Unclear who would operate
4000 SF theater, or if it is
viable in today's market
A Woodfield Development/Starr Capital-developed mixed-use residential building proposed for 7000 Wisconsin Avenue will include a small movie theater. But the applicant's attorney, Bob Dalrymple, said he did not know any details about the 4000 SF theater shown on the project's sketch plan at a required pre-submission public meeting last night. Downtown Bethesda has suffered greatly from the demolition of Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10 over a year ago, with many longtime anchor restaurants nearby closing after foot and vehicle traffic severely dropped after the cineplex's demise. But it's unclear if this small theater can help, given that it takes several auditoriums to turn a profit when showing first-run Hollywood blockbusters these days.
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Aerial view with design references
at right |
The project assembles properties between 6936 and 7000 Wisconsin, including Orvis and Mattress Firm. Replacing them will be a 132' building with up to 200 residential units and 15000 SF of retail and restaurant space, including the movie theater. As a mid-block project adjacent to future likely-to-be-redeveloped properties, Dalrymple said the design has to take potential adjoining buildings into account. Only massing renderings were shown, so we don't yet know what the actual architectural design of the building will look like at this point.
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Massing diagram showing other
potential buildings that could be
constructed around 7000 Wisconsin
in the future |
All vehicle access to 120 underground parking spaces and loading docks will be from the alley behind the building, which concerned residents of the nearby Adagio condos, who said the alley is too narrow for delivery and moving trucks to use it on a regular basis. Dalrymple assured them that the applicant will review this issue going forward. Delivery trucks that park either in active traffic lanes, or that block sidewalks, have become a source of complaints for downtown Bethesda residents, pedestrians and drivers in recent years.
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| Floorplan diagrams, including rooftop |
The building will include 17.5% MPDUs, and offer a rooftop amenity of some kind. Someone suggested that the small theater could be programmed for children because the site has been home to a children's museum in the past. It appears a space for a replacement cineplex will still have to be found at a larger downtown site - and fast.
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Street view, with potential facade design
reference at right |
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| Public alley behind building |
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| Parking garage under building |
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Movie theater shown in red at
rear of building |
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| Vertical rendering of floors |
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| Orientation maps of downtown Bethesda |
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Satellite view of site (left) and
photo inventory of nearby structures (right) |
So much for the benefit that cinema in Towson provided.
ReplyDeletehttp://towsonflyer.com/2017/02/18/barnes-noble-towson-will-close/
5:13: Barnes & Noble is having problems of their own that are unrelated to movie theaters. And Bethesda is far wealthier and has more spending money than Towson.
ReplyDeleteHow come you never reported on Barnes & Noble's lease at Montrose Crossing being renewed for five more years?
ReplyDeleteA theater! Bobby is dancing around Bethesda a la Julie Andrews in Sound of Music.
ReplyDeleteBob Darymple is cool. He reminds me of Jerry Orbach. RIP, Jerry. BtB will never be as cool as Bob or Jerry.
ReplyDelete@ 5:29 AM - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EePtIkuy5lg
ReplyDeleteJerry Orbach...cool indeed. Lennie Briscoe, Harry McGraw, the dad in Dirty Dancing,or even Lumiere(sp?). Great talent. Miss him much.
ReplyDeleteRIP Patrick Swayze. Great talent. Road House is a classic.
DeleteThey're probably messing with you, Bobby. Nobody else over 12 years old cares.
ReplyDeleteWhich of the photos shows the "theater"? The text is too small and grainy to read.
ReplyDeleteI was at the meeting and can offer the following observations.
ReplyDeleteAt only 15,000 SF, the movie theater would have to be very small, perhaps only 4 small auditoriums. Most new cinemas start at 8 screens to provide variety and to draw from a wider audience. Convenient parking is also an issue for a cinema. A two large public parking lots with 300 spaces are accross Wisconsin. These lots are proposed to be placed underground by the Bethesda Market project by EYA. Of course the site is only 3.5 short blocks from the new south Metro entrance and Purple Line Station.
