The firm redeveloping the site of the Christ Lutheran Church at 8011 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda has requested demolition permits for the building, according to notices posted at the property. Demolition fencing has also been erected.
A 90' tall apartment building will be constructed on the site. The developer, JLB Georgetown Road, LLC, acquired the church and two adjacent Rugby Avenue properties for a whopping $20,895,350, according to Maryland real estate records. Due to the heavy construction that will be taking place there, the church's Bethesda Circulator bus stop will temporarily be removed from the free shuttle's route after Saturday, February 26, 2022.
 |
| One last look at this local landmark at the gateway to downtown Bethesda |
 |
| Services have been moved to Imagination Stage |
A new church will not be built on the site. Their approval was revised to delete the church and only includes a very large 6-8 story apartment building. They also recently amended their approval to include quite a few live-work units.
ReplyDeleteThey are building a new church there? Why? For that kind of money, they could move up county and have as much land as they want plus a modern church with ample parking. I don't think that is a smart plan at all. The site is huge and can easily accommodate the structure. But there goes the ease of traffic along there. Wait until the county does something dumb like reduce a travel lane there to bikes which will never be used.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be part of the MoCo plan to obtain large parcels from churches (which are in decline) for infill development. Urbanizing the suburbs provides revenue from property taxes, which seem to be the only source of revenue since few businesses are interested in moving here.
ReplyDeleteHow many sq ft of bldg
ReplyDeleteLuxury builders like EYA must be salivating at the declining church attendance locally. The declines only increased when our government made gathering for worship services illegal during the pandemic. Wal-mart and Target were allowed to open instead.
ReplyDeleteI imagine rows of high-end townhomes on the site of the Church of the Little Flower. Easy commute to embassy row and a short drive to the Kennedy Center. Meanwhile, Our Lady of Lourdes downtown could support a sizeable high-rise residential tower steps from Metro. De Chantal can transform into a senior housing development.
These properties should be seized if the Church won't sell them. It's for the greater good of providing housing. It's what Christ would want. The Masses can continue, masked and online only.
@9:10 "These properties should be seized if the Church won't sell them."
ReplyDeleteHow authoritarian of you.
As long as they don't block off the sidewalk. It's much harder to cross there than the Wisconsin Ave blockages were and there were pathetically bad.
ReplyDelete6:32 - That's what I thought too about the church. My memory is that they were indeed relocating their congregation and building a new church. Robert, please update.
ReplyDelete7:18 AM
ReplyDeleteThe church was sold to a developer because of the decline of the congregation, not to the county. The developer is only building up to 90’ or so, even though the site is zoned for up to 120’. One could argue that an apartment development is a form of business, where a developer charges people rent to live there. It’s not really any different than a hotel, or even an office building where hotel guests or office tenants pay rent to sleep of work there. The developer pays real estate and development taxes, which is funded by tenants or hotel guests.
11:34: The story has been updated.
ReplyDeleteOur Lady of Lourdes is not declining!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robert, for keeping us nearby residents informed of what's going on with this development. Please keep up the good work with your blog.
ReplyDelete