Historic Bethesda bank building sells at a loss in auction

The historic former Bank of Bethesda building at 7500 Wisconsin Avenue was auctioned off in March. A resulting real estate transaction, which closed on April 23, has just been entered into Maryland property records. The winning bid was $4,100,000, a significant haircut from the last sale of the building in 2020, when it sold for $6,175,000. That sale was in turn a major drop in value from the $9,300,000 SunTrust (now Truist) paid for the landmark crossroads property in 2016. SunTrust had sold the building in 2008 for $5.5 million, so it's been a money loser for every buyer for over a decade now.

Who acquired the bank building late last month, and what can we expect to happen to it? The property record is too confusing to reach a solid conclusion on that at the moment. "DNA Real Properties LLC" is listed as the new owner. That entity is a real estate firm located in Las Vegas, with no public-facing website that I can locate. But...the address given on the state record for DNA Real Properties LLC is right here in Montgomery County, at 3111 Automobile Boulevard in Silver Spring. That's the Koons Silver Spring auto dealership at the Montgomery Auto Sales Park. 

But the property at 3111 Automobile Boulevard is not owned by DNA Real Properties LLC. The dealership site is currently owned by the Mary A. Nonnemacker et al Trust. That is the only property at the Auto Sales Park owned by that trust, and as far as my research finds, the only Koons dealership property owned by the trust in Maryland.

Koons recently opened an urban-style Lincoln dealership in downtown Bethesda. Will the bank building become another storefront dealership for Koons, or do DNA Real Properties or the Mary A. Nonnemacker trust have other plans? Who is the real owner, and where are they actually located? Was DNA a holding company for the property until the real buyer could obtain financing and close on it, and is mistakenly listed as still being the current owner? The transaction record raises almost as many questions as it answers.

Historic Bank of Bethesda building to be auctioned off online

A historic Bethesda landmark could be yours next month, if you win an online auction of the property, located at one of Montgomery County's most-heavily traveled crossroads in downtown Bethesda. The Bank of Bethesda building opened in 1927 at 7500 Wisconsin Avenue. It sits at the crossroads of Wisconsin, East-West Highway and Old Georgetown Road, and directly opposite the Bethesda Metro station. The building would later transfer to other banks, such as Crestar and - most recently - SunTrust. 

A Prince George's County development firm acquired the building for $6,175,000 in 2020. The reason for the "low" price at such a prime location is largely tied to the fact that redevelopment options are far more restrained than for a non-historic property. As we've seen at The Whitney up the street, residential or office space can be added to a historic property, if key structures and facades are retained. So there is lucrative potential for the site with the right architectural vision, but a developer can't simply raze the bank and redevelop every square foot of the property. Alternatively, a new owner can keep the building as-is, and lease it out to banks or other retail/office tenants for significant income.

Transwestern is handling the auction, which will be held online starting March 19, 2024, and continuing through March 21. The starting bid is $1,250,000. Could it go for less than $6,175,000? Given how much you could charge for rent in the Bethesda market, or realize in a partial redevelopment/addition to the site, that could end up being a steal.

HISTORIC EASTHAM'S EXXON DEMOLISHED IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

The historic Wisconsin Avenue service station best known as Eastham's Exxon (or Eastham's Esso earlier) was demolished yesterday. A fixture in 20th century downtown Bethesda history, Eastham's survives - for now - as an auto repair facility at the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road. The demolition clears the way for a mixed-use residential building on the site. But yesterday was the end of an era, for anyone in town with a driver's license prior to a year ago. Eastham's opened in 1929 at this location, 7100 Wisconsin Avenue. Soon downtown Bethesda will be down to 3, then 2, gas stations. And then... Happy motoring!

OLD BETHESDA POST OFFICE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Here's a look at the continuing interior renovation of the historic Bethesda Post Office, on Wisconsin Avenue at Montgomery Lane. The retail space is available for lease from Donohoe Development.

HISTORIC BETHESDA POST OFFICE NOW UP FOR LEASE (PHOTOS)

EXCLUSIVE

Work has been going on inside the old Bethesda Post Office on Wisconsin Avenue, near the Hyatt Bethesda hotel, for weeks. Now the historic building is on the market.  The postal branch was turned over to Donohoe development last year, in a rapid closure of all of Bethesda post offices that raised questions about the level of developer and politician involvement.

