7340 Wisconsin project headed to Planning Board, as are 7900 Wisconsin plan changes

7340 applicant in negotiation with

Douglas Development for 

tower separation with adjacent site

A senior housing project proposed for the site of a former Exxon gas station at 7340 Wisconsin Avenue is headed to the Montgomery County Planning Board for review after years of delay, and multiple developer proposals. Latest developer South Bay Partners is submitting a sketch plan for 200 independent living units, 100 assisted living/memory care units, and up to 4500 SF of ground floor retail/restaurant space. Up to 5000 SF of retail was proposed last September, and is still referred to in some parts of the staff report, but 4500 is stated at the beginning of the report.

Proposed public open space along
Wisconsin Avenue

There are still no fully-developed renderings of the proposed building, and the sketch plan application mostly contains those same massing illustrations and landscaping plans I posted last fall (in fact, my article has more and more-detailed renderings than those). However, one bit of news is that South Bay is negotiating with Douglas Development on how to create separation between the future towers on their adjacent properties. Of course, it would have been much more exciting to hear that they were assembling the two properties for a larger, taller residential or office tower. Both sites are right atop the Bethesda Metro station, after all.

Two tower separation options for
7340 Wisconsin (left in both images) and
Douglas Development's adjacent future
development

Alas, the discussions are simply about a mutually-beneficial distance between their two towers. Right now, both parties are considering a "splayed" option, where the facades of both buildings will angle different directions on the sides where they face each other. They will then bump out at the bottom, where the distance will be shorter between them.

Loading docks and garage access will be from Hampden Lane. A separated bike lane will be added alongside the property on Montgomery Lane.

The Planning Board will review the sketch plan at its April 30, 2020 meeting (which will be online only). Planning staff is recommending approval of the plan.

* * *

The blue hatched areas will be converted from
public open space in the promenade to outdoor
dining space at JBG Smith's 7900 Wisconsin
development (which is actually branded as
8001 Woodmont now)

Also at the April 30 meeting, the Board will take up JBG Smith's proposed amendments to its 7900 Wisconsin Avenue project and site plans. The developer wishes to reduce 7900's public use space from 10,953 square feet to 10,323 square feet. JBG also is asking to decrease the number of residential units from 450 to 322 units, while maintaining 15% MPDUs; to decrease non-residential uses from 21,630 square feet to 21,600 square feet; reduce public use space from 11,329 square feet to 10,323 square feet; modify the building's footprint, stormwater, landscape and hardscape elements; make minor changes to building elevations; reduce parking from 445 to 340 spaces; and make minor adjustments to streetscape elements within the public right of way.

The reduction in public space is to allow more patio space for outdoor dining purposes on each side of the through-block promenade.

Staff is recommending approval of the plan amendments.

Judge orders Maryland to hand over Montgomery County voter data in voter fraud investigation

MoCo has more names registered to

vote than citizens eligible to vote

A federal judge has ruled that the Maryland must hand over the voting registration data of Montgomery County voters to Judicial Watch, a right-wing government watchdog organization. Judicial Watch filed the suit several years ago when a review of public data revealed that there are more names registered to vote in Montgomery County than there are citizens eligible to vote.

The Maryland Board of Elections refused to hand over the voter data after earlier legal action. Elections Administrator Linda Lamone went as far as to delete the voter birthdate box on the registration form. That action was one that U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Hollander seized upon in her ruling for Judicial Watch.

Judge Hollander stated in her opinion that:

"Judicial Watch need not demonstrate its need for birth date information in order to facilitate its effort to ensure that the voter rolls are properly maintained. Nevertheless, it has put forward reasonable justifications for requiring birth date information, including using birth dates to find duplicate registrations and searching for voters who remain on the rolls despite 'improbable' age."

"Because full voter birth dates appear on completed voter registration applications, the Administrator may not bypass the Act by unilaterally revising the Application."

Judicial Watch had stated its intention to sue Maryland over the issues with the Montgomery County voter rolls in 2017, if the state did not remove names of ineligible voters, or of those who had passed away or moved out of the county. A man noted on Twitter in a post just last week that voting records showed his mother continuing to "vote" in Montgomery County elections for a full decade after her death.

Maryland and Montgomery County rebuffed Judicial Watch at the time. The organization filed suit over Montgomery County's "impossibly high registration rate – over 100 percent of its age-eligible citizenry" later that year.

“Maryland politicians fought us tooth and nail to keep Judicial Watch from uncovering the full truth about their dirty election rolls,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement yesterday. “This latest court victory will allow Judicial Watch to ensure Maryland and Montgomery County are removing voters who have moved or died long ago.”

