A historic Bethesda landmark could be yours next month, if you win an online auction of the property, located at one of Montgomery County's most-heavily traveled crossroads in downtown Bethesda. The Bank of Bethesda building opened in 1927 at 7500 Wisconsin Avenue. It sits at the crossroads of Wisconsin, East-West Highway and Old Georgetown Road, and directly opposite the Bethesda Metro station. The building would later transfer to other banks, such as Crestar and - most recently - SunTrust.
A Prince George's County development firm acquired the building for $6,175,000 in 2020. The reason for the "low" price at such a prime location is largely tied to the fact that redevelopment options are far more restrained than for a non-historic property. As we've seen at The Whitney up the street, residential or office space can be added to a historic property, if key structures and facades are retained. So there is lucrative potential for the site with the right architectural vision, but a developer can't simply raze the bank and redevelop every square foot of the property. Alternatively, a new owner can keep the building as-is, and lease it out to banks or other retail/office tenants for significant income.
Transwestern is handling the auction, which will be held online starting March 19, 2024, and continuing through March 21. The starting bid is $1,250,000. Could it go for less than $6,175,000? Given how much you could charge for rent in the Bethesda market, or realize in a partial redevelopment/addition to the site, that could end up being a steal.
It's only interesting for two reasons: it's unique location & nostalgia. It not an architectural wonder.
ReplyDeleteI'd always dreamed of that site being used as a visitors' center, or a historic and cultural museum, but I'm not a business person. Just a lifelong Bethesdan.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry "Anonymous" is not impressed by the building. The facade has been altered from the original - curiously. Restore that, and yes - a visitor center / museum of MoCo would be wonderful. Right on the Metro, a gateway to DC.
ReplyDeleteThey could incorporate that whole Madonna of the Trails
DeleteThat's the oldest building in Bethesda I'm quite sure. It's historic alright. How bout the old Brown's Store on Greentree? What a disgrace that that historic country store can't be something good. Bagel trailer is awesome but that's a portable structure
ReplyDeleteAgree that a visitor center is a great idea! Maybe Bethesda UP could partner with the Bethesda Historical Society to take over the space.
ReplyDeleteThere is precedent (albeit limited imo) for maintaining the architectural detail/structure and some historical context. The stone building (former post office location, now Bridges yoga studio) and the Madonna of the Trial next to the metro are examples.
I would think the purchaser will be tearing it down, if it is deemed Historic the price tag will be super low. They wanted, what, $800k for the Bethesda Community Store, couldn't get that, then $8k a month rent, couldn't get THAT, they got the BBQ trailer, and now the bagel trailer is there. All because that rat infested building is deemed 'historic' and they can't demo it.
ReplyDeleteHighest and best use would be for a nice restaurant. The site is only 0.11 acres, so the 290’ allowable height is moot unless the site is combined with an adjacent site.
ReplyDeleteThat block died when they made Old Georgetown one way. No parking, construction all around it, completely dead spot.
ReplyDeleteOur county government was flush with cash to buy pricey downtown Bethesda properties for a veterans park extension, then decided not to extend the park.
ReplyDeleteSurely they have funds to buy this property and do something special for the community.
The site is difficult to develop. As others have noted, there is little parking nearby, and the small footprint requires that the site be combined with the building behind. That’s a commercial condominium, and some of the owners may have made unrealistic financial demands.
ReplyDeleteThe building dates from 1926 – the 1925 cornerstone is visible on Wisconsin Avenue. It is not the oldest building in Bethesda or even downtown Bethesda (that would be the Community Paint and Hardware building, which dates from 1890 and was moved a few years ago from Wisconsin to Middleton Lane, near the Bethesda Theater). But the Bank played a central role in the development of the town, and was its dominant structure until the mid-1950’s.
It was also the first building in town clad in Stoneyhurst mica schist, which later became Bethesda’s signature stone and was used on the post office, the C&P building, and many houses in the area.
For more information on the Bank and the building, see https://bethesdahistoricalsociety.org/bank-of-bethesda/
I always admire buildings that use that local stone from Stoneyhurst Quarries. Those buildings are sprinkled throughout old Bethesda.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking about that recently, do you know what specific type of stone was used on that bank exterior & also the low wall surrounding the old Beall house on Old Georgetown? It looks the same but I'm not a mineral guy.
DeleteAs Hank said earlier: mica schist
Delete5:53 - excellent! Yeah, I thought that the old bank building was the oldest in town but should have consulted that book which I have a copy of and it's great on the history.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed-- some of these oommenters really know their schist.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong, but the original entry to that building had real columns (round) that supported the portico.
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