 |
| Office tower above retail facing Wisconsin Avenue, with public plaza on corner |
 |
| Residential towers along Elm Street and the pedestrian connection to Woodmont Plaza |
 |
| Pedestrian connection to Woodmont Plaza at Bethesda Row (note that JBG's new retail building and office building are included in this image) |
One major concern with the redevelopment of the Apex Building since discussions began several years ago was the potential loss of the Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10 theater. Since purchasing the property, Carr has included a replacement theater space in its sketch plans. At the last meeting, the theater space was dependent upon the removal of the historic Community Paint and Hardware Building from the site.
Now it sounds as if Carr may have found a way to work around that problem. Austen Holderness, Managing Director of Development for Carr Properties, said that they are working to find a destination for the hardware building. But if that can't be found in time, he said the building could be temporarily relocated while the cineplex is built below grade, and then moved back onto the site.
Sponseller said the continued presence of the building could require design compromises at that part of the office tower, but it sounds as if the issue is no longer a derailing threat for the theater. Any move of the building will have to be approved in a separate process from the site plan.
Regal Cinemas has a right-to-return clause in its lease, so the chain will have the first opportunity to lease the theater space. Given the plans described last night for a superior plaza, dining and retail to what is there now, and the demographics of the area, coming back should be a no-brainer for Regal.
 |
| Cineplex space fronting onto Wisconsin Avenue with lobby at street level and theater auditoriums below grade |
 |
| Also at this level with the theater auditoriums will be the Purple Line station and a Capital Crescent Trail amenity (TBD) |
Harris said Carr's proposal will be "transit-oriented development of the first order," and Holderness promised it will be "a phenomenal project for Bethesda." Obtaining final site plan approval will probably take five to six months, Harris predicted.
The project will include 400-450 luxury apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, with the entrance and lobby on the Elm Street side. Elm Street will shrink down to two lanes from the current three (counting parking/turning lane), more like it is down along Bethesda Row. Those apartments will be "larger than we see typically," Sponseller said. 12.5% of the units will be MPDUs. Carr is aiming for at least a "Gold" LEED certification.
Rounding out the project will be 350,000 SF of office space, 10,000-12,000 SF of retail and the cineplex, 800 parking spaces, and the 5,000 SF public plaza at the corner of Elm and Wisconsin. There will be elevators down to the Metro station and Purple Line station at that corner, as well, and a couple of courtyards between the towers.
One resident expressed concern about the potential for the plaza to be an empty space like the current plaza at the Bethesda Metro Center. Sponseller said that Metro plaza was poorly planned, and is too large. The key is to design a plaza that is "not so vast that you feel uncomfortable," Sponseller said. Holderness said they hope to have "cafes ringing the plaza," with outdoor dining.
Sponseller announced that renowned landscaping architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden is partnering with them to design the plaza. He said his design team is "very proud" of what they have come up with for the pedestrian connection between Wisconsin and the plaza on Woodmont Avenue. "Think of a nice Italian villa with that graceful staircase," Sponseller suggested. Improving that connection is something many readers of this blog have been asking for in the comments over the years.
In terms of the building design, Sponseller said to expect something more sophisticated than old-fashioned brick, which doesn't work well in a project of these dimensions. He said he is conscious that this high-profile project "demands great design, and that's our goal. When you drive around the city, you see the tops of buildings, and those should be compelling."
Before the really nice part gets built, though, the guts of the project have to go in first. Carr's team will construct "the tube," which will contain the Purple Line platform, and the respective transit authorities will work on the tunnel and station access connections. "We firmly believe our plan is an improvement over their base [station] design," Holderness said.
The County will have to construct the CCT tunnel beneath Wisconsin. Tunneling will require MTA to close Elm Street for an extended period. "Won't that be fun?" Harris asked jokingly.
While the phasing of the Purple Line station and facilities is set in stone by the MTA to be completed by the end of 2018, no phasing for the rest of the project has been determined yet. Delivery of the towers is expected to take two years after the completion of the station.
There's a lot to like about this project. The same architecture firm was behind high-rise developments like VITA in Tysons (visible from the taller rooftops in downtown Bethesda), which is part of the same site housing the trophy Tysons Tower office building, home to Intelsat and Deloitte among others. They also designed One West Baltimore, which, like this project, has 450 units.
I mention Tysons Tower because 7272 Wisconsin could join Pike & Rose as a front runner for the new Marriott headquarters. In fact, since Marriott has said that - particularly after the Starwood merger - they might lease space in more than one building, they could split between the two. Both are at or on top of Metro stations.
