4500 East-West Highway, a gleaming new Class A office building in what some are calling the future "Pearl District" of downtown Bethesda, is nearing completion. One minor detail - the building still has no tenants, reflecting more upon the moribund office space market in Montgomery County than on the building itself. Viewed from different angles, the glass facade has a very modern look, while other sides of the building echo some of the more traditional office towers of the downtown area. Carr Properties redeveloped this former home of the Bethesda McDonald's, and the project is being constructed by Bethesda's own Clark Construction.
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Lookin good. For Dyer and anyone else who doesn't know what they're talking about: it's extremely common for spec buildings to not sign a tenant during construction phase (what company signs a 10 year lease before seeing the final product? Not many; not many smart ones, at least).
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think NoVa has such god awful vacancy rates? Because they have millions of sqft of empty spec office space saturating the market. It takes time for absorption to occur, but I'm sure we'll all have the pleasure of Dyer doing his best Nelson "Ha-HA!" impression to the developer/MoCo/etc. until this building leases up. Then, I'm sure, he'll move onto the next thing he wants to denigrate.
Who's Nelson? The lack of demand for office space isn't the developers' fault. It's the fact that the business climate here is such that no major firms want to move here. Greg Trimmer of JBG said this is the worst office market in MoCo in 30-years. There are certainly buildings in Tysons and Rosslyn with big-time tenants before completion. Why does anyone think companies will move out to White Oak, with no Metro, when they're refusing to come to brand new buildings like this near Bethesda Metro?
DeleteI don't "denigrate" people. That's total hyperbole.
Sticking to the facts of Robert's article, he said the office market is moribund. Do you disagree with that?
ReplyDeleteIt's what every developer says at every meeting around Bethesda when introducing their latest residential project. I wasn't aware that point was even up for argument.
I'm concerned what little new office construction we have in the downtown isn't pounced on. It's a superior building walking distance to the Metro and future purple line station.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteCreepy guy is back again at 1:20 PM. Your comment is being deleted, but you are certainly making the MoCo Machine look bad with your bizarre comments.
DeleteBob, I recommend anonymous try some Tabata training to de-stress!
ReplyDeleteThe MoCo machine is after you ... You'll never escape - no can do! Watch out Dyer, just wait and see ... the MoCo machine will steam roll thee!
ReplyDeleteOf course he can't, thanks to the traffic issues you guys have wrought. And your insistence on opting for... wait, what was that latest crowning glory in catapaulting the county forward in resolving transportation issues? O yes: The Un-Bus.
ReplyDeleteYou could not have picked a more sluggishly apt metaphor to characterize your "machine." Any other county would have picked something with more momentum than a skateboard.
Http://www.m.wikihow.com/Make-a-Fast-Steam-Roller
Sorry, working link:
ReplyDeleteHttp://m.wikihow.com/Make-a-Fast-Steam-Roller
Off to return that Ronco "Deni-Grater" to the new "As Seen On TV" store.
Have a great day, Robert @Bethesda Row. Somehow, I think angels are watching over you.
Of course the office market is slow across the region (and across the country). That's not what I'm debating; I'm saying Dyer's "contribution" of saying "ha-HA!" at the developer is douchey as it's both unfounded and unnecessary. Bethesda's vacancy rate is the lowest of any submarket in the entire region and yet he's pretending like we're garbage.
ReplyDeleteHe's just reporting the news. There are no tenants. He didn't say haha
DeleteHe's a lifelong resident...I doubt he thinks we're garbage. .
Not quite sure how you are seeing his words as "haha"...
DeleteMoCo Machine here! Eff you dyer!
ReplyDeleteEXCLUSIVE!!!!!! INSIDE LOOK AT AGENDA ITEMS OF MOST RECENT MEETING OF THE MOCO MACHINE:
ReplyDelete1. Lifelong Bethesda resident Robert Dyer has become a threat.
2. We will neutralize the threat by posting disagreeable comments on his blog.
3. Any references to well-known characters of the animated television show "The Simpsons" will go straight over his head.
MoCo Machine: THREAT LEVEL DYER ... ALL HANDS ... ALL HANDS ... BATTLE STATIONS
ReplyDeleteAnonymous obviously didn't have his Tabata exercise this morning and is a bit stressed.
ReplyDeleteYes. Please: Make sure you are safely strapped into that roller.
ReplyDeleteDo keep your hands in that ... vehicle... at all times.
"There are certainly buildings in Tysons and Rosslyn with big-time tenants before completion"
ReplyDeleteReally? From what I've seen that definitely isn't the norm. Monday's trophy 30-story skyscraper in the middle of Rosslyn doesn't have a single tenant after being complete for nearly a year. JBG (which doesn't build spec space) was supposed to break ground on their similarly tall Central Place a decade ago, but couldn't because they couldn't find a tenant. They might have signed CEB, but they're emptying 300,000+ sq. ft. of other JBG space that needs to be backfilled.
As for Tysons (which is admittedly the strongest submarket in the region outside of K Street) isn't all glitz and glamour. Besides Macerich's Tysons Tower, I'm pretty sure the new Lerner building and others under construction don't have tenants.