Two Bethesda affordable housing properties to be redeveloped

4526 Avondale Street

Two affordable low-rise apartment buildings on Avondale Street in downtown Bethesda would be redeveloped into a new multifamily development under a pending application by SJ Investment Corporation. Under the proposal, 4526 and 4530 Avondale would be replaced with 60 apartments and underground parking.

4530 Avondale Street

The currently-zoned height limit for the combined 0.27 acre site is 70'. If the Montgomery County affordable housing standard of 12.5% is applied to the proposal, it would result in 4 to 5 MPDUs within the new development.

Location of the proposed development

A public meeting on the proposal has been scheduled for Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Wisconsin Room at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center at 4805 Edgemoor Lane. 

NEW MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR ST. ELMO/FAIRMONT AVES. IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Just when things were winding down at the Bainbridge Bethesda site on St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues... The Bethesda-based construction and property management firm Lenkin Company is submitting a proposal to redevelop property right next door to the Bainbridge.

A pre-submittal community meeting will be held next Monday, August 11, at 7:00 PM, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, at 4805 Edgemoor Lane in Bethesda.

The project will be a mixed-use residential building, but details beyond that aren't likely to be known until the meeting. An office building at 4925 Fairmont Avenue (next door to the Bainbridge), and two adjacent parking lots (one on each street), form a fairly narrow, reverse-L-shaped lot for the project. It should be noted that Lenkin also owns several adjacent properties, including the buildings that currently house Chef Tony's and Pizza Pass. There is no indication that those restaurants will be part of the redevelopment project at this time. Click on this map to enlarge for detail:

The property in question includes
the office building at
4925 Fairmont Avenue, and
the adjacent parking lots
on Fairmont and St. Elmo

Lenkin, whose office address is on St. Elmo Avenue, has several residential buildings in the District. This would be its first apartment or condo project outside of DC. One other interesting Bethesda-related note on Lenkin: the family married into the family of another Montgomery County real estate development dynasty - The Lerners.

Office building in question at
4925 Fairmont Avenue

Parking lot

Another view from the
parking lot

SMASHBURGER AND CAL TORT SQUARE OFF IN ENERGIZED WOODMONT TRIANGLE (PHOTOS)

The Woodmont Triangle area of downtown Bethesda has more energy since the opening of Smashburger this week. There seems to be a slight increase in activity, and possibly in the number of people, for some distance around that intersection of Cordell and Norfolk Avenues.

Some people are just looking in the windows to see what the new place is about. Others notice the employees of the soon-to-open Roof Bethesda scurrying to and fro, through the massive second floor windows of the Norfolk-Cordell II building. Last evening, Christmas music wafted down to the streets below as Roof hosted a corporate holiday party ahead of its December 20 opening.

That Steven Karr-designed building is lighting up what used to be a dark and dreary corner. Which is what I had expected. Just the night before, there was a test of the new LED light sculptures on the future plaza outside the Gallery Bethesda apartments. We're starting to get a very small sense of what's to come over the next 5 years in the transformation of the Woodmont Triangle.

One business noticing the new energy is California Tortilla. Smashburger has a sidewalk sign announcing, "NOW OPEN."

Cal Tort quickly responded with a humorous re-Tort: their own sign facing Smashburger's across Norfolk: "NOW OPEN ALSO."

7628 OLD GEORGETOWN ROAD DEVELOPMENT UPDATE - BETHESDA SHELL STATION/TD BANK

A representative for the developer of the Bethesda Shell station site at 7628 Old Georgetown Road says a Stormwater Management Plan has been filed with Montgomery County. They are waiting to hear back from the county to move forward in the development process.

Once the county officially accepts their stormwater plan, they can file a site plan. Once the site plan is filed, groundbreaking on the new TD Bank branch building will take place approximately 15 months later, the representative said Tuesday.

