BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: THE LAUREN ULTRA-LUXURY CONDOS (PHOTOS)

Even a $10.5 million penthouse has to start somewhere. At the future ultra-luxury condominium development known as The Lauren, that means excavating and building the underground parking garage first. Here are scenes from the latest progress at the site (at Hampden Lane and Woodmont Avenue), formerly home to The Hampden affordable apartments:

NOISE WARNING AT THE LAUREN CONSTRUCTION SITE + NEW BANNERS (PHOTOS)

New banners have been posted on the fencing around The Lauren ultra-luxury condos construction site at Hampden Lane and Woodmont Avenue. Another sign posted is a noise warning from the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, advising that there can be no noise above 55dBA before 7:00 AM weekdays, or 9:00 AM on weekends. The Lauren replaces the now-demolished The Hampden, at a net loss of affordable housing units in downtown Bethesda.

EXCAVATION BEGINS AT THE LAUREN SITE, SIDEWALK REOPENS (PHOTOS)

Give the developers and construction contractors of The Lauren ultra-luxury condos credit - they have reopened the sidewalk along the Woodmont Avenue side of the property. That's notable in a time when pedestrians are having a hard time navigating many streets in downtown Bethesda due to construction.

The debris of The Hampden apartments has been cleared, and the site graded. Now they are digging, and progress appeared to be made even further on that Sunday.

An open sidewalk - imagine that!

Condo owners will have
a service station-garage-style
auto lift option for their
parking space in
The Lauren's garage

THE HAMPDEN DEMOLITION UPDATE! (PHOTOS)

The demolition of The Hampden apartments on Hampden Lane is winding down. Only a pile of rubble remained Thursday - including a toilet (what was the deal about not removing toilets, window blinds, and other reusable items before demolition?). By Friday, there were still parts of the basement level standing on Hampden Lane.

THE HAMPDEN DEMOLITION IN BETHESDA, DAY 3! (PHOTOS)

It's getting near the very end at The Hampden apartments. The entire upper floors of the building have now been demolished, leaving the basement level to be completed. Hey, who forgot to remove the Venetian blinds from the windows before the demolition? Couldn't some poor person have made use of perfectly good sets of blinds, rather than just trashing them with the rest of the building?

THE HAMPDEN APARTMENTS DEMOLITION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Demolition crews continue to obliterate The Hampden apartments on Hampden Lane at Woodmont Avenue, in downtown Bethesda.

THE HAMPDEN DEMOLITION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Demolition of The Hampden, one of the last affordable apartment buildings in downtown Bethesda, continues on Hampden Lane. The machinery is making short work of this solid, venerable brick building, as you can see in the photos. Some of the green awnings still in place were drooping over the windows. The Hampden is being obliterated to make room for The Lauren, with luxury condos "from the several millions." It's sad to see. Expect some lane closures at times in the area, due to the dump trucks that need to line up to haul the debris away.

DEMOLITION OF THE HAMPDEN APARTMENTS UNDERWAY IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

The Hampden, one of downtown Bethesda's last affordable apartment complexes, is now being demolished on Hampden Lane. Several single-family homes on the future site of The Lauren ultra-luxury condos have been razed over the last few weeks. Yesterday, demolition began on the actual garden apartment structure itself.

THE LAUREN SALES OFFICE MOVING, PLUS A DEMOLITION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Given that the original sales office for The Lauren has been demolished, you might be wondering what happened to all the fancy furniture, flatscreens, and sales materials that were inside. Well, they've ended up at the old Bella Italia space in the Shoppes of Bethesda on Hampden Lane. Which is right across from the future site of The Lauren, with its ultra-luxury condos "from the several millions." Here's a sneak peek, even if there isn't anything all that surprising inside:

Meanwhile, the first phase of demolition continues at the Lauren site. The houses were already obliterated, but they're working on the foundations, staircases, etc. With this and the Montgomery Lane/West Lane project going on at once, wouldn't you hate to live in those luxury buildings right there during all this? Talk about being between the hammer and the anvil... Here are some new photos: