The Cheltenham apartments, now under construction at 4725 Cheltenham Drive in downtown Bethesda, have been rebranded as The Dax. Remarkable for containing no surface or construction parking, the building is anticipated by the developer and Montgomery County planning authorities to attract tenants who will either be car-free, or will park in the County public parking garage across the street. About 90' tall, the building will contain 100 units - 17 of which will be Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units - and no retail. The project received an $8 million subordinated loan from the Montgomery County Government Green Bank.
A crew completed a scheduled disassembly of the tower crane at the site last week, as you can see in these photos. The Dax replaces the Midas auto repair facility on this property next to a CVS Pharmacy. Community Three is the developer, Eric Colbert & Associates is the architecture firm, and the lead construction contractor is Eichberg Construction. A Q4 2026 delivery is anticipated.
The lack of parking is complete BS and 100% against what the residents of East Bethesda pushed back against to the Planning Board and County Council during the planning and approval phases (and beyond). Those oganizations don't give a crap what residents and taxpayers want.
ReplyDeleteThe cliche "all politics are local" is a total joke in MoCo as it only applies if and when the local bodies and elected officials listen.
The developer made the totally bogus argument to the neighborhood association that they don't expect *any* of the residents to have a car. Are you kidding me?
ReplyDeleteThe planning board and county council members refused to address this issue when asked directly by the members of the neighborhood association, and they rejected all of our concerns and arguments to reinstate onsite parking that the prior deveoper had planned.
Perfect building for all the pro bikers who claim cars are bad.
DeleteHow pedestrian.
ReplyDeleteYuk yuk
DeleteSo realistically will people be buying monthly passes to a garage or driving around the blocks looking for spots or what? I agree probably 66-75%+ of residents will have cars even if living near a Metro was a selling point to them. People want that for when there's traffic or they're going somewhere point to point near the metro stations but they still need to get around the DMV quickly all other times.
ReplyDelete7:51 PM: They'll either need to buy monthly passes to park in a garage or drive around looking for spots. The downtown Bethesda plan requires that parking be provided for new buildings, although it doesn't have to be a 1:1 ratio of units:parking spaces. The prior developer for that location had planned on provided parking spaces for about two-thirds of the units. The County Council waived the requirement for the new developer.
DeleteThis is incorrect. No on site parking is required in the Downtown Bethesda Overlay District. In fact, developers are awarded required points if they provide minimal or no parking on site. Similar to design excellence points, affordable housing points, vegetated roof points and more.
DeleteThis is the council allowing their developer donors to get away without building critical infrastructure AND social engineer their utopia without cars which they will never be inconvenienced with.
ReplyDeleteCritical parking infrastructure already exists in the county parking garage directly across the street.
DeleteThanks to your bosses muting law enforcement, someone bringing their groceries after dark will become a new adventure!
DeleteTime for the East Bethesda Citizens Association to pass rules for some mighty high parking fines for any vehicles caught without residency stickers or guest passes, and to sign up some service to patrol the streets vigilantly. Maybe start towing cars away after several infractions? That should keep the Daxxers at bay.
ReplyDeleteEBCA is NOT an HOA, it is a non-governmental body and membership is voluntary. It has no authority over anything regarding the neighborhood, not parking, towing, nor issuing fines. I have never seen a "residency sticker" and it would have no legal authority anyway. Parking permits are issued thru the county.
Delete11:15 PM Thanks, well said :-)
Delete6:22 AM Good suggestions, but see 11:15 PM's explanations.
Once again there is a county parking deck directly across the street that offers monthly parking permits. Why force the developer to construct expensive underground parking and charge tenants higher rent to pay for the cost. Reciprocal useage of county owned parking decks makes perfect sense. Office users in the weekdays and residential users in the evening and on weekends. This also helps the county pay for the maintenance and construction of new public parking. Certainly not quite as convenient as parking under your own apartment building, but if it saves money, could reduce my rent, it seems like a good idea to use existing infrastructure.
ReplyDelete@6:45 Defiance of reality is a theme with your responses. Thanks to your bosses lack of enforcement of existing laws, people will actually need parking within the building. Three sexual assaults within the last couple of months including an afternoon attack in the library on Arlington is zero concern to you. Pathetic really.
DeleteToo logical for the incessantly bitter complainers on this site.
DeletePeople don’t need parking within the building if it already located directly across the street in an underutilized county parking deck.
Delete"Logical" is a word you're using but have absolutely no idea what it means.
Delete5:26 PM It's *not* an underutilized parking garage or (long-term) deck. The garage is full during the week and on weekends. Not sure where dozens of new cars will fit, and or why renters should be forced to park in a garage at an extra cost when the developer could easily provide parking, with an added fee if so desired.
DeleteAs someone else mentioned, the prior developer included parking. The current developer is doing it on the cheap. And I have no doubt the rents will be excessive, probably while also squeezing every penny out of the residents for things like a fee to pay the rent and bike storage ~
It's a real thing, folks ... paying your rent on time isn't enough for a lot of these corporate *****s ... they often charge you a fee to simply pay your bill.
Ultimately, it comes down to the county and planning boards' clear disrespect and disregard for the neighborhood residents.
“Your bosses”
DeleteSounds familiar.
And what does the sexual assault at the library have to do with parking at this building?
@5:08 so sad that this needs to be explained but that's MCPS outcomes these days. The county prosecutor, McCarthy, in lockstep with the council don't prosecute repeat offenders so let's say a female, (not that you can even identify one), tenant needs to carry groceries from her car after work at night but instead of a secure garage under the building, she'll need to run the gauntlet created by soft-on-crime democrats. Do you suppose that the lack of information on the library rape is because the offender is one of what liberals classify as a protected class?