Rendering courtesy Core/Bohler, All rights reserved:

MoCo PLANNING STAFF: DEMOLISH APEX BUILDING OR YOU'LL GET TALLER SMOKESTACK AND 100' TRACKS ON PLAZA AT BETHESDA ROW

Montgomery County planners are painting an increasingly ugly picture of what Bethesda's Purple Line light rail station will look like if the Apex Building isn't torn down.

In a pointed memorandum clearly meant to sway public opinion, planners suggest that the Woodmont Plaza open space at Bethesda Row will be riven by 100' railroad tracks, required for maintenance purposes. And that the station's mandatory ventilation smokestack on the same plaza will now significantly exceed the 92' height described months ago.

They also say that the Apex's support pillars will restrict passenger movement on the station platform, and that the platform's curve will cause gaps between it and the trains.

The memorandum lays out a so-called Minor Master Plan Amendment process, a controversial amending of the outdated Bethesda master plan, without the full public process the latter entails.

This proposal will be formally presented at a Planning Board hearing July 22.

The final staff amendment draft will be given to the board on September 16, 2013.

On November 7, 2013, the board would hold a public hearing on it, and address that input in a work session on November 21.

A final vote on the amendment would be held on December 5, and it would go to the County Council the next day.

The council has reduced the study area for the amendment east of Wisconsin Avenue. In contrast to the map shown previously, that would have torn a path of destruction across the Central Business District, the study is now confined to Elm Street and Elm Street Park east of 355.

Planners say that they will also begin an early revision of the Bethesda CBD sector plan simultaneously. This is unusual, as particular developers want nearly every sector plan moved up on the schedule. How this is possible is not explained in the memo.

One other advantage of demolishing the Apex is that the Elm Street south entrance to the Metro could be incorporated into whatever building would replace the Apex. So would the smokestack. And the railroad tracks would extend only 30' into Woodmont Plaza (gee, thanks!).

Let's cut to the chase:

All of the limitations of the station under the Apex were well known over 20 years ago.

What changed?

The size and scope of the Purple Line.

Once meant to be a MARC-style diesel train running from Silver Spring to Georgetown, and - by 1990 - a Bethesda to Silver Spring trolley, in both cases, the Purple Line was a single track system.

In recent years, the Purple Line exploded into a two-track system with a rebuilt Capital Crescent Trail and grass median. And will now run on streets all the way to New Carrollton.

So, of course you have a problem fitting a massive right-of-way under a building you designed for a different, single track project.

But that's not local residents' fault.

What we have now is essentially an indirect double-blackmail going on:

"Citizens, you go along with this plan and rushed process or you'll get a very ugly result."

And for the owners/developers/investors who will gain from redevelopment of the Apex Building, an attempt to get maximum profit and government incentives out of Montgomery County (and potentially, taxpayers' wallets) before agreeing to any plan.

Can you blame them?

Neither the board nor the council has been upfront with the public about just who is behind the Apex redevelopment scheme. The ownership denies wanting to redevelop, yet demolition could not proceed without their acquiescence.

We need to hear a lot more about the details on every aspect of this before rushing to judgment under manufactured pressure. And an amendment like this sets a dangerous precedent for future abuse by politicians and planners who seem desperate to give away the store to developers at every turn.

EQUITY ONE CEO DISSES WESTWOOD SHOPPING CENTER: "YOU COULD DO A BACK TO THE FUTURE MOVIE THERE" - WESTBARD SECTOR PLAN UPDATE

The suspense over the future of the Westbard Sector Plan, and the portion acquired by Equity One in late 2012, is building.

Tenants of those properties, and nearby residents, are wondering what Equity One's plans are, and what kind of relationship - cooperative, aggressive, etc. - the firm has with tenants and the communities it develops in.

Recent comments by Equity One CEO Jeff Olson provide the first hints of what's to come, but no definitive answers to the above questions.

I also found out that Equity One apparently has not bought the Westbard properties outright. Rather, it has a mortgage on them, with the option to buy as soon as 2014.

