Signs of life inside the future Harris Teeter in Bethesda (Photos)

Now that the bare bones of the interior of the future Harris Teeter at 8300 Wisconsin Avenue are finally evident, shelves and display cases are being loaded in. The store, originally expected to open in late 2015, is now on track for a summer opening.

The photo at top shows the future garage entrance where customers who don't live upstairs in the Flats 8300 luxury apartments will drive in to park for the Harris Teeter. This will be the first Harris Teeter in Bethesda; there has been one for a while on Old Georgetown Road east of Rockville Pike in North Bethesda.

Bethesda construction update: Harris Teeter/Flats at 8300 luxury apartments (Photos)

You can now get an early idea of what the facade of the Flats at 8300 luxury apartments will look like when completed, in these photos from the construction site at 8300 Wisconsin Avenue. The building will also include a Harris Teeter grocery store, as well as some townhomes that front onto Wisconsin.

Harris Teeter will be at the corner of Battery Lane and Woodmont Avenue, and is expected to open in late fall. The construction schedule of the grocery store will be separate from the rest of the building however, as construction firm Donohoe turns the grocery space over to Harris Teeter's own construction contractor for the store build-out.

Future entrance to
Harris Teeter at corner
in center of this photo

Harris Teeter requests construction permit for downtown Bethesda store

Harris Teeter has requested a construction permit from Montgomery County for build-out of its future grocery store at 8300 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The mixed-use residential building that will house the store, Flats at 8300, is currently being completed by Donohoe Construction.

If you recall, John Kosco of Donohoe said that his firm would eventually turn over the space to Harris Teeter this summer. At that point, the grocer's specialized construction contractor would build the store.

Harris Teeter is expected to open late this year, around the time the first residents move into Flats at 8300.

Inside the future Harris Teeter in downtown Bethesda, as 8300 Wisconsin tops out (Photos)

Bethesda's first Harris Teeter grocery store could be open in less than a year at 8300 Wisconsin Avenue. Yesterday, I was invited by Donohoe Construction to take a hard hat tour of the site, which will eventually house 359 luxury apartments, a 4-level underground parking garage, and that 50,000 SF Harris Teeter.

Donohoe knows something about building the next generation of luxury apartment buildings in downtown Bethesda, having delivered its own 17-story mixed-use tower, Gallery Bethesda, last January. 8300 Wisconsin is being developed by StonebridgeCarras, and was designed by WDG.

In addition to the discovery that blasting would be required to excavate the deep garage, the project has presented other challenges, particularly in juggling the demands of the residential and grocery store projects with the garage. John Kosco, a superintendent with Donohoe, says this project is the most-complicated concrete pour he can recall in his career.

Kosco said Donohoe will turn the grocery store space over to Harris Teeter in mid-summer, and that the store should be ready to open around the time the first residents move in - likely late this year. The finished building is expected to deliver in the first quarter of 2016. Bozzuto will manage the apartments, which it has named Flats 8300 (not to be confused with The Flats at Lot 31 across town, but almost certainly will be).

A courtyard that faces NIH to the north will include several water features, including a lazy river. Too few projects these days seem to take advantage of the enhancements water features can add, so its good to see them being utilized here. There will also be a sophisticated stormwater management system for the 9-story building, which will serve as the future northern gateway to downtown Bethesda.

Here are some pictures from the hard hat tour; click any photo to enlarge for greater detail:

The commemorative T-shirt given to
all workers on the site during the
topping out party yesterday

Donohoe employees posed for
a Topping Out party photo

They also enjoyed a lunch of
BBQ, coleslaw and chocolate
chip cookies

A view from the interior of the future
courtyard, facing NIH

Future lobby on
Wisconsin Avenue; that's
Rosedale Park across the street

Lobby elevator shaft

The two brown beams in the center will
actually be removed; they're there now
for support

View upwards from inside the
courtyard

Tower crane #1

There will be a sophisticated
stormwater filtration system

I hope you bought stock in Tyvek
before the recession ended

Another direction inside the courtyard

Tower crane #2

Future loading docks for
Harris Teeter

Garage beam

Inside the grocery store parking
section of the 4-level
garage

Another garage shot

Garage entrance off
Woodmont Avenue

A look up Woodmont Avenue toward
the direction of the Metro Center

Inside Harris Teeter; the
checkout lines should be
in this area

Garage ramp

Looking out from the future Harris
Teeter; note the building is reflected
in the Monocle Building's glass
across Battery Lane

Looking from Harris Teeter toward
the corner of Woodmont and Battery

Looking north from inside
the courtyard

Tower crane

Keep out! This means you!

Intersection of Woodmont Avenue
and Battery Lane

Looking out Woodmont Avenue
toward NIH and Medical Library

Tower cranes

A fresh load of cement arrives
at the site Wednesday, turning
right onto Woodmont from
Battery Lane

The driver heads down Woodmont
toward Wisconsin, parks at the curb,
and waits for flagger to wave him in

The driver backs up and onto
this ramp

Behind and below the ramp is
this large concrete-holding
container, which the cement
is transferred to

Up it goes to the roof

Donohoe pickup truck
and Keep Out sign

Another shot of the truck

A view from the other side; the gap
between the two building wings is the
courtyard pictured above, this time
from NIH's direction

Worth noting for NIH employees:
NIH Shuttle stops right across from
the building (but it's close enough
to walk to)

A view from atop the Public
Parking Garage on Woodmont

Ladies and gentlemen, our tour
has come to an end, but stay
tuned for updates as construction
of 8300 Wisconsin continues...

Rendering of finished building
courtesy of WDG, All rights reserved