actual space

View from helicopter hovering
over Wisconsin Avenue

Moving the store again would have two major benefits - it would allow for an "urban plaza" that would retain the public use element currently found in the Apex Building's outdoor plaza at the same corner. That would also permit more direct access to the future Purple Line and current Metro Red Line, via elevators and stairs that would take transit users to a mezzanine connecting to both rail lines. Residents of the two residential buildings would get access from the plaza to their homes, and another 100-150' of retail frontage would open up at the corner.

A second major benefit would be room for more screens in the cineplex, which another SBA architect told me would make the return of Regal or a competing theater chain much more viable. Without that space, the project would be less appealing (fewer screens = less profit, and a less competitive product in a greater Bethesda market with up to 16 screens) to a potential cineplex tenant. It was not immediately known how many screens could fit into a space limited by the hardware store remaining.

Sponseller also said the hardware store is "a real choke point" for the Wisconsin streetscape, currently limiting how wide the sidewalk can be for pedestrians. Removing it would allow for wider sidewalks in front of the new development, he said.

"It's just a better plan," Sponseller said, but it could be "even better" if the County approves a proposed 290' height limit for the Apex site at 7272 Wisconsin. Both plans shown last night presume a 250' height, and an 8 F.A.R. (floor area ratio = total square feet of a building, divided by the total square feet of the lot it's located on) under current zoning rules. Asked whether Carr planned to move the hardware store, or simply demolish it, Harris said that "hasn't been decided."

Plan "B", if Community
Hardware building remains
on site (the red building at
lower left corner; click to
enlarge for greater detail)

Sponseller argued that using multiple buildings on the site would "scale the project to its [urban] context," and allow the Maryland Transit Administration "a better staging design than what's currently being bid" for the Purple Line station. He also noted that the site is currently "underdeveloped in its retail potential," saying the best of the two plans would remedy that, while fostering a continuous activated streetscape to the retail and restaurant hub of Federal Realty's Bethesda Row.

Loading and parking would be consolidated into a single curb cut on Wisconsin, roughly near the current Apex garage curb cut. A second parking entrance would be off of Elm Street. A Capital Crescent Trail tunnel under Wisconsin was in both plans shown last night.

Montgomery County Council
Deputy Administrator Glenn Orlin
discusses timing and staging for
construction of the Purple Line

Glenn Orlin, Deputy Adminstrator for the County Council, was in attendance at the meeting, and assured residents that a 5' tunnel under Wisconsin will be part of the Purple Line facility regardless of whether or not the Apex Building is redeveloped. However, that tunnel has been strongly criticized by cycling advocates, as it would require cyclists to walk their bikes through the tunnel. Orlin said construction of the Purple Line station is anticipated to begin in December 2016.

That means the pressure is on to get approvals for the Apex redevelopment, which would have to be timed with the Purple Line station construction to achieve the stated goals of staging and a better station. Harris said Carr is already in talks with the MTA, and that he will be filing the sketch plan immediately, in hopes of a February review by the Montgomery County Planning Board.

Footprints of the 3 buildings,
should Community Hardware
remain on-site (red building
at lower-right)

Should the maximum height be boosted to 290' after the plan is filed, Harris said Carr will file an amendment to request the greater height. He said Carr's project could go forward even if the Purple Line were canceled, and that traffic studies done during the Minor Master Plan Amendment process showed that a development of this density could be accommodated.

A woman who works in the Apex Building asked how soon it could be demolished. Harris joked that she should plan to go to work today, but his serious answer predicted that demolition could come at least a year from now.

Several residents of the adjacent Town of Chevy Chase expressed concerns about the building height, and its impact on Elm St. Park and single-family homes. Harris said it "would have no impact on the park," arguing that the existing Bethesda Crossing building is already more directly impacting that location. "There will be no light coming down that street," a resident predicted. "I'm skeptical of that," Harris replied.

After the presentation, another Chevy Chase resident pointed to an example shown that he said he preferred over the massing shown for the building on Wisconsin. The photograph showed a building similar in height to the Apex, and taller buildings directly behind it.

"This is a very complicated project," Sponseller summarized during his presentation.