The great vanishing act of naturally-occurring [relatively] affordable housing in the Bradley Boulevard corridor of downtown Bethesda may be about to begin. A developer is proposing to demolish the Strathmore Apartments at 7025-7039 Strathmore Street, and replace them with a 180-unit residential building.
According to the Strathmore Apartments website, 1-bedrooms with dens are currently available for only $1985. By contrast, the average rent of a 1-bedroom apartment in downtown Bethesda is $2525-$2658 as of June 2023.
There are 32 apartments in the existing buildings; if the new development has the minimum 15% requirement of 27 affordable units, it will be a net loss of 5 affordable apartments. The sign does not indicate what percentage of affordable Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) the developer is proposing to offer. Moreover, residents of naturally-occurring affordable apartments often make too much to qualify for MPDUs, but too little to afford market-rate apartments in newer buildings in downtown Bethesda.
A required pre-submittal public meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 7:00 PM. The virtual meeting can be accessed by internet or telephone. See the instructions on the sign below to participate in the meeting.
13 comments:
Another nail in the coffin for affordable rentals without the overly restrictive income caps imposed by the County's "affordable housing" program. What a disgrace. Thanks for reporting on this, Robert.
What becomes of the people currently living there…not to mention the small, two story condos (owners, not renters) across the parking lot?
And it continues, relentlessly. Phase 1 of the Battery Lane redevelopment plan eliminates 100 affordable units that are not under the county's restricted-income program. And that's just one part of one project.
I'd like to know how many affordable housing units have been eliminated over the last 10-20 years with the extensive redevelopment in our county and in the downtown Bethesda/Chevy Chase area specifically.
@2:24 PM I think you are referring to the Wellington condo building? Who knows, but a couple of units in that building are currently for sale, so I'm guessing the building is "safe" for now, or that the residents/owners are not aware of anything that might be brewing behind closed doors.
IMO, the county council and planning board don't give a rat's patootey about displacing renters or home owners, or what the voters and county residents want (and state so). They're in the pockets of the developers all the way.
It would be nice to have a link directly to the plan in your article.
Was just thinking about these buildings the other day when checking out the progress on Wisconsin. It's insane janky two-floor buildings with empty front yards still exist at this location.
No one here pretending to care about moderate income people has actually lived in a janky 70-year old uninsulated, no central HVAC apartments like this. They're complete crap. Quit feigning interest in their preservation just because you hate that the world has left you and your two-floor Bethesda behind.
5:4: I have lived in garden two floor apartments no AC and liked the just fine. Many have windows on multiple sides for a nice cross breeze. I liked the grass lawns. Some landlords will allow little veggie gardens. AC does no good if you can't afford the apartment!
Learning
Zoning allows a 70’ building on the site, so a seven story building will likely be built, with underground parking. If they bump the MPDU percentage to 25%, as several apartment projects in Bethesda have done, they could add 2 stories and 24’ to perhaps a nine story building, plus a non residential amenity penthouse on the top could make this a ten story high building. This would make it nearly as tall as the nearby Camille, and taller than the Darcy.
@5:47 PM ... I've lived in older units on both Avondale Street and, more recently, on Battery Lane. The Avondale Street unit wasn't updated when I lived there (more than a decade ago), and I had window a/c units and radiator heat. The Battery Lane apartment had central air/heat, updated kitchen and bathroom, lovely hardwood floors, double-pane windows, etc., and a responsive management team. From @2:26 PM
@5:45 AM All good points! Thank you. I should have added that I liked both places, including the locations, prices (affordable for someone just out of school and then working for a non-profit), and the neighbors. I've also found that living in a smaller building, it's easier to get to know your neighbors :-) From @2:26/2:43 PM
Affordable rentals? Like other commenters have said these are crappy uninsulated 70 year old buildings and that is the reason why they are "MARKET RATE affordable". Its a euphamism for crappy housing. Further, what you NIMBYs fail to understand is that the owner can renovate these units one by one, upgrade finishes, and then raise rent. Why? because there is no MPDU mandate on this property as of now. Then there will be no "Naturally affordable" housing here if the owner decides to raise rents. The new development will bring 27 QUALITY MPDU's here and that won't change. So the idea of keeping underutilized existing housing just because is cheap, is just about the dumbest thing one can say about an area that is developing into a beautiful dense city.
"Anonymous Anonymous said...
Zoning allows a 70’ building on the site, so a seven story building will likely be built,
with underground parking. If they bump the MPDU percentage to 25%, as several apartment
projects in Bethesda have done, they could add 2 stories and 24’ to perhaps a nine story
building, plus a non residential amenity penthouse on the top could make this a ten story
high building. This would make it nearly as tall as the nearby Camille, and taller than the
Darcy."
Obviously, this person is clueless on building code and technology. Anything above 7 stories will change construction type and make this building inefficient and costly. Maximum density increase is maxed out at 1 stories.
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