Parvizian Fine Rugs is on the move again in downtown Bethesda. After relocating to a spot by Saphire Cafe in 2021 because of the redevelopment at 7000 Wisconsin Avenue, the store has moved back down Wisconsin. The new location is 7137 Wisconsin, next to the shuttered Villain & Saint. This likely won't be Parvizian's last move, as that retail strip is slated for redevelopment in the coming years.
Flying carpet?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the 20 story high mixed-use, multifamily over retail Artena Tower is starting demo soon.
ReplyDeleteAny word about the adjacent Toll Brothers site? Seems like a no-brainer to excavate and build them both at the same time. Even just building the underground parking and foundations for the future 14 story high condo now would make lots of sense. Very little extra earth retention system would be required, and building the underground parking would add lots of value to the site, even if they proposed to flip it. A clever architect could even remove the expensive and inefficient ramps under the condo site, and access the parking from a shared ramp under the Artena, sort of how the Flats and Darcy share parking access. With less ramps, they could get the same amount of parking in a much smaller deck, maybe even removing one whole level under the condo. It would also add more ground level retail space not taken up by the vehicular entrance and exit.
It would even make sense for the Artena developer to buy the much smaller Toll Brothers site, and build and own both adjacent towers, saving quite a bit of shared fire-wall construction, extra elevators and stairs, loading space and service areas. It would be great to see the whole block competed this way, with a lot less mess, street closures and noise to build one tower, then tear up the area again to build the other in a few years. Both towers are fully approved and could proceed without any additional approvals.