NEW AIR RIGHTS BUILDING ENTRANCE UNVEILED IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

You may have noticed the front entrance of the Air Rights Center building all boarded up in recent months, along Wisconsin Avenue. Now that particular makeover is complete, and you can see the results. Of course, the complex is now officially called, "Bethesda Crossing," but I doubt I'm the only one having a hard time adjusting to the new name.

The redesign is just one part of a massive overhaul of the entire complex by its new owners, which includes new LED lighting on the facades.

LED LIGHTS ADDED TO FACADE OF AIR RIGHTS BUILDING IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

If you look up at the former Air Rights Building at night, you may notice something new. LED lights are being added to the Wisconsin Avenue facade of the west building at the complex recently rechristened as Bethesda Crossing. It's unclear what the point of them is at the moment.

What does it mean?

BURGLARY AT AIR RIGHTS COMPLEX IN BETHESDA - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

According to crime data, a break-in was reported this past Saturday, May 4, at the Air Rights III building at 4550 Montgomery Avenue.

Other Bethesda crimes between May 5-6:

MAY 5:

Assault. 6600 block River Road.

Burglary. 7700 block Hemlock Street.

Theft from vehicle. 9400 block Old Georgetown Road.

MAY 6:

Assault. 4800 block Battery Lane.

Theft. 6100 block Wilson Lane.

Theft from vehicle. 4900 block Brookeway Drive.

Theft from vehicle. 4800 block Bethesda Avenue (Bethesda Row).

Theft from vehicle. 10000 block Fernwood Road.

BETHESDA AIR RIGHTS CENTER PURCHASE PRICE REVEALED

Buyers of Bethesda's Air Rights Center purchased the massive complex with a Cassidy Turley-secured $150,000,000 loan, it has finally been revealed.

MidAtlantic Realty Partners L.L.C., of Washington, D.C., and Rockpoint Group L.L.C., of Boston bought the valuable air-rights property.

Bethesda history lecture alert!

The complex is so-named for being built on air-rights property once designated as a potential Bethesda mall and town square, parallel to the (unbuilt) Northwest Freeway right-of-way.

When the Georgetown-Tenleytown-Bethesda-Pooks Hill freeway was killed by the Montgomery County Council's inaction, the air-rights became Metro-related.  Wisconsin Avenue was just a bridge along that stretch then - hence, the literal rights to build in the air over the B&O railroad right-of-way.

The Apex Building is also an air-rights development.

Without the Northwest Freeway, you enjoy the wonderful rush-hour traffic of Wisconsin Avenue twice each day. Wasn't that smart?

The new owners plan to renovate and expand the complex.

BETHESDA AIR RIGHTS CENTER ON SALE FOR $257 MILLION

TIAA-CREF has put one of downtown Bethesda's most valuable properties on the market.  Cassidy Turley will handle the potential sale of the Air Rights Center for the owners.

This is the third iconic Bethesda property to be put up for sale this year.

It would be a shock, but nothing is shocking after the Montgomery County Council proposed the county seize, and demolish, one or more of the complex's towers through eminent domain earlier this year.  The suggestion went nowhere, and the council eventually resolved to remove the Capital Crescent Trail from the future Purple Line tunnel under the Air Rights Center.

But that brief moment suggested some in the development community may covet the site, for a denser, mixed use project.