Having a great building for them won't make Montgomery County's anti-business County Council and their crazy policies disappear, or make the incentive package for Marriott any bigger. But the passage of term limits this November - and the new, private MoCo Economic Development Corporation coming online in July - might just help us change that in time to get a trophy tenant for Carr's project.
 |
| Drop-off area immediately off of Elm Street will be part of the underground parking garage |
 |
| Attorney Bob Harris of Lerch, Early & Brewer is representing Carr |
 |
| Architect Robert Sponseller presents the site plan |
86 comments:
I am fine with it as long as the residential portion costs a pretty penny.
#PriceDyerOuttaBethesda
Please please get rid of the "historic" building. Any value it had is long since gone.
Any value Dyer once had to society is also long gone, birdbrain!
"There is a lot to like about this project... blah blah blah Virginia blah blah blah MoCo Machine blah blah blah"
You never know when Dyer's conversation is going to jump straight off the cliff.
That's the whole purpose of deeming a building historic so it can be protected. How silly to make that comment.
Will the "CCT amenity" accomodate Dyer's Big Wheel trike?
Dyer I'll be having lunch at Suma today at noon. Would you like to join?
Sincerly,
the lone troll
6:35. Yep it's annoying, especially since he includes really good details and photos when talking about development and retail around Bethesda, but then he slips back into the delusional "moribund" economy/MoCo Machine/Bethesda Magazine "press releases"/"Hans Riemer is really Adolf Hitler" rants.
Pro tip: Just skip any article with few pictures and giant walls of text 10 miles long with a way overused photo of a salt truck or whacko NIMBY holding a poorly written sign.
It's worthless now though. Any sense of history is gone. It's just an old crappy building that last served as a bank shoehorned in a dense urban environment.
Not all that is old is of value.
6:32: The first step is admitting you have a problem. You and the County Council are having a hard time taking the first step.
6:43: So when Bill Turque wrote that the economy in eastern Montgomery County is "moribund," he was "delusional" also?
Since Bull Turque wrote that "the economy in eastern Montgomery County is 'moribund', that means the entire County is "moribund", per Dyer's "logic".
How's the US 1 corridor south of Alexandria doing?
7:06: Way better than Montgomery County - we just found out MoCo lost 2141 retail jobs since 2000. US 1 retail is booming. Whether it's Stewart Schwartz's kind of retail is irrelevant to the argument.
Sources for any of your claims?
Kraut's graphics are much better. The original images instead of photos of posters. Also much less redundant.
Who is going to Suma at noon to see the lone troll? What will you be wearing so we can pick you out?
Tell them you're Poppy. They've been waiting for her since they held that table after she told them she'd be there.
@7:232AM Thanks for your opinion, Aaron
I always wondered why Dyer does that. Does he not have access to the original images? Maybe he just wants to get his post out quicker for his reader?
Do you have a source? I don't disbelieve you but without sources this feels unusable.
7:22: Please. They're photographs just like mine from the same display at the meeting. The only difference is, I gave you all that was shown. If you couldn't go to the meeting, you can review every aspect of the site plan right here. Stop lying, you're making a fool of yourself.
7:32: NOBODY has access to the original images except the architecture firm.
7:01 Last I checked Eastern Montgomery County is not all of Montgomery County
SE DC (across the Anacostia) has a stagnant economy as well. Should I judge all of DC based on Ward 8?
The Retail job sector is one of the lowest paying. And brick-and-mortar retail isn't "booming" (BTW I highly suggest you visit NoVA's US 1 corridor, because you must be confusing it with someplace else)
Sears = $1.1 billion loss
Macy's = 30% drop in profits over a year
Nordstrom = cutting 400 HQ jobs
Sport Authority = Liquidation
Aeropostale = 175 store closings
I know, I know. These are lies spread by the MoCo Machine led by Ortsgruppenleiter Herr Hans Riemer. Every enclosed mall in America is doing outstanding and 20 new ones open every year.
Since when do you care about retail anyway? Remember the only true way to grade a jurisdictions economy is to simply count the Fortune 500's. <10 = moribund
Maybe we should try and get the Sears HQ to move here before they enter Chapter 11.
Speaking of redundancy, Dyer posted at least two of the photos twice in the article (as it appears in the "web" version, and in the gallery). And that doesn't even count the various versions of other photos which are simply slightly rotated or slightly zoomed versions of other photos.
#DyerNeedsAnEditor
Anonymous said: "@7:232AM"
Your clock is broken.
"Sources for any of your claims?"
"Do you have a source? I don't disbelieve you but without sources this feels unusable."
You're kidding right?
The day Dyer posts an actual source on this site -- aside from his "gut feelings" and personal anecdotes -- will be the day we invent flying cars.
7:43: The massive loss of retail jobs is just one of several indicators that the County economy is moribund. And not just the east county, but it's a start when the Post reporter at least acknowledges the eastern half is "moribund." We're making progress. The word is out on the street.
We're in a position of weakness, as we have to fight to retain Marriott, rather than add new ones to our portfolio. Let's change our anti-business ways so this 7272 Wisconsin project can be a success with a major tenant. We can take the first step by passing term limits on our "Weekend at Bernie's" County Council.
@ 7:32 AM - Dyer is the Hare to Kraut's Tortoise. He is Grasshopper to Hans Riemer's Ant.
Turque most certainly did not say that "half" of the County is "moribund". He was referring primarily to the area around White Oak.
8:01: Direct quote proves you wrong:
"Montgomery County announced Friday that it has reached agreement with a private developer to create a “life sciences” town center in its economically moribund eastern sector."
Not White Oak, "eastern sector." Moribund. The word is out on the street, and soon the term limits will be on the ballot. Educating voters is my job.
What this place really needs is plasma screens like the new gym at the Gallery.
I was trying really hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Dyer @ 8:01: Direct quote proves YOU were wrong.
Dyer @ 7:53 AM: "It's a start when the Post reporter at least acknowledges the eastern half is 'moribund.' We're making progress. The word is out on the street."
Actual quote from Turque's article, which you cited @ 8:28 AM: "eastern sector".
Here is a link to the actual article. It refers exclusively to the White Oak area.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/montgomery-county-developer-reach-agreement-on-white-oak-project/2016/06/03/3995da9e-29a1-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html
Thanks for educating yourself.
"Even though it’s come down by 1 percent in the past year, Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey says Arlington’s 20.2 percent office vacancy rate is way too high. The county has been actively working to attract businesses and bring the rate down. " And, they never use the word Mor, Mor, Mori, Moribund. So, shut up about it, like MoCo is unique.
8:48AM I wish you would have read the article. They refer to the White Oak project as a boom to the eastern sector, yet in no way does it indicate that White Oak is the *entire* eastern sector. It, in fact, includes discussion of the east county project at Washington Adventist in Takoma Park, which is clearly not White Oak.
9:15AM Why would you say that? That's a brutal personal retort against a perfect stranger. You don't know me, yet you wish harm on me? Why?
Fear and/or self-hatred are the causes of this type of behavior against strangers. Are you afraid of discussion?
9:40: You've just witnessed the culture of the Montgomery County political cartel. The man who posted that comment has indicated publicly he is a tool working for Hans Riemer and George Leventhal. Not surprising, given that Mr. Leventhal was written up in the Post in 2014 for loudly berating a female County employee at a Council meeting.
8:48: Eastern sector is not just White Oak. Wheaton has been moribund since the 1980s, now requiring the County to build an office building just to get it started. Glenmont. Long Branch. Where do you find this Silicon Valley in the east county? Is it on a floating city over Ike Leggett's estate?
Welcome to the world, where Turque was right on the money in his description of the eastern sector of the County as "moribund."
The word is out on the street. Now it's time for action. We need a new Council. Fast. Preferably before Marriott hits the exit for Tysons.
9:93: There's way more office space in Northern Virginia than on this side of the river. So when sequestration and the recession hit, of course there would be vacancies over there. People try to cherry pick numbers to make it sound like we're all having the same problems. Then you look at the job creation numbers FFX vs. MoCo and wake up again.
Aren't you cherry picking numbers too? Same difference.
When did that person publicly indicate hay he worked for Riemer and Leventhal?
Glenmont shopping center is mostly owned by Greenhill.
Long Branch is nowhere near a Metro station right now. However things will get a lot better once the Purple Line comes through that area.
And who said anything about "Silicon Valley"? Oh, that would be you, Dyer. Hearing things that nobody else hears, reading things that no one actually wrote. You always claim that if things are not "moribund" then they must be perfect, with absolutely no middle ground in between.
"Mr. Leventhal was written up in the Post in 2014 for loudly berating a female County employee at a Council meeting."
What does her gender have to do with anything?
Because that's who Leventhal berated.