Delete@8:17 it's very clear that you don't actually walk around Bethesda. You're inventing fake scenarios in your own mind to be afraid of. I've been out numerous nights (sometimes as late as 4am), either coming back from DC, La Catrina, or Tommy Joe's, and I've never seen anything remotely close to a "gauntlet" of crime. Maybe try to spend less time raging behind a keyboard and more time touching grass?
DeleteBy the way, females are the ones who cover their drinks when you walk in the room. Hope that helps!
@8:42 So the rape at the library along with the two other sexual assaults in Bethesda are no big deal to you. It's all fake because your conformation bias news told you so. Unfortunately for you, we've spent more time building Bethesda businesses than you have in your parents basement. When they let you out, try and hold a real job for once although I have a feeling that I or one of our partners have fired you in the past.
Delete@1:17 once again, you are inventing things in your mind to be afraid of and angry about. I feel sorry for you. It must be tough to live life trembling in fear at your own shadow. But hey, you tried though! Keep at it, maybe one day you'll rub your remaining two brain cells together and come up with an "insult" that will actually make somebody feel something other than pity for you.
DeleteSo according to 8:45, the rape at the library didn't happen? plus the other 2 sexual assaults which Robert did report on but the public has gotten zero information? Good liberals never lie...
Delete@5:41 Allow me to explain since you don't understand - you're inventing fake strawmen in your mind that anyone who disagrees with you automatically doesn't care about crime, so that you can then be mad about it.
Delete@2:04 This is so typical of a progressive that actual crimes are "strawman" arguments. You minimize the impacts of bad policy hoping that people will either forget or not see it at all. Your a product of conformation bias and it's sad and pathetic that there are people like you who value political expediency while feigning sympathy for crime victims.
DeleteWow, allowing someone who thinks that these crimes don't exist to explain?
Delete@5:40 There’s that strawman again. Making things up so you have something to be angry about. Work on your reading comprehension a bit (and your spelling… it’s supposed to be “you’re”, not “your” - something that you’d learn from, you know, education.)
Delete@7:39 Denial isn't a river in Egypt. Put down the waterpipe, get out of your parents basement and open your eyes to reality. Big ask for a committed liberal who can't decipher news outside of their little orbit. Grifters like you have never had to make it in the real world so when your media doesn’t tell you about three sexual assaults in Bethesda within a couple of recent months, we get incoherent rationale from a blind supporter of the Council/McCarthy. It's so sad that anyone needs to explain why these crimes and policies make Bethesda less viable for people and businesses to thrive but here we are. Elrich and the rest of the MC government need followers like you.
Delete@5:42 strawman again
Delete6:48 should lookup the definition but not likely to help. Wasted taxpayer dollars spent on an education that was anything but.
Delete12:52 strawman again
DeleteLike your press, repeating lies over and over doesn't make it more true. A mind is a terrible thing to waste so 6:57 has nothing to worry about.
Delete9:09 projection
DeleteIt is a giveaway to the developer who doesn't have to build even a small garage as part of the project.
ReplyDeleteHuman nature says the renters with cars will find the least expensive option which will be to park in the neighborhood and not pay for a garage pass.
If parking was provided under the building, tenants would indeed have to pay for it. Most apartment building landlords in downtown Bethesda charge at least $250 to as much as $475 per month for a parking space.
Delete6:51 PM Spot on, on all points!
DeleteI live in downtown Bethesda and am happily car free. We exist, and I love this project.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about you! No one else should need anything else!
DeleteIf a MoCo thug steals your car or if you get carjacked and don't want to get another car, this is the perfect place to move.
ReplyDeleteThe Better Bus reroutes have messed up a lot of the more useful routes. Hence I drive more now.
ReplyDelete@ 7:44 - The bus stops right in front of the CVS.
DeleteThose residents with cars will probably be using the public parking garage directly across the street. That may have been what the board was planning all along.
ReplyDeleteThere's a underutilized public parking garage directly across Cheltenham. Residents of this building with vehicles are obviously going to park in that garage.
ReplyDeleteNot building a parking garage is certainly a gamble, but I have multiple friends in the DMV who chose not to buy a car, since they can get where they need to be with only a scooter or the metro and other public transportation. Hopefully the building management won't be greedy and will keep prices low to offset the lack of a garage.
ReplyDeleteI believe the landlord is indeed proposing some very affordable rents, especially giving the high percentage of junior one bedroom units averaging only about 535 SF. To construct a 10’ x 20’ parking space and half of a 20’ wide drive aisle, each space would total about 300 SF, more than half the SF of the apartment, and cost at least $80,000 to construct. It’s very smart to leverage that county deck across the street.
DeleteThat's good to hear!
Delete5:34 PM I don't believe the rents have been made avaailable yet. Given the other recent builds in downtown Bethesda, even the "affordable units" are very expensive. And the so-called landlords add on fees to those rents regardless of their affordable/non-affordable designation. We'll see. The "regular" units no doubt will have bloated rents, plus fees.
DeleteI’m not sure what the owners of the Dax are planning to offer. The nine story high tower, that will be clad in brick and metal looks nice, and is likely expensive to build. Certainly not as cheap as mid-rise wood frame construction. If they view their project as an alternative to executive extended stay, with fully furnished units, you might be right about the rent being high.
Delete@7:12 PM Do you (or anyone??) know if the executive extended stay units are part of what will be available? That was rumored some time ago, but I haven't seen confirmation of that type of unit as an option. Just wondering. If so, you're correct, the rent no doubt will be very high.
DeleteDon’t forget we have Comrade Elrich’s bike lanes. Who needs cars ?
ReplyDeleteNamed after Kristen Bell's husband no doubt, Mr Shepard.
ReplyDelete