Monday, March 19, 2018

Supersized St. Elmo Apts. will be an "iconic" fixture on Bethesda's skyline, developer predicts (Photos)

Here we go again with the St. Elmo Apartments project, which will be located west of the Bainbridge Bethesda apartment tower on both St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues. It was nearly four years ago that developer Lenkin Companies first unveiled a plan to redevelop this site, currently home to Chef Tony's, Vuk, and office space that includes the Lenkin headquarters. But Lenkin is now preparing to unveil another updated vision for the project.

To Lenkin's credit, I have to first point out that the company has produced perhaps the most comprehensive package of renderings I've seen for a project prior to submission. They show the tower from almost every conceivable angle, and in color. Furthermore, they provided something citizens have often asked for, but which developers have been loath to furnish - an actual 3-D model that also shows the context of the final building.

The project will add 20 more feet of width to the "promenade" plaza already constructed outside of the Bainbridge next door. A plan for an iconic clock at ground level has been upgraded to a sculpture by renowned artist Jaume Plensa called "Overflow V," which Lenkin suggests will draw passersby into the space by "creating intrigue." The transparent nature of the 7-foot sculpture will add to the sense of openness of the promenade space, they say.
"Overflow V" by
Jaume Plensa in a decidedly
more natural setting
Lenkin promises an "iconic" top to the building that will draw interest from those viewing it below, and from distant points. A central 21-story mass will articulate into step-backs starting on the third floor. From the Old Georgetown Road-facing side of the tower, two wings will project out from the central 225' tall mass. The St. Elmo wing will also be 21 stories, but the Fairmont side will be just 20 stories; the difference is to relate to the respective width of each road below. Each wing will have six step-backs as it rises toward the top level. The uppermost four floors will be "significantly-sculpted."

The wing design will also create a 2nd-floor courtyard. Architects attempted to make each facade relate to the massing and height context of the adjacent buildings on each street.

A public meeting on the project has been scheduled for April 4, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, located at 4805 Edgemoor Lane.






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43 comments:

Orkin said...

Losing good pizza and a good restaurant . Building does look awesome .

Anonymous said...

It will be so awesome when the crappy shopping center in Wesbard is replaced by 20 buildings like this one.

Anonymous said...

Did they do a greenhouse gas/carbon footprint analysis for this project?

Anonymous said...

I’m not a fan of the Art Deco style of this tower, aping the past instead of creating a building of its time. These mid-block sites are tough, and only a small portion of the facades are eventually fronting on a street. I’m sure another tower on the south will eventually block the view and southern exposure. Too bad these blocks are so large that developers can not acquire the entire block and create a cohesive design, and allow residents to live without being immediately adjacent to high rise construction.

This will be true for the triplets at 7900, 8000 and 8100 Wisconsin.

Anonymous said...

Just wondering what happened to height restrictions. Soon Bethesda will be like Manhattan where one can't see the sky.

Anonymous said...

Is this larger/taller than the previously approved plans? How many units? Condos or apartments? How much parking? How much retail? Yes the renderings and model are helpful, but a few facts would also inform us all.

Anonymous said...

Apartments on the east side will provide awesome views of naked ladies in the Bainbridge.

Roald said...

Big, big, big

Randy said...

What a joke. I honestly can't believe they are talking about building this monstrosity. Saint Elmo and Fairmont can barely handle the traffic as is. So the Woodmont Triangle residents get crushed with constant construction for the next 4-6 years from all the buildings going up? Why would anyone want to live here anymore?

Anonymous said...

7:21 AM Can we at least get some sane sidewalk access during construction, such as what Mr. Dyer has been advocating? This idea of shutting down long stretches of sidewalk for years is insane. Will kill many businesses.

Anonymous said...

@7:21AM: No. DPS will grant a three-year permit to close the sidewalk for half a block and will not cite the builder when it keeps the sidewalk closed after the permit expires. It has never cited a builder for closing a sidewalk.

Anonymous said...

@7:21 -- Nobody wants to live there anymore, there's too many people living there!

Anonymous said...

Is this a news site or a campaign site? Do they take ads from other candidates?

Anonymous said...

Does this campaign ad officially mean robert has announced his candidacy and this is now a political site instead of a news site?

Anonymous said...

News site.
Other news sites have political ads, right?

Anonymous said...

Neither the owner nor any of the staff of BB are candidates for office, and BB runs ads from multiple candidates.

Anonymous said...

10:07 AM BB has political ads and certainly have their own political bent. Good on them.

Anonymous said...

Dyer says "an iconic clock at ground level" when it's proposed for Bethesda, "cookie-cutter clock tower" when it's proposed for Westbard.

Robert Dyer said...

6:48: Yes, it's taller - I said supersize in the headline, and gave you the height in stories and inches.

The developer has not yet specified changes to parking and retail, but those will certainly be discussed at the meeting.

Robert Dyer said...

7:36: The laws are on the books to prevent extended closures, but we apparently have to elect a new Council to get them enforced. Something to keep in mind at the voting booth in November.

Anonymous said...