On a media conference call, Olson made his first public comments about the Westwood Shopping Center. If you're a fan of the venerable retail center - like me - you might be a bit offended.  Apparently, where Olson is from, they don't have good, old-fashioned, functioning neighborhood shopping centers.

So Westwood Shopping Center strikes him - as it does many a nouveau-riche newcomer - as a bit quaint.

However, give the guy a break.  He's here for business, and can't be expected to have nostalgia for the place like some of us who grew up around here. Let's give him a chance to meet with the community, describe his vision for Westbard, and explain what types of retail - and restaurants, in particular, of which Westbard has none in the traditional sense - he can bring to any proposed development.

It's important to note that the property is not currently zoned for a town center. I believe a landowner has the right to do anything he or she wants, that is allowed by current zoning.

If zoning must be changed to do it, as in this case, then - like it or not - the landowner has to work with the community to reach an agreement.

What hints I take from overall statements he made about the firm's entire portfolio, is that they do plan to add residential elements to some of their properties.

But they also have some that are retail and big box centers.

Olson's Westwood comments suggest that two things are certain: he definitely wants to develop the parcel closest to Westland MS and Park Bethesda.  And, he wants Giant - parent company Ahold, in reality - to pay more rent. A lot more.

And Ahold's willingness to give up a sweet 99-year lease shows that they're really not attached to this shopping center for the long term.  So the community is in danger of losing Giant in 2019, it sounds like to me.

If that happens, can Olson bring in a Wegmans? That's about the only way he could lessen the outrage of losing Giant.

The other big question: Given the company's expertise in big-name retail, would they be content to operate WSC as a retail center? Or are they dreaming of a massive, urban town center, like Capital Properties was?

The 3.3 acre parcel is currently zoned residential. That will easily be changed under the new zoning code.

Until Equity One reaches out to the community, we won't really know. What I do know is that Westbard is a community retail area designed to provide basic services and shopping (groceries, barber shop, pet store, drug store, gas stations, auto repair, and even watch and shoe repair) to nearby residents.

And it is currently "walkable" for surrounding neighborhoods.

It is not a sensible place for high-density, urban development or a regional destination.

And I noticed Olson used one of those "smart growth" buzzwords, "underutilized." Oh, brother.

The Westbard area has a lot of unacknowledged history in it, and has been disrespected by elected officials and the Planning Board as long as I've been alive.  That prologue absolutely sets the terms for future decisions in the Westbard Sector Plan. There's no negotiation on that point.

Now, here are the words of the new landlord himself, Equity One CEO Jeff Olson, regarding the Westwood Shopping Center:

"[W]e're excited to buy the property. I was just out there this past weekend and I mean it's a very exciting redevelopment opportunity. In many ways...this reminds me of Serramonte, because it's an old large piece of underutilized real estate with incredible demographics and severe supply constraints. But like Serramonte, it's only had one owner since the developer built it and that owner had never expanded the property. So that's as unique in many ways. It was built in 1959 and if you look at the center today it looks like it's from 1959. I think you could do a Back to the Future movie there. It's anchored by a Giant Food with a 50-year lease [not true - Giant had a 99-year lease which they renegotiated for a shorter term a few years ago] that expires in 2019 and they pay $2 bucks a foot in rent. By way of comparison we've some other grocers in our portfolio that are doing similar sales volumes that are paying us in the 40s. And in addition to that below market lease there's a vacant 3.3 acre parcel that's never been developed. So there's a lot for us to do with that center."

THE PHANTOM CONDO PROJECT, CHAPTER III

BETHESDA'S MOST

CONFUSED AND

PUZZLING REDEVELOPMENT

GOES TO PLAN C

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

It's a posh, boutique luxury condo building.  It's a 2-floor restaurant and retail mecca.  On third thought, it's an old office and retail building, desperately in need of tenants.

Will the real 4901 Cordell Avenue please stand up?

Several years ago, the owner proposed a lavish, low-rise luxury condo project known as The Veneto.    Despite its fairly rapid progress towards approval by the county Planning Board, the effort mysteriously ground to a halt.

Then, suddenly in May 2012, Memenza Jewelers announced it was closing on the ground floor.  A new sign was raised announcing a more vague future - lease or renovation "to suit."

Nothing happened.

Two months later, a slightly more ambitious plan was posted on the building's exterior:  a new, glass facade 2-story structure that would house 2 restaurants, and retail space.

Fast forward to yesterday, and yet another, not-ambitious-at-all sign has appeared.  "For Lease:  Approx. 430 sq-ft Office or Retail."

Nothing says "Richest Town in America" like bars on the windows

So this sounds like the individual units are now going to be leased, most likely as temporary pop-up shops, like the scooter store on Norfolk Avenue.

It's surprising that, with the building's unique garage doors on some of the units, some creative person hasn't opened a Boho bar or cafe there.  The building remains a prime spot in the future redevelopment of "Old Town" Bethesda.

For now, there seem to be many plans, but that's all.  Every sign tells a different story - and even has different phone numbers.  The Phantom Condo building's ultimate fate remains a mystery.

DEVELOPER PROPOSES NEW BUILDING FOR CORNER OF NORFOLK AND CORDELL

Remember The Veneto?  That 8 story condo and retail project planned for the corner of Norfolk and Cordell Avenues stalled out in recent years.

Now the owner of the classic building that currently occupies the spot is floating a 2-story, glass facade building for retail and/or restaurant use.  Developer Norfolk-Cordell II, LLC says, optimistically, the "new" building will open in early 2013, and that one floor is already leased.

The concept illustrations, and 2 story height, suggest a renovation of the current building, rather than a demolition of it.  If that's the case, while I think even the existing building design could be made to work, a renovation would be better than knocking it down.

The corner is a prime spot on Norfolk Avenue.  Long-term-minded investors should know that Norfolk is planned to be the "Bethesda Avenue" of the future, redeveloped "Old Town Bethesda."

That makes it a great location to be in, once new residential buildings are constructed and occupied.  There's also a vacuum for a restaurant that is in between the high-end, fine dining of Tragara and Grapeseed, and the more casual spots like Freddy's Lobster and soon-to-open Smoke BBQ.

E-DAY FOR

BETHESDA

Today is the day the Montgomery County Council is scheduled to vote on the funding of a south entrance to the Bethesda Metro station.

The council session begins at 9:30 AM; the issue will come up later.

Elevators would not only provide speedy access to the Metro platform, but also to the future Bethesda Row Purple Line light rail station. The new entrance would be located at the southwest corner of the 355-Elm Street intersection, by the Apex Building.

Prior to completion of the Purple Line, the new entrance would serve as an alternative to the station's current, failing escalator entrance at the Bethesda Metro Center.

The so-called competitor for these funds, a Wall Street-style $42 million dollar bailout of developers in downtown Wheaton, has been removed.

Yesterday, the council voted to fund an alternative proposal. But don't be fooled. The council's alternative will still force out small businesses, and eventually lead to the demolition of the entire Wheaton Triangle retail district. That is an unacceptable outcome. Not only do the demo-inducing provisions of the 2011 Wheaton Sector Plan remain in place, but merchants will lose most of the parking spaces currently used by their customers. It's clear that the council wants to boost pressure on any remaining profitable businesses in Wheaton to move elsewhere. Does it make sense to have a new office tower jammed right in the center of two-level commercial space? What happened to old-fashioned planning rules? The proposed office building is incompatible with the surrounding structures. Don't get me started about the "town square" scam! Sure, the council's increasingly-embarrassing $42M bailout is temporarily tabled. But their new plan is six of one, half-a-dozen of the other.

Hopefully, yesterday's grandstanding has freed up funds for the new Metro entrance, however. It's the right decision for increased transit ridership, public health and safety, and the Purple Line.

WHEATON

VS.

NEW BETHESDA METRO

ELEVATORS

VS.

