Another vandalism/burglary incident, and broken glass on the sidewalk, remind us that there should be a high-rise with a restaurant in the ground floor at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue today. Douglas Development had sought to redevelop the site of Ranger Surplus, "the beer house," and other storefronts more than seven years ago. But the Montgomery County Council demanded the developer hand over part of the site to the Maryland State Highway Administration for future use by the Council's pet bus rapid transit project. This despite the fact that such a wide right-of-way could not be continued all the way down to the Bethesda Metro Center, as it would be blocked by buildings that could not be demolished, such as the historic Bethesda Theatre, and residential high-rises like 8001 Woodmont and Fairmont Plaza.
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| Smashed window and broken glass on sidewalk at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue |
After more than a year of haggling, County officials and Douglas came to an agreement on the property snatching. Alas, the project had been delayed so long, it fell through. Next to show interest in the prime site was Toll Brothers, which planned a high-rise condo tower. That project also stalled out indefinitely.
The crumbling storefronts and structures have now been left to rot for more thab half-a-decade. Another stalled project, The Claiborne, has been in the works for nearly as long. But its future site has been reclaimed by nature during this time. It's not only a public nuisance, but a possible breeding ground for vermin. While that delay was not caused by the Montgonmery County Council's meddling, the fact that our councilmembers don't spend much time in Bethesda is certainly part of why the grass is never mowed there.
After the latest burglary/vandalism incident sometime in the last few days, the windows and doors at 8008 Wisconsin have all been boarded up. As the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan winds down to the end of its surprisingly short life, it has failed the community and did not deliver on any of the promises made to residents - only on those made to developers.
I agree that vacant buildings are a big problem and should be addressed. But that sort of landlord neglect seems to happen anyway. I walked by broken shards of glass on a storefront on Norfolk for over two years before it was fixed. No plywood, no tape, just huge shards of broken plate glass, directly adjacent to the sidewalk. Not sure how this should be rectified. The county is so large, its tough for building inspectors to catch all theses safety violations and fine the landlords until they are repaired. The problem of unsightly vacant storefronts is way bigger than the BOZ plan.
ReplyDeleteA few public benefits have indeed been realized since the plan was adopted. Over $18M of park improvement funds have been generated for 16 BOZ projects, but so far only 4 have been paid. I believe some of these funds have been used to acquire real estate to expand Veterans Park and to create the Capital Crescent Civic Green. Obviously the PIP will roll in once more projects get built. Some progress has been made to create the proposed greenways on the east side of town, but none have been finalized yet.
The BOZ has enabled the creation of 641 MPDU’s as of today. Many are still part of un-built projects, but this is likely a much larger amount than would have occurred without the BOZ.
I would argue the the quality if the architectural design and urban planning has been enhanced by the requirement of the Design Advisory Panel review process. They have set a high bar for their review process, often requiring two or three many design revision’s and resubmissions until they are satisfied that these new projects comply with the plan.
As you have said, its still early days in the implementation of the plan. I think many folks predicted that developers would rapidly seek approval of the limited amount of enhanced density, and put their projects in their back pocket until they can afford to build, or simply use their enhanced approvals to flip their properties for a larger sum. I strongly recommend a much shorter “use it or lose it” approval, to get development kickstarted.
"As the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan winds down...[it] did not deliver on any of the promises made to residents - only on those made to developers."
ReplyDeleteLaugh, I thought I would cry. Remind me when the County Council's decisions have done otherwise. If, by chance, some aspect of a project turns out to benefit the citizenry, that's icing on the cake. But history would suggest the Council's primary, secondary, and tertiary concerns are abetting the cartel of developers and land despoilers, the public interest be damned.
"It's not only a public nuisance, but a possible breeding ground for vermin."
Truer words, Robert, although I envision the pestilential rats bearing blueprints as they pour forth from sacks of cash heaped at the altar of the Council dais.
I would certainly include the former Safeway. The way in which Biden is wrecking this economy and store shelves will continue to be empty, no grocer would be dumb enough to open a brand-new store there. So that will be an open hole in Bethesda with no tenant.
ReplyDelete@5:33 AM You are suffering from an extreme case of TDS. Safeway bailed on this site as soon as they opened the second at an even worse location at Arlington Road. Get over yourself or move to a TDS infected area.
ReplyDelete9:27: Wouldn't it be Biden Derangement Syndrome, since he's blaming Joe Biden?
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't Biden opening the Safeway that Trump closed??? Is China paying Hunter to make MoCo moribund????
ReplyDeleteYou know the gender of your commenters? That's a skill. Biden is not ruining the economy? Sadly, folks around here probably would cry foul on that. But really, are they shortsighted?
ReplyDeleteThe policy positions of this Admin on fossil fuel, supply chain, you name it makes companies bullish to expand? No, it really is going to be a wait and see and this site will remain vacant.
"As the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan winds down"
ReplyDeleteSince when is the plan winding down? Also as 6:58am said there's been plenty of community benefits. The decrepit looking site at 8008, the Claiborne site, and the infamous gas station site at 7340 Wisconsin can be blamed on the developers not the county council. In fact, Montgomery County generally has extremely few abandoned and run-down lots compared to most other places across America urban and rural.
10:47: Almost all of the allowed density has been approved already, ergo the plan is nearly at its end. There's panicked discussion now about another plan update, when they told us this was a 25 year plan.
ReplyDeleteSo in all developments built or approved under this plan, I don't see any of the promised community benefits delivered or even proposed.
In the article, I only blamed the Council for 8008 Wisconsin, because they held up the original plan for their bonkers BRT scheme. The other two you mentioned were the developers' fault.