Carr Properties' 7272 Wisconsin Avenue redevelopment project is beginning to exert its presence on the Bethesda skyline downtown - and beyond. Already looming dead center to drivers on Wisconsin Avenue heading towards the District as they enter the Central Business District, twin towers The Wilson and The Elm can now also be seen from the Kenwood and Springfield areas of southwest Bethesda. The 29-story development appears ready to supplant the Chevy Chase Trust building as the building in downtown Bethesda seen miles away from downtown Bethesda.
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The Wilson is now quite visible from downtown Chevy Chase and NIH. The office floors are now topped out, but they are still adding a two story high penthouse on top, and the huge rooftop terrace for office tenants. Recent renderings on the project website show a large pergola will also be built on the 24th floor, but not as massive as the slightly lower Avocet Tower. I noted that on the renderings, the office tower now appears to have linear white LED’s lining the dramatic cantilevered office floors. This might help emphasize the “Jenga” shifting of the massing, and certainly create an iconic landmark at night. The construction lights on this tower are quite spectacular at night. Almost like a huge Christmas tree when you are going south on Wisconsin.
The taller central mass of the Elm will be about four floors taller than the top of the Wilson, so the apartments will be much taller than the Wilson is now. This taller mass will support the two story glass clad bridge that will connect to the lower mass closer to Woodmont.
The Wilson and Elm, combined with nearby Avocet Tower, Bethesda Metro Tower, Senior Housing Tower and the twin towers at the Bethesda Market project will create a nice grouping of 175’ to 295’ tall high-rises on the south end of the city, all focused on the new Red Line entrance, Purple Line Station and the CCT bike parking deck and above and below grade hiker-bike trails.
I still contend that the epicenter of Bethesda will soon shift to the intersection of Wisconsin and Elm, especially given the vibrancy of Bethesda Row and the proposed Bethesda Market as downtowns retail and restaurant core. It appears that the Metro Center and plaza will continue lag behind, and remain mostly a business district, but lacking much pedestrian interest. I hope Brookfield can step it up with their new tower and plaza modifications. Marriott will certainly add some strength as a new anchor to the Woodmont Triangle.
The Wilson is quite prominent when entering downtown Bethesda southbound on Wisconsin Ave! A new landmark for our rapidly changing city!
Cool use of video but wowza I and the kids got a shock when the music blasted. Not expecting that!
More photos, please!
Check out the new Bethesda skyline rendering of the Elm and Wilson at https://workthewilson.com/. You can see the redesigned structure on top of the Wilson to accommodate the antennas for Fox News.
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