7001 ARLINGTON ROAD LUXURY APARTMENTS BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Let's check in at the site of the old Bethesda Post Office at 7001 Arlington Road, and see what progress they're making on the construction of the new mixed-use building with 140 apartments, and 7000 square feet of retail. Yesterday, they had a crane on-site assisting. This project is a stick-built building; hence, the site did not require a major excavation for underground parking.

FORMER ARLINGTON ROAD POST OFFICE - BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Is this a Greek temple rising on the former site of the much-missed Arlington Road post office? No, it's a stick-built residential building going up. Which means the garage parking is above-ground, rather than underneath the building. We hope these piles of offerings will be pleasing to the gods, nevertheless.

The finished building will house 140 luxury apartments, and 7000 square feet of retail. For that retail, there will be a generous 35 parking spaces. One artist rendering showed 3 retail units on the building's ground floor: a boutique, and two restaurants.

Click on the photos to enlarge for greater detail:

Nope, no drive-thru
mail drop boxes here...

Aerial view of Arlington Road
and EuroMotorcars

The cranes in the background
are actually for another project,
The Darcy condos at
Bethesda Row

That's Upstairs at Bethesda Row
in the background

Chutes and Ladders

Runners and cyclists pass behind
the construction site on the
Capital Crescent Trail

7001 ARLINGTON ROAD LUXURY APARTMENTS BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Construction continues slowly but surely on the former site of the Bethesda Post Office, at 7001 Arlington Road. Formerly known as Dwell Bethesda, the luxury apartment building is, for now, known simply as 7001 Arlington Road. Questions regarding local elected officials' involvement (or lack thereof) in the selection of the new post office, at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue, remain unanswered.

Just last week, I was informed of a disabled post office patron who required the assistance of a Good Samaritan to successfully mail letters, due to the lack of handicapped parking at 6900. Handicapped parking in a nearby garage is simply no substitute for truly functional spaces near the front door of the post office. Some two decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act, all citizens have a right to expect equal access to public facilities. 

The United States Postal Service has yet to publicly announce a location for a second Bethesda post office it plans to open. But let's go ahead and check out the progress of construction crews at the much-missed former post office site:

DEMOLITION OPERATIONS BEGIN AT BETHESDA ARLINGTON ROAD POST OFFICE (PHOTOS)

Demolition of the old Bethesda Post Office on Arlington Road is getting underway. The building was not known for its grand architecture, but was a highly-functional Post Office with plenty of free, surface parking.

One can't help but feel nostalgic after attempting to utilize the new post office with no parking at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue.