4500 EAST-WEST HIGHWAY OFFICE BUILDING FINISHED, SIGNS FIRST TENANT IN BETHESDA

Carr Properties' new Class A office building at 4500 East-West Highway is now complete, including the public plaza outside, as you can see in these photos. I like the public art on the plaza a lot. 

The developer also announced its first lease, after many months of struggling in Montgomery County's abysmal office market. It's not quite the prize that Intelsat would have been, as small business-financing firm RapidAdvance is simply moving from its existing Bethesda office to the new building. It will occupy a full floor at 4500, according to the Washington Business Journal.

After county officials fumbled Intelsat's interest in being the anchor tenant at 4500, the firm instead became the latest to choose Northern Virginia, with its friendlier business climate and Tysons' direct access to highways and Dulles International Airport.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: 4500 EAST-WEST HIGHWAY OFFICE BUILDING

4500 East-West Highway, a gleaming new Class A office building in what some are calling the future "Pearl District" of downtown Bethesda, is nearing completion. One minor detail - the building still has no tenants, reflecting more upon the moribund office space market in Montgomery County than on the building itself. Viewed from different angles, the glass facade has a very modern look, while other sides of the building echo some of the more traditional office towers of the downtown area. Carr Properties redeveloped this former home of the Bethesda McDonald's, and the project is being constructed by Bethesda's own Clark Construction.

Click on photos to enlarge for greater detail:

KONST KITCHEN INTERIOR DESIGN SHOWROOM OPENING IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

An upscale kitchen design showroom is the latest tenant to sign on at Akridge's 7550 Wisconsin Avenue office tower in Bethesda. The completely-renovated building initially struggled to draw tenants, due to Montgomery County's weak office market. But after the company shifted to a strategy of luring smaller businesses, rather than major corporate tenants, it has indeed attracted a number of smaller-scale firms.

The newest is KONST Kitchen Interior Design, which will open a SieMatic Showroom at 7550 this fall. Jonas Carnemark, a Bethesda designer and owner of CARNEMARK systems + design, Inc., is the man behind the future showroom. Originally from Sweden, Carnemark has made a name for himself here, as a remodeler who has appeared on Good Morning America, and Food Network.

Carnemark says he was originally approached by SieMatic, a German kitchen design firm, to open a showroom in the DC area, and KONST is the result - the exclusive dealer for SieMatic in the region.

FORMER BETHESDA MCDONALD'S SITE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

The future Class A office building on the former Bethesda McDonald's site, at 4500 East-West Highway, is really starting to take shape. Delivery of the project is expected this summer, and it appears to be on-schedule from the exterior. It does seem to be living up to the artist renderings at this point, but it will be interesting to see it at night with the lights on.

FORMER BETHESDA MCDONALD'S SITE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Where Big Macs were once ordered in Bethesda, is now rising a Class A office building that developer Carr calls the "best building ever built in the city of Bethesda." With the Newlands Building, Hyatt Regency hotel, and Capital One towers in the running, that's a mighty tall claim. Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing the final product fully lit up, before passing a judgement. But for right now, let's take a look at how the project is coming along at 4500 East-West Highway:

7550 WISCONSIN AVENUE NEW LOBBY PHOTO GALLERY

Finally, I have here for you a complete photo gallery of the gleaming new main lobby of 7550 Wisconsin Avenue.

7550 is the first new Class A office space in downtown Bethesda in over a decade.

Take note that Ethan Hunt left his sunglasses on the lobby's still-under-wraps front desk.

For you, readers, this exclusive preview is Mission: Possible.