Brightview Bethesda project to break ground in 2017 (Photos)

Developer Shelter Group said last night it expects to break ground on the Brightview Bethesda assisted-living apartment project in the first half of 2017. At a required public meeting to discuss its site plan, Shelter VP of Development Andrew Teeters said that plan should be submitted to the Montgomery County Planning Department in the next 30-60 days, and 90 days at the latest. Teeters predicted the site plan could go to the Planning Board by early summer.

More renderings were on display last night. Teeters explained that two existing structures on the 4907 Rugby Avenue site - the "warehouse building" (Dansez! Dansez! dance studio) and the "pink house" - will be demolished to make way for the new building.

The building will be for assisted living and memory care, with a secure second floor for dementia patients.
Floors 3-7 will be assisted living divided into studios, and 1-and-2-bedroom apartment units. Units will have kitchenettes, but 3 meals a day will be served in the building. Activity rooms are also planned for patients.

Teeters said Shelter expects the ground floor of the building to house retail, such as a cafe or salon. Other possibilities include a physical therapy center and a public-private partnership art studio. One notable change since the last public discussion, is that one of the two entrances has been eliminated from the site plan.

Shelter promises that the existing "mouse hole" in the fence will remain, to allow pedestrian access from Battery Lane.

One resident of Battery Lane asked if there is sufficient sewer capacity to handle the addition of the building. Teeters said there is, but that there is a possibility that the WSSC will be updating pipes along Rugby Avenue in the future.

A resident of Battery Gardens, the garden apartments behind the site on Battery Lane whose owners have raised concerns that Brightview Bethesda will block sunlight to their property, brought up that issue last night. Teeters argued that the 18-story Gallery Bethesda has already blocked sunlight from reaching parts of Battery Gardens, so the Brightview building won't have any significant further impact on light there.