Bethesda construction update: TD Bank (Photos)

The tiny TD Bank continues to be assembled at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue. This was formerly the site of a Shell gas station, and a small office structure.

Bethesda Shell station demolition complete (Photos)

Scene from the final hours
of the Food Mart Monday

Now you see it.

Now you don't.

24 hours made all the difference - the final 24 hours of the convenience store structure at the Bethesda Shell station, which was the last structure to fall on the site. Tuesday afternoon, workers were digging deep into the soil and the structure was no more. The site is being cleared for a TD Bank branch building.

Monday

Monday

Tuesday

Tuesday

Tuesday

Demolition update: Bethesda Shell station (Photos)

Underground storage tanks have been dug up at the site of the former Shell station at Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. As you can see from the aerial views, the rest of the site has been cleared and graded. 

A small TD Bank will bizarrely be placed on a site clearly suited for a high-rise residential or office building with ground floor retail.

Demolition continues at Bethesda Shell station (Photos)

The house? The house is gone, leaving only rubble behind. Meanwhile, only the small convenience store structure remained Monday at the former Shell station at Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue.

Both properties are being razed to make way for a small TD Bank building.

Demolition update: Bethesda Shell station and house (Photos)

The Bethesda Shell station at 7628 Old Georgetown Road, and a home next to it, continue to be demolished. They'll make way for a puzzling replacement - a tiny TD Bank building, despite the property being adjacent to a Metro station. The gas pumps and canopy are now gone.

Doomed Shell station fenced off for demolition in Bethesda (Photos)

The Shell gas station that will be demolished to make way for a small TD Bank building was fenced off yesterday. While that is likely a step in the process toward the knockdown, it may also solve another problem that's developed since the police-style tape was removed around the perimeter of  the property. Confused drivers have been pulling into the station at Woodmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road, trying to fill up their tanks - before realizing they can't.

This remains a controversial project among smart growth advocates, due to the low-density bank proposal being inappropriate for a property steps away from a Metro station - and surrounded by high-rises in every direction.

Supposedly, the property owner is waiting it out. But waiting for what? The land is unlikely to be any more valuable than it is now, and the opportunity to seek greater height and density for the site through the Bethesda Downtown Plan has been completely squandered.

Meanwhile, expect gas prices to now rise in downtown Bethesda with one more station out of the market. Expecting to fill up downtown after a severe storm hits the area? Good luck finding a station that will have gas left. All of them ran out - including this one - during two weather events in recent years.

The final day of one of Bethesda's last gas stations (Photos)

The Shell gas station at Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue closed permanently yesterday. Roped off to vehicle traffic, it and the law office next door await final approval for demolition from Montgomery County. Inside the station's convenience store structure, empty cigarette racks await removal.

Both will be replaced by a small TD Bank building, with drive-thru facilities. As I reported ten days ago, the closure of this station leaves only 4 places to buy gas in downtown Bethesda. One of those, the Sunoco at Battery Lane and Wisconsin Avenue, is slated for redevelopment in the coming years, as well.