SPACEMAN BILL LEE

Funding a Functioning Metro Entrance is Far

Better Use of $ than Lining Wheaton Developer Pockets

Recent days have presented us with a false argument: Not only the nutty idea that the "redevelopment" (fancy replacement term for discredited old phrase "urban renewal") of downtown Wheaton means we can't build a second entrance to the Bethesda Metro station. And not only the even nuttier claim that county officials "don't really want to redevelop Wheaton (it has been a top priority of theirs and of the developers who fund their campaigns).

No, the biggest false argument is that downtown Wheaton needs to be redeveloped at the expense of other, critical infrastructure projects.

Wheaton and I go way back. I've always lived in Bethesda, but Wheaton and Aspen Hill are among the places I've spent considerable time since childhood through today. So I'm emotionally invested in both, and certainly want the best for Wheaton's future.

The reality is that the proposed redevelopment is not only unnecessary, but is not even wanted by many small business owners in Wheaton.

Those businesses, many owned by Latino and Asian entrepreneurs, will be forced out. So will low/middle income residents of apartments near the downtown. Our elected officials say it's not their fault, and that there is little they can do prevent these de facto evictions.

In fact, it is entirely their fault. It is exactly because of their votes to pass irresponsible sector plans in areas like Wheaton, Kensington, and later Long Branch and Takoma/Langley Crossroads, that this tragedy will occur. These plans are the equivalent of a TILT in pinball, literally flipping groups of parcels to entice sales by older landowners to waiting developers.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with Wheaton. The most pressing issue has been crime. But crime is not a real estate problem. It is a police problem. Everyone from citizens to the police chief himself has said we need to hire more officers. $42 million could hire a lot of new officers.

When I think of Wheaton, I think of Wheaton Regional Park, Wheaton Library, The Anchor Inn, Wheaton Plaza (fully-leased, according to Westfield - hardly a failing mall despite desperate pro-developer claims otherwise), Toys R Us, Barry's Magic Shop, the martial arts supply store on Georgia Avenue, Barbarian Books, Chuck Levin's, Irene's Pupusas, Roy Rogers, IHOP, the old arcade on University Boulevard, Wheaton Music...

The list goes on and on. A lot of those are gone already, thanks to rents rising in expectation of the Wild West, anything-goes sector plan passage.

Most of the new people on the scene have no appreciation of those places. They don't mind if Irene's is replaced with a Chipotle. Or if working people are tossed out to make way for wealthy, luxury condo owners living in a taxpayer-subsidized Disneyland.

Clearly, if one has $42 million burning a hole in their pocket, a small portion of that could be used to provide more police resources, keep existing shopping and residential centers in good shape, and make highway and infrastructure improvements.

With pressing needs addressed, Wheaton is doing just fine. Visit sometime, and you'll find that - by golly - they do have good restaurants. Some of the best chicken can be ordered in Wheaton, and many critics have said the best dim sum is at Wheaton Plaza's Hollywood East Cafe.

Change will come to Wheaton, but let the market bring it, parcel by parcel.

Developer profit in Wheaton is not an urgent concern of 99.9% of people there or countywide.

What is urgent, is that we have a failing Metro entrance here in Bethesda. It not only threatens ridership and economic activity, but also the health of riders. Our deep station was never meant to be exited on a staircase.

The second, southern entrance has been on the books for many years. In fact, some elements were already laid out when the station was built.

Although the new entrance at Elm Street is not actually in a zero sum competition with downtown Wheaton, it is a no brainer that maintaining highly-used public infrastructure in Bethesda outweighs the need for developer profit in Wheaton. Besides, wouldn't a Wheaton Library and community recreation center expenditure binge more directly benefit Wheaton residents than building Paradise Towers and Chipotle?

Improving an area doesn't require demolition. So let me leave you with the wise words of legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee:

"I reuse everything...I'm the true conservationist. (T)hese new, extravagant places...they just don't get the memo on the planet Earth that you're supposed to use old places, renovate 'em, conserve and save your fossil fuels and your money."

Sounds like good advice for making tough budget decisions.