12:37 PM - Again, how is the employee's gender relevant? Why not just say "a County employee"? Does Dyer fantasize himself as a knight in shining armour, coming to the emotional rescue of this damsel in distress?
@ 12:41 PM - Dyer is a Dumass in Distress.
"People try to cherry pick numbers"
Lol. This guy can't be serious.
More like: "Dyer likes to make up numbers"
"we have to fight to retain Marriott"
You mean like how Virginia had to "fight to retain" Opower?
@ 1:28 PM - Acquired by Oracle (Redwood City, CA), May 2, 2016.
#Ooops
@ 9:03 AM: "Even though it’s come down by 1 percent in the past year, Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey says Arlington’s 20.2 percent office vacancy rate is way too high."
Saith Dyer @ 11:10 AM: "9:93[sic]: There's way more office space in Northern Virginia than on this side of the river. So when sequestration and the recession hit, of course there would be vacancies over there. People try to cherry pick numbers to make it sound like we're all having the same problems."
Sounds like someone needs to explain the concept of "percentage" to the resident Innumerate Birdbrain.
Actually if Dyer says that the reason you can't count NoVa having more office vacancies is because there is more total office space, what's the comparative percentage of Fortune 500 headquarters in NoVa vs MoCo? Because his argument would this be amended that there's more Fortune 500 headquarters in NoVa because there's way more total office space. The numbers then might be closer than he argues.
Did Dyer just defeat his own logic there?
Yup I think he just did. NoVa has more vacancies than MoCo because there is more total office space, so if it's the percentage that is relevant then NoBa having more Fortune 500 companies than MoCo isn't necessarily better as well.
If NoVa has twice as much office space as MoCo, and a vacancy rate that is twice as high, that means that NoVa has four times as much vacant office space as MoCo.
So even worse than Dyer suggests!! Moribund NoVa? Or not so bad MoCo?
#NotSoBadMoCo !!!!
Maybe we can dump that eastern sector onto PG County.
Definitely not as bad as Dyer paints it, particularly in light of his new analysis that NoVa's quantity of unleased space is not as important because they have more total space.
Guys, I know it's tough when the Post is backing up my arguments about the County economy, but you're grasping at straws cherry picking and twisting numbers from Northern Virginia. They've got a lot more office space because they have, and will continue to have aa long as the MoCo cartel controls the Council, more jobs than MoCo. But the real data points are number of jobs created, number of high-wage private sector jobs created, and how many Fortune 500 companies you have. NoVa beats us on all 3.
"how many Fortune 500 companies you have"
Do you mean all Fortune 500 companies that have at least one workplace in MoCo? Or are you still idiotically clinging to your notion that only the corporate headquarters (lobbyists, HR staff) are all that matters?
5:29: Nope, how many Fortune 500 headquarters. Hilton HQ in Tysons has 300 employees, for example. Northrop has 500 to start off in Falls Church; more to come. Not exactly the skeleton crew you're describing.
Did Dyer just totally miss the point?
"the Post is backing up my arguments about the County economy"
Hahahaha. In you're desperation to get people to believe your ridiculous claims, you've resorted to straight up lying.
1. Nobody at the Post agrees with your ludicrous arguments.
2. Funny that you're claiming support from the Post when they're supposedly controlled by the "MoCo Machine"
3. You can cherry-pick and twist what Bill Turque wrote in a single sentence in an op-ed all you want, it's still totally irrelevant to you're argument.
4. Nobody (with common sense) agrees with your delusion that the entire county economy is moribund. Okay?
Perhaps to use a favorite Dyer term in regards to his ignorance and blindness on the issue ... #DumassDyer
Turque has said the same thing in subsequent articles:the East MoCo economy is moribund.
You'll never fix a problem that you refuse to acknowledge. Let's get East MoCo moving again!
6:42AM -You are certainly entitled to your opinions, but that's what they are. Your opinions.
1.I doubt that you spoke with everyone at the post.
2.Dyer has been quite specific that Bill Turque is going against the WaPo habit of being blindly pro-council.
3.Anyone can cherry-pick words and facts. You read the comments here, right?
4.This was just discussed at a local business meeting I attended, & we noticed that client's new businesses were small, with lower-paying jobs and benefits. We also have been seeing with larger businesses, key positions left unfilled, as employers are having trouble finding people with the specialized skills they need.
My opinion's different from yours. I think the county economy is struggling and losing the battle of running in place while going nowhere.
6:58 Turque is a pessimist and the term "moribund" is extreme, but it's true, the East MoCo economy certainly could be better. Northern Prince George's County has a more robust economy than East MoCo (if you subtract Downtown Silver Spring).