Robert, if you want more people to see your campaign ads, you should run them on Bethesda Beat.

Anonymous said...

11:45: I saw the ad. But I was already going to vote for Dyer anyway.

Anonymous said...

11:19 is enforcement the responsibility of the council?

Anonymous said...

If this is a news site, I would like to put an ad in for Hans. Where do I pay?

Anonymous said...

Who cares about the sidewalk being closed on Fairmont? There is little traffic, so crossing on foot isn't too much of a hassle, and there aren't really any destinations in the middle of the block, just at either end.

Anonymous said...

"I gave you the height in stories and inches"

Wut??? LOL

Anonymous said...

All I asked was a bit more detail on the differences between the approved and currently proposed plans. It would be nice to have a bit more granularity than just “supersized”. I was only asking how many stories taller on the new proposal, and if you have learned how many units or parking or retail area...you know, reporter stuff. If you don’t know yet, then simply stating that you have reported all the known facts, would have been fine.

I am just curios how much larger this project has grown, and hoping you could add your insight.

Anonymous said...

Dyer's article about the original proposal for the building, to which he actually linked above, said that it would be 16 stories.

It's amazing that he's too lazy to look up relevant information in his own archives.

Robert Dyer said...

8:40: I answered your question in a very cordial fashion. I told what is not yet known. What is your complaint?

7:48: Classic Saul Alinsky. You knew the height was in the article, but you "send 3000 letters" to get an error like that to jump on. Punch yourself in the face until you black out to save us all time and energy.

9:12: You're the lazy bum who was too lazy to click on the link I bothered to give you in the article. You have the mind of a child, and the mentality of a criminal.

7:46: Sounds like your classic pro=developer comments during the previous Fairmont sidewalk closures.

Anonymous said...

Neat answer, little Bobby.

Anna said...

"Punch yourself in the face until you black out to save us all time and energy"

"You're the lazy bum who was too lazy to click on the link I bothered to give you in the article. You have the mind of a child, and the mentality of a criminal."

You must be going somewhere else to charm potential voters.

Anonymous said...

Great campaign slogans!’

Anonymous said...

Robert Dyer said...
"Punch yourself in the face until you black out to save us all time and energy."

"You're the lazy bum who was too lazy to click on the link I bothered to give you in the article. You have the mind of a child, and the mentality of a criminal."

This person is seriously a candidate for county council? Terrible. I really hope voters are reading the comment pages on this blog.

Anonymous said...

Such energy at five minutes to one in the morning!

Too bad everyone else is asleep then.

Robert, have you seriously considered going to a sleep clinic, to re-set your circadian rhythm such that you could function during normal business hours?

Anonymous said...

7:05 AM Regular Dyer readers all agree that the angry troll that posts anonymously here should take dyer's advice :)

Anonymous said...

"Regular Dyer readers"

You mean the ones that Dyer claims are a "lone troll"?

Robert Dyer said...

8:10: Your mom makes you go to bed at 8 PM? As an adult, I can decide such things for myself. People unlike you, who actually have things to do, stay up past 8 PM sometimes. As you are a man-child, I realize you may not understand.

7:05: I "really hope voters are reading the comment pages" too, so they can see the low class people Hans Riemer associates himself with who troll my blog.

10:04: No, the thousands of other readers, who want you to punch yourself in the face until you black out, so they don't have to deal with you personally.

Brandsxb said...

The loss of Vuk pizza and pinball is a major loss. The pizza is great, they give you a huge slice and the place is packed on Fri and Sat night with people playing pinball. I hope they can find a new location in downtown Bethesda.

Anonymous said...

"No, the thousands of other readers, who want you to punch yourself in the face until you black out, so they don't have to deal with you personally."

Ignoring the violence and childishness of Dyer's comment, this is funny because seems to be suggesting that he has a "Silent Majority" out there somewhere who support him.

Anonymous said...

Dyer has absolutely no authority to call anyone a man-child.

Even if Hans Riemer and the rest of the council were serial killers and rapists that wouldn't change the fact that Dyer isn't a remotely good candidate for any public office, much less Montgomery County County Council.

Especially not when there are 30+ other candidates, who might have different political positions and ideology, but at least have their sanity, dwell in reality, and are more interested in fixing the county's problems rather than flinging personal attacks at its residents and public officials.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 8:02, say what you want however Mr. Dyer does not come off as a anti-Highway Business Growth Hating Montgomery County sellout to please Developer Hungry Rich Northern Virginia.... All that light rail and brt hussle talk the county group keeps cheerleading for are only pushing the BS is to waste money that was meant for funding Highway Projects that will help increase business growth in Montgomery County...

Anonymous said...

10:28 - I had to read your two run-on sentences several times and I'm still not sure I understand what you are trying to say. Are you accusing commenters, or candidates, of being sellouts to the MoCo Cartel? Or the NoVa Cartel? Or both? Or are they both the same entity?

Anna said...

Again with the insults about one's masculinity and suggestions of violence.
People in glass houses, Mr Dyer.
Karma.

“Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don’t even notice it.” – Sakyong Mipham