The VI-Kings live today at Tommy Joe's in Bethesda

Local band The VI-Kings will perform live today, "May the Fourth," from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Tommy Joe's at 7940 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Playing "the 60s/70s soundtrack of your life," the group features at least two famous faces Bethesda residents may recognize: Matthew Maury, a Bethesda real estate expert and broker with Stuart & Maury, Inc., and Sean Chyun, a musician and vocalist of frequent appearances in Bethesda's gradually-dwindling venues for live music over the last decade-and-a-half.

Vacant Bethesda bar awaiting redevelopment teardown broken into (Photos)

Vandals have broken into the vacant former location of Tommy Joe's at 4714 Montgomery Lane in downtown Bethesda. A door was ajar this week, and there is now graffiti spray painted on the interior walls. Tommy Joe's has moved up in the world to a much nicer building with a rooftop bar at 7940 Norfolk Avenue, where it has continued its long and successful run even as 20 other nightspots have closed around town. This old Montgomery Lane building will be demolished to make way for Washington Property Company's Hampden East development.

Tommy Joe's to add pergola to rooftop deck

Tommy Joe's at 7940 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda is adding a motorized pergola to its rooftop deck. A good number of Bethesda restaurants have made a variety of modifications to their existing outdoor spaces, to maximize the number of days they can be used per year. The aluminum pergola will have motorized louvers that can be adjusted in relation to the current weather conditions. 

Tommy Joe's opens in Bethesda

Tommy Joe's opened in its new location this weekend, at the corner of Norfolk and Woodmont Avenues. There was a large turnout for the first weekend. They didn't seem to have any trouble getting people up to the space that has suffered through a couple of business closures. As temperatures warm up, it will be interesting to see how the rooftop is used.

Tommy Joe's installs signage at new Bethesda location (Photos)

The signs and awnings are up at the new Tommy Joe's Bar and Grill location, at the corner of Norfolk and Cordell Avenues in downtown Bethesda. Here they are lit up at night. Tommy Joe's will open in March.

Tommy Joe's posts Coming Soon signage at new Bethesda location; Feb. 13 last call at old spot

Tommy Joe's has made it official - the venerable bar-and-grill will move from its longtime Montgomery Lane location to the recently-vacated Urban Heights space at 7940 Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The last day at their current location will be February 13, and the new location will open sometime in March. With the move, owner Alan Pohoryles returns to the scene of his former rooftop venture, Roof Bethesda.

Tommy Joe's has a Bat-signal in Bethesda (Photos)

Tommy Joe's, the popular restaurant and bar at 4714 Montgomery Lane in downtown Bethesda, is now a little easier to find. That's thanks to this new projection image appearing on a nearby office building. Can you detect the difference in the logo in these two photos?

SNEAK PREVIEW: BAINBRIDGE LUXURY APARTMENT PROJECT AT 7340 WISCONSIN AVE. IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Building to Feature LED

Art Installation by

Renowned Artist,

Nearby Bar Owner

Concerned Residents

May Complain

Developer Bainbridge is preparing to file its site plan for a 143' tall luxury apartment tower at 7340 Wisconsin Avenue, in downtown Bethesda. The 255-unit building will be near the Bethesda Hyatt hotel and future Purple Line station, and is literally on top of the Bethesda Metro station. As such, Bainbridge attorney Bob Dalrymple predicted, future tenants will be more likely to use Metro than commute by car.

Dalrymple - joined by several architects and a Bainbridge representative - hosted a public meeting on the development Tuesday evening at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center. He said Bainbridge expects to file the site plan by the end of this month, and believes the plan will reach the Montgomery County Planning Board for approval in July.

Construction would begin next year, and delivery and occupancy are expected by the end of 2016. The site was formerly an Exxon service station, and has been vacant for some time.

15,000 square feet of the building will be dedicated to other uses, such as retail. But Bainbridge is amending their initial plan to allow greater flexibility in use for that non-residential component. Bainbridge is not ruling out additional density in the overall project, should master plan updates allow it.

The building will have a 4-level, underground parking garage, with access off of Montgomery Lane. 

Some details on the architecture and design are now known. The south side of the building will have a courtyard. A green roof will be among the environmental features utilized to achieve a LEED Silver rating. However, a portion of the roof will be retained for unspecified resident amenities.

Those residents will need to be well off; rents will be at the "higher end of the market." The units will consist of efficiencies, 1-bedrooms and 3-bedrooms.

Public art is expected to be a major element of the design. Some will be in a public use area on Hampden Lane.

The major art piece will be an LED installation called "Point Field," by renowned artist J. Meejin Yoon of Boston. Well-known pieces she has created include "White Noise, White Light" from the 2004 Athens Olympics, and "3 Degrees of Felt" at the Guggenheim. Architecture Record Design Vanguard, and the Rome Prize, are among her prestigious awards.

Artist rendering of
LED art installation,
"Point Field"

Public comment at Tuesday's meeting was interesting. A union representative from the Metropolitan Regional Carpenters asked about wages for construction workers, stating that wages for workers on other Bethesda projects have been substandard. He was rebuffed by attorneys, who said that political discussion was inappropriate for this particular forum.

A representative of Tommy Joe's, a popular restaurant and nightspot located behind the proposed building, was concerned about potential noise complaints from new neighbors. Tommy Joe's sister business, Roof, has already had 20 complaints before the rooftop portion has even opened, he said. Those complaints came from residents of Triangle Towers on Cordell Avenue. 

What level of noise is tolerable at night is a debate expected to only get hotter in the coming year, as the county council seeks to expand late-night bar hours, and expand noise exceptions near urban residences.

A Bainbridge architect said the firm would conduct acoustical testing, to see if conflicts with Tommy Joe's operations could be avoided.

Click on photos to enlarge for greater detail:

Another view of LED
art installation,
"Point Field"

How "Point Field" would
appear lit at night

Montgomery Lane, and
Hampden Lane run along
either side of the site

A potential ground floor
configuration

Overhead view of some
landscaping and art features

How the building will look
if you are driving up
Hampden Lane towards
Wisconsin Avenue

Potential art pieces for
Hampden Lane
public use space

Facade options include
terra cotta (middle image),
similar to the
City Center DC project

All photos by Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row

Renderings within photos are

courtesy of Bainbridge and the

respective architects;

All rights reserved.

FIRST WINDOWS INSTALLED AT FUTURE BETHESDA ROOFTOP RESTAURANT (PHOTOS)

The first windows, and tiled facade, are in place at Roof, the future Bethesda rooftop restaurant at the corner of Norfolk and Cordell Avenues.

Will you be drinking a craft beer or a glass of Pinot Grigio, and enjoying the early evening breeze above Old Town Bethesda this August?

It's certainly possible, but I wouldn't bet your life on it. Given all the regulatory hurdles restauranteurs face in Montgomery County, my money would be on the second half of September. But stranger things have happened, so we can hope for the best.

Roof is a concept by the owner of Tommy Joe's on Montgomery Lane, and the building it will sit atop is formally called Norfolk-Cordell II. It was designed by architect Steven Karr, and, as I've said before, one of the fresher designs among buildings currently rising or planned in downtown Bethesda.