The new post office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue has no convenient parking for customers, much less customers with disabilities.  It is also too far from the center of town.

Only now is the property on the market for lease, because the USPS blundered in its negotiations, and was forced to pay Donohoe rent until now. That despite having vacated last year.

USPS has made no effort to find a new downtown site, and also never followed through on its promise to open a second branch in the 20816 zip code.

BETHESDA BLUES AND JAZZ SUPPER CLUB SNEAK PREVIEW (VIDEO)

Yesterday I was at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club press conference, and I brought back some video for you of that spectacular Streamline Art Deco movie theater, and from the press conference itself.

Owner Rick Brown said that some regulars at Glen Echo Park's famous Spanish Ballroom convinced him to not only place a new dance floor in front of the stage, but to put a layer of cork beneath it.

Brown also said there is the potential to host a House of Blues-style Gospel Brunch on Sundays in the future.  All of the more general details are covered in the above video.

The club opens Friday.

BETHESDA BLUES AND JAZZ UPDATES BETHESDA THEATRE MARQUEE (PHOTOS)

After years of static and outdated messages (including a personal birthday message that lingered long past the birthday), the marquee at the historic Bethesda Theatre has come alive again, as the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club approaches its grand opening. I'm looking forward to seeing some big names in lights on Wisconsin Avenue in the coming years.

BOX OFFICE SIGN LIGHTS UP AFTER LONG DARKNESS AT BETHESDA BLUES & JAZZ SUPPER CLUB

The long-dark, neon "Box Office" sign of the historic Bethesda Theatre was aglow once again on Wisconsin Avenue last night.

Now the home of the Bethesda Blues & Jazz supper club, opening March 1, the building is retaining much of its vintage charm. The styles of automobiles have changed, the old Pizza Hut and other nearby structures have been demolished and replaced.  But facing the theater from across Wisconsin, the scene is not all that changed from the 1940s and 50s.  Well, okay, there is an apartment building now looming over it.

The historic theatre was built in 1938, and is an example of Streamline Moderne architecture.

EASTHAM'S EXXON COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN, STRIPPED OF SIGNAGE - EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS!

HOPES DASHED

FOR STATION'S

BID TO REMAIN

AS REPAIR SHOP

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The developer of the historic Eastham's Exxon gas station in Bethesda showed no mercy Monday.

While gas sales were expected to end forever on Sunday, September 30, Eastham's ownership had been seeking a temporary lease to stay open as a service center, until the site was demolished for a luxury building.

But those hopes were dashed Monday, as the gas station was abruptly encircled by security fencing, and stripped of all signage.  The flags are gone from the flagpoles, and Bethesda has lost yet another auto repair facility.

A post-apocalyptic atmosphere
permeates Eastham's Exxon
Monday evening

The Eastham's flagpoles are bare,
as storm clouds roll into Bethesda

Like McDonald's and Hot Shoppes,
Eastham's was a last vestige of the
Golden Age of Motoring in Bethesda

The owners had also expressed hope of reopening Eastham's at another Bethesda location, but - again - as a service center, not a gas station.

I am aware of a site available for lease in the Westbard industrial zone on River Road.  Perhaps the Eastham's folks should investigate this, as it is a hidden site, but their customers are loyal enough to seek it out.  They would be able to have a sign out on River Road.

Could this be a future location
for Eastham's service center?
5200 River Road is for lease,
but is not roadside

For now, another piece of Bethesda history is gone.  

TIME TO "DWELL" ON

WACKY LOCATION

FOR NEW BETHESDA

POST OFFICE

Is 6900 Wisconsin Avenue Really the

Ideal Mail Hub for the Future of Bethesda?

You may have taken note of vague media announcements regarding the closure of Bethesda's post offices, and the "consolidation" of two mail operations into one new location at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue.

But no one is really talking about where that new post office will be, and the consequences of selecting that location.

Now, before we consider that, here's Grandpa, about to head out to mail in his tax return to the IRS. Grandpa lives in a building near the Bethesda Metro Center, and it's going to be quite a walk. So let's give Grandpa a head start here. OK, he's got his coat and hat on. He's picked up the cane. And he's off to the races...6900 Wisconsin Avenue.