Video of Bethesda's (and Montgomery County's) new tallest building

Here's a new video of what will be the tallest building in Bethesda when completed. Carr Properties' 7272 Wisconsin Avenue development will also be the tallest building in all of Montgomery County. It is 290', but will likely come in higher than that if you include rooftop structures and equipment. The current tallest building in the county is North Bethesda Market in White Flint, which is 289' tall.

Car stolen in Bethesda

A car was reported stolen in the Glen Cove neighborhood in Bethesda around 12:00 AM yesterday morning. According to police data, the vehicle was parked on the street in the 5100 block of Saratoga Avenue when it was stolen.

Developer reveals renderings of Westbard-area senior living project (Photos)

Developer Kensington Senior Living has provided renderings of its proposed assisted living senior housing development in the Westbard area of Bethesda. It would be located on the present sites of the Westwood Center II mini-mall and Westbard Citgo gas station.

The 75' tall building will have an estimated capacity of around 155 residents, in about 112 units. Under the 105,000 SF gross floor area building will be two levels of garage parking, which will be accessed from Westbard Avenue.

There's a lot to like about the design, especially compared to what had originally been proposed by Equity One and Regency Centers in the past. First, they indeed are showing a residential-style roofline, slanted with dormer windows along the top floor. This is a much better fit for the residential area where this is being constructed than the boxy, urban designs proposed for the rest of the Westbard redevelopment. I wasn't overly optimistic, given that even some of KSL's developments have a more-urban roofline, but they definitely delivered a residential-oriented one here.

Second, there is a second-floor outdoor terrace that will overlook Westbard Avenue. The developer says it will be oriented toward the future redeveloped Westwood Shopping Center across the street. Another outdoor deck on the rear of the building, and other outdoor patios on various levels, will be designed to offer a view of the future Willett Branch Stream Valley Park and Greenway. A walking trail is depicted along the greenway behind the building.

The color of the brick shown also decently matches that of the nearby Kenwood Place condo building, and the townhomes diagonally across the street from the site. KSL says they hope to create and foster "an active relationship between Willett Branch and the building." There will be several cafes, and an all-day dining program for residents. Living, media and activity rooms will be joined by a library. There will also be a salon and spa, and a fitness/rehab center.

My question is...can Regency Centers get whoever the architect was on these renderings to spiff up the rest of their project on Westbard Avenue? Just a small change like a roofline can better adapt these new buildings to the residential character of the neighborhood.

A "virtual" public meeting is still scheduled on the project for this Thursday night, April 23, 2020 at 7:00 PM (see my linked article for the information on how to call in).

Bethesda self-storage project moving forward again

A self-storage building approved by Montgomery County in December 2017 has yet to be built at 5204 River Road. While the auto maintenance facility on that property located behind the River Road McDonald's was torn down soon after the approval, the project has stalled for nearly two-and-a-half years. Now the developer is reviving the plans, but is seeking to amend the approved site plan.

Three key changes have been proposed by the applicant, Bethesda Self Storage:

1. A reduction in the setback for the front of the building, from 33' to 20'
2. A reduction of the rear setback from 19' down to 16'
3. Confirmation of a parcel donation to Montgomery County of 4792 SF

There were actually two land issues involved with the self storage proposal in 2017. First, is the applicant's role in transforming Outlet Road into a pedestrian path (this is the road that runs along the back retaining wall behind the McDonald's property, and was also a funeral procession route from Macedonia Baptist Church to the Moses African Cemetery on the Westwood Tower site).

Second, the applicant was to donate a parcel of property to Montgomery County Parks that is known to be part of the cemetery. Unknown, and of concern to the church and community advocates, is whether any bodies may have been intentionally or mistakenly buried or reburied within the footprint of the proposed self-storage building. No one has ever excavated the site yet, so that remains unknown. Those concerns were dismissed by the Montgomery County Planning Board in 2017, despite protests at the meeting, as were concerns about stormwater management.

One condition of approval for the site plan amendments will be the applicant making a "good faith effort" to convince McDonald's to construct an ADA-compliant ramp from its property down to Outlet Road. The Outlet Road path is conceived as a walking route to a future linear park along the Willett Branch stream.

A public hearing on the proposed amendments is tentatively scheduled for August 20, 2020. As we all know, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, everything is very tentative right now.

Bethesda construction update: The Wilson/The Elm (Photos)

Work continues at Carr Properties' 7272 Wisconsin Avenue project, which includes The Wilson office tower and The Elm residential tower. Here you can see how it dominates the skyline from various vantage points downtown. You can also get a more detailed look at the exterior design touches on each tower.

Another theft from vehicle reported in East Bethesda

Another theft from a car has been reported in East Bethesda. After items were taken from vehicles in residential driveways along Rosedale Avenue last week, another theft from April 15 was reported to police. This victim was in the 4400 block of West Virginia Avenue. Once again the targeted vehicle was in the driveway of a home, and was entered on one of the two nights the thief struck on Rosedale.