The developer of a new high-rise residential building has requested a demolition permit for the vacant La Madeleine restaurant at 7607 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda. A notice is now posted on the restaurant, which will be razed to make way for the new development.
17 comments:
Welcome to Bethesda, otherwise known as the new Rossyln.
This is great news! I believe it’s the first big new building to break ground since the pandemic started. I believe that 7000 Wisconsin is also getting ready by modifying utilities on Wisconsin prior to construction. By the way, both include retail space on the ground floor. Both of these project are only steps from the Metro and Purple Line Stations.
Welcome to Bethesda, one of the most walkable, pedestrian friendly, thoughtfully planned, transit oriented cities in America.
7:11 AM, perhaps you would be happier in Olney.
@7:11 AM: Would you prefer it being moribund instead? You need to have people live here to support the growth of local businesses.
La Madeleine had real character and charm. Plus, great bread, cookies, and omelettes. I'm sorry to see it disappear.
lol @ 7:11. Imagine being so lame that you complain about a La Madeleine+surface parking being bulldozed.
Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, Gifford's, Montgomery Donuts, Claire Dratch, The Sportsman, Regional Office Supply, Lowen's, Hot Shoppe, Bruce Variety --Bethesda used to have charismatic, charming one-off stores/food and small chains that stood out and that people sought out. Now, we claim six million condos and "luxury apartments," nearly as many utterly forgettable-and-overpriced restaurants, and the naïve pretention to be the Manhattan of Maryland.
No, I'd prefer the sun to shine down on me while sitting in the park instead of being blocked by 2 dozen skyscrapers.
That's true but I still think it's getting to look more like a city than the town it is.
Bethesda's version of Mrs. K's Tollhouse. Little-Old-Lady food.
The fans of high-density development in Bethesda will live to regret their knee-jerk approval of every project as the quality of life declines along with property values, while crime and taxes continue to rise. Eventually MoCo will be unable to cover the cost of basic services, and will have to file for bankruptcy. I'll be long gone.
Walkable? Even now you have to look over your shoulder before crossing the street (with the green light) to make sure you don't get run over. There was an accident at the intersection of Woodmont and Old Georgetown this very morning -- the driver of one car ran the light and crashed into the side of another car with a crunch. Steps from Metro and Purple Line -- ridership may never recover from the Covid hysteria, and Metro was never all that safe or reliable to begin with. Thoughtfully planned? The developers have bought off the local government.
Higher density means more residents, workers and hotel guest to support existing and new restaurants, cafes and shops. All these new apartment and condo residents pay taxes, and property values increase over time.
Downtown Bethesda is one of the most walkable areas in America, with a very high Walkscore. Within its compact downtown, you can easily walk to 200 restaurants, 500 businesses and shops, seven high rise hotels, a public library, two performing arts theaters, a movie theater, five grocery stores, and a heavy rail and soon a light rail station. Metro ridership will certainly increase as the pandemic subsidies. The Metro is one of the cleanest and safest subway systems in America, if not the world. You are 17 times more likely to die in a car accident that in a train.
Bethesda has won many urban planning awards for its master plan and implementation. This new plan ties increased development to more sustainable buildings, more parks, more street trees and pedestrian amenities, and better storm water management. New multifamily development provides more housing options and much more affordable housing. Development fees fund park and school improvements. Design review encourages attractive and functional new buildings.
I thought "MoCo will file for bankruptcy" was going to be the dumbest thing I read today, but then I saw "in Bethesda you have to look both ways before crossing the street so therefore the area isn't walkable"
I said pedestrians have to look over their shoulder before crossing the street even when they have a green light (a walk sign in the crosswalk), and therefore have the right of way (and not that they have to look both ways before crossing the street), because drivers increasingly are running red lights or turning when pedestrians are already in the crosswalk. Affordable housing? The Brody, for example, is advertising 2 bedroom apartments for more than $3700 per month. And then there are the Bethesda crime reports that Robert Dyer posts on a regular basis these days -- see the story about an armed robbery outside Giant posted today (May 5th). There is no planning. Whatever the developers want, they get. Metro is filthy. I commuted for several years on a subway in the capitol city of a former communist country, and I never once experienced any delays for schedule adjustments, single tracking, or having to wait underground with no explanation. Trains arrived every 2 minutes or so, and there was both an inner and outer circle line so you didn't have to travel to the center to get from one part of the city to another.
"See the story about an armed robbery outside Giant posted today (May 5th). There is no planning."
This is an example of a non sequitur.
Reply at 11:49: snark about syntax shows you don't have a rebuttal to my comments.
Hmm, so the question of the day is: does 1:59 not know what the word "syntax" means or does he not know what a non sequitur is? Or both?
@ 1:59 PM - So explain how you made the jump from rents at the Brody, to a robbery nearly 3 miles away, to "no planning"?
Disorganized thinking.
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