While he's staggering along 355, let's consider this building at 6900 Wisconsin Ave. It has a modest parking lot between it and a mattress store. Behind the building is a sort of alleyway, which gives access to the rear garage doors of 6900, as well as some garden apartments.

This alley is accessible from both Leland St./Woodmont Ave, and Bradley Blvd. There is a narrow staircase that runs up to the future post office's surface lot. However, this alley is - by nature - narrow, and not really designed for heavy, bidirectional vehicle traffic. I'm not sure that the 6900 garage is even open to the public, or how many spaces it has.

How's Grandpa doing? He's made it as far as the Apex Building. Getting a little tired. Heading into Regal for a Coke.

Anyway, it's not clear at this point how the 6900 site will handle two post offices' worth of foot and vehicular traffic. The county, the developer, and the Postal Service are not volunteering answers, and the politicians and journalists don't seem too inclined to ask any questions. Maybe they've got a genius solution, but wouldn't it have been a good idea to tell us up front.

All I know is, the 6900 lot has less than half of the spaces the Arlington Rd. post office has. And 355 is a state highway. The current post office is a notorious congestion point on Arlington Road. But it's one of many such points in the Bethesda Row area, and is probably a positive for pedestrian safety on the busy crosswalk ahead of it.

Imagine that volume of traffic now zipping (crawling?) in and out of 6900 during rush hour. Yikes. Assuming they'll put a time limit on the spaces, the ingress and egress is bound to cause dist-ress. Can they allow the public into that garage? Will people illegally park in the alley, and run up the back stairs to mail something?

OK, Grandpa's as far as Starbucks now...

People like Grandpa, who live near the center of town, or even farther north in "Old Town" Bethesda simply aren't going to be willing and/or able to walk that many blocks. So they are likely to drive, and who could blame them? But Government and developers keep telling us they're going to "get people out of their cars" and make walkable communities. So why are they letting the USPS move to 6900?

It seems these days that there is no adult supervision for politicians and planners. Want to build something without the infrastructure to support it, while you make the profit and the taxpayer picks up the tab? Done. The folks are away, and the bigshots are throwing a party. We don't need a well-planned, underground subway; just throw some surface rail or bus line up so we can build, build, build!

Shouldn't Bethesda's main post office for the next 100 years be centrally-located in the urban core? After all, it is a basic utility everyone uses. You'd think the politicians could have worked out a deal to put the post office in the ground floor of one of these lackluster, boutique buildings they've approved recently, closer to the center of town.

The USPS chose not to reopen in the future development at its current Arlington Rd. site, Dwell Bethesda. There are no pictures of the proposal so far, but the name is already getting things off to a bad start. "Dwell Bethesda?!" And the historic Wisconsin Avenue Post Office, complete with Madonna of the Trail statue, adds no value to the community as a private building for the private profit of Donohoe, the new owner.

But the big problem is that both sites - which together provided walking-distance mail services to all of downtown Bethesda - are closing at once. Forever. And the new location woefully underserves the urban population.

Forget about the farmers market moving; this is the issue Action Committee for Transit should be at least equally concerned about. Farmers markets are informal affairs that can be moved at will, and it is certain to return to Bethesda Row once The Darcy opens.

But the post office is going to be stuck at 6900, way out of walking distance for the average busy person. For many decades. It's just poor planning, but it's probably too late to stop the process now. Just tell us what the plan is. Can the Bethesda Circulator add the Post Office, Safeway and Bradley Shopping Center to its route sometimes? That might be an easy but insufficient fix. Are they going to somehow expand parking, since they've chosen a site beyond walking distance?

And don't say we won't use mail in the future. Unless you know how to squeeze that box of shoes-that-were-the-wrong-size into the USB port, so you can email them back for a refund!

So let's check back on Grandpa. He's finally made it down to the new post office. The sun is going down. He's going in! He's mailing his package! He's coming out! Uh-oh! He's starting to get a chest pain from overexertion. Fortunately, the new post office is convenient to CVS, and Grandpa can get a refill on his heart medication. At least it's convenient for something!