For those unaware, the Bethesda Downton Plan allows the maximum building height to increase from 110’ to 120’ if they include a cinema. They can also increase their height by up to two floors and 12’ per floor if they bump the amount of MPDU’s from 15% to either 17.5% or 20%. At this point they are suggesting the inclusion of some form of a movie theatre, or an acceptable alternative yet to be determined, and 17.5% MPDU’s to get to 132’.
Regarding the design, their idea to place the bulk of their massing along busy Wisconsin, with a smaller wing on the more residential east seems like a nice way to address the location with anurban east side and a more articulated west side. I’m not a fan of the blank windowless party walls on the north and south ends, but one would assume other similar buildings will eventually flank both ends. Hopefully a creative interim party wall design will be included as both the north and south facades will be highly visible when traveling on Wisconsin.
The covered pedestrian walkway as suggested in the Bethesda Downton Plan seems like it might create a nice mid-block connection. Perhaps a great location for an art project in the form of a light sculpture on the ceiling of the passage.
The west side alley is indeed a very narrow space, but does allow the maximization of retail space fronting Wisconsin. A narrow alley can actually be kind of a cool space if designed properly like Cady’s Alley in Gerorgetown or Elfreth’s Alley In Philadelphia. A bit of coordination with neighbors to conceal dumpsters and place overhead utilities underground could make this narrow space very pleasant. Many apartments actually have stoops and enclosed gardens along the east side of this alley, so it really works more like a woonerf. Some stamped concrete paving and cool Tivoli style lighting could make this space very iconic and become a hidden gem in the city.
Lastl, the architectural design is early, but I really like the idea of a modern facade on Wisconsin. The architects showed inspirational images that looked like a building designed by Aldo Rossi, creating a dynamic assembly of rectangular grids to present a refined parti on Wisconsin. Perhaps the west side with its articulated massing can be more playful, and offer a unique elevation facing the residential neighbors to the west. This edge of the city will likely be infilled over time, so a creative design for this west elevation seems like an important idea to set the tone for this emerging district.
Overall I think the architect and developer team are off to a great start, and I look forward to following their progress.This will obviously be just the start of many new buildings that will extend the vitality and density of downtown and Bethesda Row all the way down to the Adagio condos. This project seems like it will be a nice foil for the larger high rise projects proposed by EYA just to the north. Kš
It's not a children's museum that WAS there. It's a kids playspace that still IS there -- Playseum. Yes, it has "seum" in the name, but it's just a play space. I know because I take my kids there.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a good design and will liven up the block, with or without the cinemas.
Any new tenant where Pi Pizza used to be? I wonder if the owner of their spot and the live music place (forgot the name) next door are just holding out knowing they can make good money later on once this area gets more popular.
Another interesting idea about this location is that as the first tall building at 132’, plus a 20’ penthouse, so about 152’ tall and fairly narrow, it will become a tower element when viewed from southbound Woodmont. Urban planners call this idea a “terminated vista”. This can aid in wayfinding and help create a bit of a landmark in the area. It can help begin to define a location and reinforce leasing.
ReplyDeleteFor example, if the building included a performance stage, children’s theater or even a small multiplex cinema, folks walking around the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues in Bethesda Row, would be more aware of a potential destination. Even leasing of the apartments would be enhanced as it would be visible when standing under the iconic Bethesda Row Cinema sign. When in north facing apartments, you might get a view of the Sign and feel a bit more a part of Bethesda Row. Small details like this can help tie a neighborhood together. The Woodmont Triangle, with many angled street intersections, is full of terminated vistas that help with urban placemaking, another urban planning term that describes the creation of memorable and unique places in a city.
