Tuesday, September 19, 2017

New mixed-use building proposed for 7316 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda

A long stretch of Wisconsin Avenue south of the Bethesda Metro Center will be entirely unrecognizable five years from now. The owners of the office building at 7316 Wisconsin Avenue are proposing to redevelop their property into an up-to-250' tall, "predominately residential" building with up to 290 units. It would also include up to 15000 SF of retail and restaurant space.

If approved by Montgomery County, this property would join its two next door neighbors in redevelopment. The Apex Building to the south is currently being demolished for Carr Properties' future 7272 Wisconsin development, which just signed its first tenant, WTTG Fox 5. Just north of 7316 is the Bainbridge property, which is currently updating its redevelopment proposal to take advantage of the new zoning imposed by the Bethesda Downtown Plan - and rightfully so.

With the Carr project in particular looking quite nice in the renderings, and Bainbridge's earlier renderings at least somewhat promising, this could be become a showcase stretch of Wisconsin Avenue in the future.

A public meeting will be held to introduce the project on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 7:00 PM, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, located at 4805 Edgemoor Lane in Bethesda.

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:07 AM

    "currently updating its redevelopment proposal to take advantage of the new zoning imposed by the Westbard Plan - and rightfully so."

    LOL

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  2. Anonymous6:09 AM

    Yeah and it took me 20 minutes to find parking on a Sunday just to get lunch at Jettie's. Sure, I could have immediately gone to one of the garages. But on a Sunday? Parking will also be impossible in 5 years. Even the garage on Sundays will be full.

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  3. Anonymous6:09 AM

    Deborah Vollman and John Fitzgerald will not be pleased.

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  4. Anonymous6:10 AM

    "Vollmer", I meant.

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  5. Anonymous6:15 AM

    6:09/10 AM - "Voldemort", you meant. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:23 AM

    Glad we are gaining more density but it's a shame we are losing commercial office space which is seemingly fully leased now. Residential density is great but we need the offices to help activate the area during the day and hopefully gives residents work options that don't require commuting to D.C. or Va.

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  7. Anonymous6:35 AM

    6:23 - Three YUGE office complexes about to be built nearby - over 2 million new square feet of office space - and you're wringing your hands about the loss of this relatively small office building?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:14 AM

      Was i wringing my hands?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous6:39 AM

    "With the Carr project in particular looking quite nice in the renderings, and Bainbridge's earlier renderings at least somewhat promising, this could be become a showcase stretch of Wisconsin Avenue in the future"

    I absolutely agree with Dyer here. And its not just south of the Bethesda Metro Ctr, but north as well: Marriott HQ and hotel, 8008 Wisconsin Ave, and 7900 Wisconsin Ave. The transformation is long overdue. Nearly all of the new development in Bethesda has been in Woodmont Triangle and around Bethesda Row, while Wisconsin has been stuck in a time warp of decades-old office buildings.

    "Glad we are gaining more density but it's a shame we are losing commercial office space which is seemingly fully leased now. Residential density is great but we need the offices to help activate the area during the day and hopefully gives residents work options that don't require commuting to D.C. or Va."

    Office development is picking up a lot in Bethesda. In fact, nearly all of the big projects waiting for approval and just approved (Apex, Marriott, 4747 Bethesda, 7359 Wisconsin) are large office projects. Also, remember that offices traditionally contribute far more to traffic congestion than residential.

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  9. Anonymous6:40 AM

    Moribund my a**!

    6:23:
    - Marriott HQ
    - Fox 5 HQ
    - several hundred thousand additional square feet of office space at the Apex site

    Downtown Bethesda is gaining office space, not losing it.

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  10. Anonymous7:22 AM

    7:14 - OH YES YOU WERE!!! And clutching your pearls, too!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:24 AM

      Lol. You got me. :)

      Delete
  11. Anonymous7:51 AM

    "It's a shame we are losing commercial office space which is seemingly fully leased now."

    Then why does the building have a large "LEASE" sign on it, clearly visible in Robert Dyer's photo?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:39 AM

      Oh I didn't notice the sign on my phone. Thanks for correcting me, although the snark wasn't really needed.

      Delete
  12. 6:40: You don't sense the irony of typing that below a story of an office building being replaced with residential?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:41 AM

      6:40 isn't wrong. And your reader pointed out every though this commercial is going away for residential, there's a ton more coming up to replace and create more.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous8:00 AM

    7:53

    The office building is 60 years old and beyond its useful life. There are plenty of new office buildings coming to Bethesda as stated in 6:39:
    "nearly all of the big projects waiting for approval and just approved (Apex, Marriott, 4747 Bethesda, 7359 Wisconsin) are large office projects"

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  14. Anonymous8:01 AM

    Dyer @ 7:53 AM - a huge gain in office space, subtracting the floor space of this small office building, is still a huge net gain in office space in Bethesda. And Montgomery County, too. You can't even do basic arithmetic.

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  15. Anonymous4:46 AM

    Ok the plus side for pedestrian safety they stated to build the covered sidewalk by fitness first.

    ReplyDelete