The Gallery Bethesda II apartment tower has officially opened at 4850 Rugby Avenue in the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood of Bethesda. After receiving their occupancy permit from Montgomery County a few weeks ago, property manager Vantage Management welcomed the building's first residents over the holidays. Gallery II was developed and constructed by Bethesda-based Donohoe, and joins sister tower Gallery Bethesda on a shared public plaza that connects Auburn and Del Ray Avenues.
Nice tower, I hope they can find some quality retail and restaurant tenants for the ground level.
ReplyDeleteThat location still seems a bit too remote from the epicenter of the Woodmont Triangle. Perhaps over time, the added residents will make the area feel more active. The new police station and Brightview don’t help much to create an inviting streetscape.
It’s too bad the retail storefronts are so generic. Just glass windows, clear anodized aluminum storefronts and canvas awnings of various colors. In most modern mixed use buildings, the landlords wisely require each tenant to create a more uniquire design that use a variety of finishes. These storefronts seem like a commercial strip center shoved under a nice apartment tower. Bethesda Row and Pike & Rose are two examples of the right way to build retail under mixed use towers.
It will be interesting to see how they deal with the guy in Gallery I who periodically leaves his barking, clearly-unhappy dog out for extended periods on his (8th floor?) balcony on the Del Ray side.
ReplyDeleteHey, did you see Dan Reed's article in GGW? That guy knows how to write about our moribund County.
ReplyDelete6:17
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I don't think they're trying to recreate Bethesda Row here. In fact, I don't see any major chains locating here. It would be nice to see an eclectic mix of local service and dining tenants (except the 10,000th nail salon).
My point was that because the Gallery I and II storefront design is so generic, they have reduced their chances to entice a higher quality tenant that might create a unique retail space. The design is so neutral, you can’t even tell where one tenant ends and the next one begins. We all hope that mom and pop retailers, cafes nd new restaurants might set up their stores, but with only a small sign and perhaps a different canopy color, they will not be distinct or likely create a memorable experience.
ReplyDeleteThese generic storefronts seem only to attract the boring service type retailers like nail salons. Of course nail salons and other service retailers like dry cleaners are necessary. Can you imagine Black’s thinking, hey let’s open a cool new restaurant in Gallery II, but let’s make sure nobody can find us.
Pike & Rose build solid temporary enclosures in front of newly constructed vacant stores in their mixed use buildings. These are covered with bold graphics and images to entice retailers, and to help enliven the streetscape in the mean time.