This is a bit like the cool terminated vista of the Mormon Church that you get traveling westbound on the beltway. Kš¤
7:44AM
ReplyDeleteThe Villain & Saint Bar and live music performance space and the former Pizza are both located in the building that would be replaced by the high rise east tower of the Bethesda Market project by EYA. They would make great tenants in the base of the new tower, and adjacent to the proposed food hall in the Farm Women’s Market. Perhaps V&S can find a temporary home until the new building is ready. Lots of vacant spaces in the Woodmont Triangle for a temporary home.
@7:16 & @8:13 - Thanks for the additional information about the project and design, it looks really cool! It'll be great to activate that end of Bethesda.
ReplyDeleteI could see a small theater working if they operate it like an Alamo Drafthouse or the old Bethesda dinner theater. I guess we'll see as more plans are revealed!
Suze, I agree. I think Bethesda needs more alternative performance spaces, and not just blockbuster movie houses. Maybe Villain & Saint could cross the street and expand to offer a larger performance venue like some of the new smaller performance spaces at the Wharf. Live music events can reallly draw some nice crowds. Maybe even partner with Strathmore and create a space like Amp at Pike & Rose.
ReplyDeleteCombined with the Round House Theatre, currently being renovated, and the Bethesda Jazzand Supper Club, Bethesda could be an enhanced location for live entertainment.
WILL THIS THEATER SAVE THE WORLD?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?? Robert Dyer says it will...
ReplyDeleteWhy so many duplicate photos?
ReplyDelete-2 and 3
-6 and 8
What is the purpose of photo 10? It's impossible to see the location of the proposed project.
Photo counter guy is back
Delete7:44: It was an attendee of the meeting who claimed a children's museum was there; I simply reported what was said in order to relate the suggestion they made about the programming for the movie theater.
ReplyDelete9:45: With only 1 or 2 screens, no, it cannot save downtown Bethesda. The big chains decades ago wiped out the little neighborhood theaters and drive-ins by colluding with the industry. It became so expensive to get first-run blockbusters that you could only profit if you show them many times a day, which you cannot do if you have only 1 or 2 screens. Unless they have a Jeff Bezos/George Soros-type backer, they would go broke very quickly if they try to show The Avengers, etc.
8:13: Yes, very similar to the Naval Hospital tower and the Sam Eig building in Gaithersburg.
5:53: The photo caption clearly states the theater space is shown in red.
The images that were posted do not show the ground floor plan that is level with Wisconsin. I recall that the plan showed a large amount of retail fronting Wisconsin in the middle of the building, with the apartment lobby on the south side and the covered walkway on the north side.
ReplyDeleteI think they had 15,000 SF of retail spread out on two levels, with only a small portion on the west side near the alley. I suppose these two retail volumes could be tall enough for a two-story high stage on the west side and a sloped floor auditorium facing the stage (looking west). A nice prefunction space with concessions, bar, restrooms and a box office would be on Wisconsin. I would guess you could get a nice intimate live music event space that could double as a mutlti-purpose presentation space for other events. I would think you could get maybe 500 seats in such an auditorium, which could be an expanded version of the Villain & Saint with much better lighting, acoustics, sightlines.
It could even double as a movie theater for art-house films, film festivals, or as even private screening room that could be rented for corporate events, announcements, weddings, lectures, video artist shows and political rallies.
Hey, I think someone just came up with the perfect place for the next Robert Dyer Campain Headquarters.
ReplyDeleteMake MoCo Un-Moribund Again! I want a red MMUMA hat!
"The big chains decades ago wiped out the little neighborhood theaters and drive-ins by colluding with the industry. It became so expensive to get first-run blockbusters that you could only profit if you show them many times a day, which you cannot do if you have only 1 or 2 screens. Unless they have a Jeff Bezos/George Soros-type backer, they would go broke very quickly if they try to show The Avengers, etc."
ReplyDeleteWell, that totally persuades me of the value of having a cinema comparable to the Regal.
Big, big, big
ReplyDelete