The issue here is that Mr. Dyer is classifying the ENTIRE county's economy as "moribund" which is far from the truth. It's nonsensical claims like this that disinform, distract, and divert attention from the real issues - in this case fact that the East County economy is indeed stagnant.
I don't that think anyone living in this county could claim that it's even close to perfect, but asinine statements about the county's economic status, refusals to acknowledge progress as well as problems, single-mindedness about possible solutions (Fortune 500 HQ's), and ad hominem attacks on local politicians is just as ignorant as thinking the county's economy is perfect.
Yeah I think it's less an issue of level of how moribund MoCo may actually be, and more so an issue with Dyer's insistence that it's all about the number of fortune 500 headquarters and then also saying NoVa's higher vacancies rates aren't relevant because they have more total office space.
But you do realize Dyer isn't wrong about much of what you are bitching about? Yes, east county economy is struggling, but is the rest of the county doing so well that overall the county is sound economically? No. Can you call a county's economy stable when a good portion is stagnant? No.
Fortune 500 companies aren't everything, but they do represent higher paying jobs and more stability since they aren't dependent on the locals to be profitable.
I think the county should be challenged more often. And if overstating some things helps people open their eyes to what's happening around them, then it's a benefit.
Like @7:52 I think the county economy is struggling and losing the battle of running in place while going nowhere.
11:19AM I've challenged him before and he's never insulted me. But I don't insult him either. Usually he just doesn't reply, but a few times he did and he was adamant about his views but not insulting of me or mine.
The thing is, for me, this county is making some horrible mistakes, mainly by not looking at the whole picture before acting, and I think there are some big skeletons they are hiding. Such as buying buildings before they've been authorized.
Dyer is doing a good job of shaking things up. Someone needs to. Wish more would.
#DodgingDyer
Shaking things up without thinking through or follow through.
He is always insulting council members, the planning department, other media members, etcetera
If Fortune 500 HQs are so meaningless, then why did they the City of Rockville and MoCo subsidize Choice Hotels so much to stay in the county?
What do you know that Rockville, MoCo executive, Foulger Pratt,etc. don't know?
1:57pm I'd take your comments more seriously if you also called out the personal/bizarre/stalkerish attacks/insults posted anonymously here against Dyer.
Unless you're posting them.
@ 2:00 PM - I'd take your comments about "anonymous stalker" seriously if you had waited more than 3 minutes to respond to a comment that dared to criticise your hero Dyer, and if you weren't actually commenting anonymously yourself.
12:27: "I think there are some big skeletons they are hiding. Such as buying buildings before they've been authorized."
I think you don't have the slightest idea what you just typed.
No one said meaningless by an means. Folks here just have issue with Dyer's insistence that it is the only single metric that matters.
Bethesda Magazine has a much higher class of readers.
6:42: It wasn't an Op-Ed, it was an article, which accurately described the "eastern sector" of Montgomery County as "moribund." This completely backs up what I've been saying about the County economy for years. Outside of biotech, we are running in place or falling behind. With a Council that can't hit major league pitching on economic development, completely ignores the wishes of its constituents, and has criminally mismanaged the County's finances.
"an article, which accurately described the 'eastern sector' of Montgomery County as 'moribund.' This completely backs up what I've been saying about the County economy for years."
This is an example of the "fallacy of composition" and "hasty generalization".
5:20: Yeah, right. Readers I've spoken to in person and received emails from are among the wealthiest and successful in the County.
6:47: No, an example of direct quotes and factual reporting.
3:20 "I think you don't have the slightest idea what you just typed."
Then enlighten me. What did I type?
#DodgingDyer responds about his wealthy readers but ignores all the real questions he can't answer.
Oh wait, so now the Moribundly Low-Energy Dyer says that it's just the EASTERN part of MoCo that is "moribund" ??
Which is it, all of the county or just part of it?
Peter, it's the whole County, but the fact that articles in the Post are now acknowledging the whole eastern part is "moribund" is a HUGE step forward. The use of that specific word is a major advance in mainstream media coverage of the County, and I can understand why it's hitting a raw nerve among the MoCo political cartel.
The Post is taking baby steps...they'll get there eventually.They did say Reamer was a lightweight, so they are making progress.
Dyer is ahead of everyone as usual.
I LOL'd
The Post is coming around. Indeed, acknowledging that Hans Reamer is a lightweight with no accomplishments was a step in the right direction!
Post a Comment