There are now two TD Banks under construction in downtown Bethesda. This one, at Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue, is the furthest along. They are just getting started on the solar canopy for the drive-thru. Aside from being two tiny buildings on sites that could have been mixed-use, transit-oriented developments, I'm still wondering what the business strategy is to have two branches within blocks of each other.
With the County Council on the verge of approving an unprecedented low-income housing dump in the Westbard area of Bethesda, the amateur-hour planning that allowed these downtown, Metro-accessible sites to end up as low-density commercial is a true disgrace. It's yet another case of the Council and Planning Board shifting low-income housing from downtown Bethesda to suburban Westbard, far from Metro.
"I'm still wondering what the business strategy is to have two branches within blocks of each other."
ReplyDeleteWell, that strategy works just fine for the Citgo stations in Westbard, and the Liberty stations at Arlington and Bradley. Maybe it's so that folks driving in different directions don't have to go out of their way to get to those banks and gas stations?
"With the County Council on the verge of approving an unprecedented low-income housing dump in the Westbard area of Bethesda"
Dyer sure hates having black people living anywhere near him.
#rethinktdbank
Delete9:27: You're saying low income = black people? You sound like a racist to me.
ReplyDeleteGood report. You're pictures say a thousand words. Huge skyscrapers all around and No trees, No Grass, No Playgrounds its very sad and disgusting to see. This clearly will be the blueprint for the New Westbard with the addition of huge amounts of low-income housing no where close to Metro.
ReplyDeleteThis progressive social engineering experiment will be a disaster of monumental proportions. There's not one conservative on the entire MOCC council.and now this is what we get. A future decade of continous and endless construction projects, gridlock, overcrowded schools, drugs, gangs, crime increase, and everything else.
"Progressive social engineering experiment"
ReplyDeleteMy God, what a pile of Teabagger bullshit.
"Huge skyscrapers"
100 stories is a "skyscraper". 17 stories is not. And the buildings proposed for Westbard are half the latter height. Please get over your addiction to drama.
"No trees, No Grass"
It appears that you weren't in the area before the "skyscrapers" were built. It was exactly like that previously.
"No Playgrounds"
You seem to have missed the playground right down the street in Battery Lane Park, that's been there for decades.
Excellent points!
DeleteLooks like a mobile home. Trailer park trash in the middle of Bethesda.
ReplyDelete@6:27 & 6:46 Don't go away mad, just go away
ReplyDeleteExcellent rationale used here.
DeleteBorn and raised here since 1962 Mr. Keyboard commando
ReplyDeleteI''m still looking for some trees and grass in the many excellent photos Dyer posted which is a huge area of downtown ConcreteCity. You clearly have political goals or financial interests OR BOTH in these massive projects going forward so your opinions are really meaningless to the Thousands of Westbard concerned citizens in opposition.
Oh yeah, and a 2 block through lane between Greystone and Butler Rd. What a joke that idea is, it makes zero sense. If that is the River Road "fix" we're all in for a world of hurt.
@ 7:35 AM - You missed the point completely, you Teabagger moron. There weren't any "trees or grass" on that block before they built the two high-rises.
ReplyDelete"Born and raised here since 1962"
Unlike Dyer, who was born in Virginia.
A bank, the one business establishment that won't let Dyer hangout there. Imagine that, no freebies.
ReplyDelete7:46 AM - What the hell does it matter where someone was born? Where were you born?
ReplyDeleteWho cares how many branches TD Bank has in Bethesda?
Sheesh people just wanna hate for the sake of hating. no wonder this country is broken.
@ 8:30 AM - This is why it matters:
ReplyDelete"Bethesda news, restaurants, nightlife, events and openings, real estate, crime reports and more - the way only a lifelong Bethesda resident like Robert Dyer can bring it to you."
You can't be a "lifelong resident" if you were born someplace else. Life starts at birth, ya know.
Wait...I was born at Sibley. My parents lived in Bethesda, I lived in Bethesda for all except the 1st 3 days. So I'm not a lifelong Bethesda resident either? You are so laughable.
ReplyDeleteProving again you're just an ignorant clown stirring up drama.
10:47AM According to negative anonymous, you're a DC resident if you were born at Sibley.
ReplyDeletelol.
I think 10:47 just points out that "lifelong" isn't 100% technically correct, despite it being pretty true in spirit. Seems to just be calling Dyer out on a technicality.
Delete@ 8:11 AM - Actually you can get free coffee, tea, lollipops and Wi-Fi at banks. Although I don't think they've given away free toasters for a couple of decades now. Maybe Dyer can give a review of the coffee and lollipops at the TD Banks when they open? Maybe he can even investigate Charm Pops' "Mystery Flavor".
ReplyDelete@ 11:47 AM & 11:24 AM - It depends on whether you were born in "new" Sibley or old Sibley. The latter is in Upper Northwest so that has honorary MoCo status.
#rethinktdbank
ReplyDelete7:04 AM
ReplyDeleteBorn doesn't equal residing there.
Dyer - can you please look into the 8101 construction project for us? I recall you reporting they had received a temporary noise waiver back in January (?) for nighttime utility work, but is that waiver still valid? They were doing nighttime work last night that was incredibly loud and unnecessary and the work appeared to be ON the site which would not seem require closure of a lane on Wisconsin Ave. resulting in the need to perform nighttime work (they just had the right lane closed at the site so they could park their pick-up truck!). The work has gone on all night and continues into this morning (although, quieter than the jack-hammers, chainsaws, or whatever it was they were using at 2am).
ReplyDelete