PLAZA TAKING SHAPE AT NEW CLASS A OFFICE BUILDING IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Carr Properties' 4500 East-West Highway Class A office building was designed to include a public plaza at the corner of East-West and Pearl Street. That plaza is now beginning to take shape. It could help not only as an amenity for future workers there, but also to attract a restaurant tenant to the building's ground floor.

The nearly-finished office project remains without any tenants as of this writing. I actually found an old story which revealed that one of Montgomery County's most recent fumbles in attracting a major corporation involved this building. Instelsat S.A. was scouting potential new homes for its headquarters, then located in the District off of Connecticut Avenue. According to the article, the firm  seriously considered the 4500 East-West building, but ultimately opted to go to Northern Virginia. Instelsat is now the anchor tenant in Macerich's impressive Tysons Tower, Fairfax County's first billion dollar property.

Other tenants at Tysons Tower include Deloitte Consulting, which leased 88,000 SF.

In addition to the higher cost, and less-friendly business environment of Montgomery County, traffic congestion and lack of direct access to Dulles Airport were obviously factors, as well. Intelsat's CEO, David McGlade, specifically cited "a first-class transportation system" as one of the company's must-haves in choosing a new headquarters. Tysons Tower has direct access to the Capital Beltway, the new 495 Express Lanes (which are only on the Virginia side of the Beltway), and the Tysons Corner Metro station. In the near future, the building will have direct rail access to Dulles Airport, when the Silver Line is extended there.

Access to the Bethesda Metro station is one of the major advantages 4500 East-West has going for it. But as anyone who drives in downtown Bethesda knows, traffic is a nightmare, as is trying to reach the Beltway from here during rush hour. Driving to here from Dulles Airport or vice-versa? Fuhgeddaboudit!

BETHESDA MCDONALD'S ON EAST-WEST HIGHWAY CLOSES FOREVER - PHOTO GALLERY EXCLUSIVE!

AN ERA ENDS,

DEMOLITION BEGINS

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Several weeks ago, I reported on the plan to redevelop the current site of the downtown Bethesda McDonald's, on East-West Highway at Pearl Street.  But the actual closing date of the long-operating store was unknown.

That day came yesterday.

Although a number of downtown restaurants have been forced out by developers in the last few weeks, this one hits close to home for me.  I've had many a meal from this McDonald's over a lifetime.  Talk about "Living in the 90s."  Were you there for the Jurassic Triple Cheeseburger, the Super Hero (a tie-in with one of my favorite movies, Batman Forever), and the Arch Deluxe?

Students at BCC High School, workers in nearby office buildings, and residents who thought the Golden Arches would always be a few steps away, had a rude awakening Tuesday.  Even when these photos were taken, loyal customers were still pulling in.  "It's closed? It's closed?"  "Yes."  "It's closed," the man said to himself again audibly, with a stricken expression, as reality sunk in.

No more Big Macs, no more America's Favorite Fries.  Just super-size developer profits.

And then there was one.

There is now literally only one fast food restaurant operating in the entire town of Bethesda - the other McDonald's on River Road.  Why fast food restaurants are unofficially banned from opening in Bethesda, remains a mystery government officials have yet to share with citizens.

Do you really have freedom of choice, when there are no choices?

It's the end of an era.  The Golden Arches have stood along America's highways for decades, beckoning to hungry travelers.  So it was here on our East-West Highway.

It will be missed.

The famous Golden Arches sign has been torn down,
but McDonald's fans kept arriving for dinner anyway

The doors are locked tight

Here's all that's left of the Golden Arches
sign on East-West Highway

Left side of restaurant

Interior of the abandoned restaurant.  Note many ceiling tiles are
already missing.  A lone mystery man works on a
laptop at a table by the far windows

Ronald has left the building

No more coffee deals; Starbucks has the monopoly in
downtown Bethesda again

The End

DEVELOPER REVEALS BUILDING TO REPLACE BETHESDA MCDONALD'S AT 4500 EAST-WEST HIGHWAY

Carr Properties has unveiled its plan for 4500 East-West Highway in downtown Bethesda.  Currently, the property is home to a McDonald's restaurant and a Prudential insurance building.

The 220,400 square foot office building - for which Carr has just obtained financing - will be 9 stories tall, with an additional 4 underground levels and parking garage.  Carr expects the finished project to be LEED-certified Platinum.  Other features of the commercial property include first floor retail space, a full-height glass curtain facade, and a 1900 square foot conference center, with video conferencing.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 2014.

It's hard to take in the full exterior design from just this one rendition.  Right now, I'll give Carr credit for using an all-glass exterior, and wait for more exterior illustrations before giving a final verdict on the design.  The only criticism I have at the moment is that the height could be much taller, if you consider how close the site is to Metro.  Also, from this angle, it is a bit on the boxy side.  Sad to lose this classic McDonald's restaurant, as well.  Maybe McDonald's can reopen in the first floor of the new building.