The developer of the project is SJG Residential. As you can see in the photos, they have applied for the demolition permits.
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| On the left ahead is 4825 Montgomery La., a recent condominium addition that appears to have pre-sold its 4 units |
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
New project getting started on West La. in downtown Bethesda (Photos)
The developer of the project is SJG Residential. As you can see in the photos, they have applied for the demolition permits.
Nice to get some density so close to metro.
ReplyDeleteThe standard abbreviation for Lane is Ln not La.
ReplyDeleteNot harping on Dyer but yeah I was very briefly confused by the headline because of La. Vs Ln. Why is dyer writing about California? Lol. Figured out quick enough but still odd.
DeleteImagine Westbard once the shopping center is redeveloped, and then they start tearing down the single-family homes around it.
ReplyDelete6:39: Actually, a former staff member of George Leventhal did have an apocalyptic scenario like that. He concluded that the houses were too large and expensive to demolish, and he advocated turning them into boarding houses. Mr. Reed declined to divulge what would happen to the wealthy owners of those homes that would place government in control of them. Alien invasion? Maoist revolution? Remember, these are the radical folks telling "Westbard" residents they are "afraid of change" - and these are the folks they employ in their Council offices.
DeleteYou can't make this stuff up, folks!
I would hope those residents were paid handsomely for those properties. However, adding 120 units in an already heavily congested area is ridiculous. Do they even get a parking spot with that purchase? Maybe the 2 new TD banks will seal the deal?
ReplyDeleteKeep your Urbanization I'll keep my Suburbia!
Would you rather those 120 households move to Darnestown and then commute down 270 and 495 into their jobs every day?
Delete10:43: Yes, and on a completed master plan freeway system.
DeleteAffordable units? Will we experience a crime spree like Westbard is projected to get?
ReplyDeleteI like how the developer had the planning commission raise the height limit on the site to 100 ft. in the pending Downtown Plan, but they're still going ahead with the approved 70 ft.
ReplyDelete"Boarding houses"? I'm pretty sure no one said such a thing, other than Dyer, who is notorious for imagining things that were never actually said.
ReplyDelete8:20: Fortunately, the article remains on the interlinks as proof it happened.
DeleteCan you provide such a link for us such that it doesn't get deleted so we can't see the reference? Thanks.
Delete8:20 AM boarding houses sound like a nutty idea that Reed would get behind.
ReplyDelete8:31: I think it's also truly indicative of the mindset of the Council, in terms of who they hire as staff, as well as their genuine lack of understanding about what makes neighborhoods "great", as Mr. Reed's manifesto so amply demonstrated. Remember, his former employer George Leventhal stated that the suburbs were "a mistake" (despite growing up in the suburbs himself, and running for office in a suburban county!).
Delete@ 8:52 AM - Link, Rosie O'Dyer?
ReplyDelete@ 8:56 PM - Yet he was elected to the Council (repeatedly), whereas the voters have rejected you, repeatedly.
9:11: Hardly any of the people who voted for him were aware of his comments and personnel decisions. They push whatever button says "Democrat", or whoever the apple-shaped paper tells them to vote for, and that's how we end up with this mess. Engaged and educated voters - along with term limits - are the solution.
DeleteLooks like the Westin Hotel is moving ahead at last, and expanded from the original proposal. More hotel guests for Bethesda's shops, restaurants and bars. Thank you, MoCo Machine!
ReplyDelete9:43: Duh! I've been reporting about the Connor Building being cleared out for demolition for weeks.
DeleteYou're thanking the MoCo political cartel for creating an anti-business climate so bad it sank the market for hotels, and causing the project to delay groundbreaking for 5 years?!
9:43AM "Looks like". Why the weird passive voice?
ReplyDeleteAnd you're off topic.
@ 10:13 AM - Clingy Shill is clingy.
Delete"anti-business climate so bad it sank the market for hotels"
ReplyDeleteSmh. You realize that the market in Northern Virginia is worse?
Take a look at this Sheraton that broke ground back in 2008:
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2014/02/a-sheraton-resurrected-new-owner-of.html#i1
People change, neighborhoods change, master plans change. A single master plan from nearly 60 years ago is not the Bible.
ReplyDelete10:43
ReplyDeleteDon't really care where those 120 households have to commute from. It doesn't justify overcrowding a small town to the point of complete gridlock for the sake of outsiders "convenience".
These are the exact same small, narrow pothole filled roads (Arlington )we had in the early 80's when I went to BCC. The county motto must be - "Build it big and tall, we'll figure the rest out later".
Bethesda is a "small town"?
DeleteAnd not caring is a pretty selfish reason and not thinking about the big picture.
Yeah...or "Make agreements now, go back on your word later."
ReplyDelete@11:15 -'doesn't that add to sprawl and violate the smart growth ideas you mentioned?
ReplyDelete@11:08 to be fair someone here that writes for this blog did say if you aren't a winner you're a loser.
ReplyDeleteI would add that we are not obligated to build any particular number of housing units in the County - we control what our population will be, it's not something that that is forced upon us.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, the actual projections for population increase in MoCo will be accommodated by the number of units that have already been approved in sector plans adopted prior to Westbard or downtown Bethesda. So our officials are now voluntarily blowing up future budgets for their personal short-term benefit of campaign cash from developers.
One needs only refer to George Leventhal's recent acknowledgement, that the added costs to the County of new population exceed the revenue they generate, to know our elected officials are selling us up the river for personal gain and profit.
Just think about it - Leventhal knows Westbard will put us in the red, and he's STILL voting for it!
6:34
ReplyDeleteCompletely disagree. It is the county government not seeing the "big picture". You cannot force this kind of overdevelopment onto the already overcrowded local schools and 1950's roads which are basically completely unchanged. Leventhal's brilliant idea is to add more shuttle buses? Seriously, we pay you for nonsensical reasoning like that? Time for a change in government.
Actually there's a good question in here. If we don't add housing at all, would more people still be moving into the area? Wouldn't housing prices just go up because of demand and limited supply?
ReplyDeleteIf we only added housing on the fringes, wouldn't that be against smart growth? Further distances for services, more roads and infrastructure, more traffic, longer commutes, etc.? Maybe if the jobs were pushed out there too it might be better?
Thoughts?
I agree, Andrea. It's much smarter to build new housing 1.5 miles from a Metro station, than to build 20 miles from a station.
ReplyDeleteNewsflash! There will always be limited supply. Adding more housing won't change that.
ReplyDelete