A lot is looking finished at The Rae at Westlake apartments at 10401 Motor City Drive in Bethesda. Under construction on the former site of Ourisman Ford, much of the final facade appears complete, just about all the windows are in place and the parking garage almost looks ready to drive into - if only it had a driveway. But there is still Tyvek visible here and there, the odd missing window, earth moving equipment still parked and ready around the complex, and the large windows of the lobby entrance remain boarded up.
Foulger-Pratt is the developer of the 343-unit project. Located steps away from Montgomery Mall and the Home Depot Square shopping center, The Rae is a shopper's paradise - and with The Cheesecake Factory and Frank Pepe's Pizzeria right across the street, a diner's paradise as well. The Rae is scheduled for a Q3 2023 delivery, but pre-leasing is set to begin this spring.
Such a nice location! Make sure you get a high floor, with great views of the rooftop of the adjacent Home Depot.
ReplyDeleteRemember when architecture was pretty, inviting, interesting? I guess they don't teach that anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't this half-done building pretty to me!?! Nevermind the fact I'll never glance at it, much less walk through its doors, I want to manufacture something to whine whine whine about!
ReplyDelete@7:50,
ReplyDeleteKettle, meet the pot.
Mocking isn't whining, but nice try
ReplyDeleteWould you rather live at the The Rae with a view of the Home Depot or at Harwood Flats (https://www.harwoodflats.com) which is across from the WMATA Bus Yard?
ReplyDeleteWith The Rae you get fumes and noise from the 270 Spur. With Harwood Flats you get the noise and fumes from the WMATA Bus Yard.
From a firefighter perspective, light-construction buildings with more than 3-floors either go up in flames really fast or get water damaged beyond repair. Sad that MC approves this kind of structure which is essentially a throw away when something happens.
ReplyDeleteBetter to have steel frames and concrete floors for safety and longevity. Take a look at the construction over at the Landon School.
@5:10 PM: That's a very good point. These buildings are disposable tinderboxes.
ReplyDeleteClaiming that stick-built mid-rises are bulldozed because there's "water damage beyond repair" from sprinklers or a hose is really nonsensical. This guy might be a firefighter, but he certainly doesn't know anything about construction. Use some common sense: would banks finance $50M buildings if they were "disposable?" This apartment will be here 100 years from now, for better or worse.
ReplyDeleteGotta love people like 9:11, (coincidence?), who will never have to run into a building on fire let alone a known firetrap. Whether a floor collapses because of fire or water makes no difference at all.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.firerescue1.com/firefighter-safety/articles/dangers-of-lightweight-construction-BuYSXyzeZzXp2etB/
https://www.enr.com/articles/53600-blaze-leaves-nearly-finished-65m-apartment-project-a-total-loss
https://buildingsonfire.com/lightweight-construction-hazards-you-should-know
Hey 9:11, did it ever occur to you that banks don't lend without insurance and don't really look at anything without a positive ROI?
ReplyDeleteRight, because insurance companies are known for insuring $50m+ buildings that are "disposable." Lot of geniuses pretending to be in the construction business on here. Lot of geniuses who live in stick-built properties WITHOUT modern fire suppression systems, ironically.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is a failure of public education. Lending institutions lend money to make money. Insurance companies insure properties based on actuarial tables that don't always work out, (hurricanes, uncontrolled fires etc), and is essentially odds gambling.
ReplyDeleteFact, a 6-story light-construction building is far more dangerous than a 3-story residential home. Called the chimney effect when lower floors start burning, they becomes difficult to put out unless flooded with water which is why there is so much water damage in any fire involving these types of buildings, (OSB having a reputation for delamination when wet), with no steel/concrete floors to stabilize it.