A decade after some residents questioned the level of demand for high-rent retail on Westbard Avenue, a developer partner for the Westbard Square project is vindicating their skepticism. Greystar, which plans to construct the mixed-use residential building for which master developer Regency Centers already has approval for, is now seeking to slash the amount of retail space in the ground floor by half. A proposed site plan amendment would reduce the retail space from 40,000-square-feet to 20,000 SF. It would also eliminate a garage entrance off of Westbard Circle, and make minor design revisions to the residential building, including reducing the number of private courtyards for residents from four to two.
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| Previously-approved site plan |
If approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board, the plan would retain the same number of residential units (200) in the building. Parking would be reconfigured from the previously-approved 332-511-space range to a total of 393 spaces. 261 of the spaces would be for rental apartment occupants, 102 for patrons of the retail and restaurant tenants, and 30 would be for condo owners. Project documents do not indicate how the residential units have changed, but the conversion of some to condos suggests some might now be larger in size.
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| Proposed new site plan |
The addition of Greystar to the Westbard Square project is a positive in light of the company's track record on its 7340 Wisconsin Avenue high-rise development so far. Greystar moved immediately to break ground on that project once it had all the necessary approvals. The construction process has been so efficient, that the building may even be ahead of schedule. Of course, construction contractor John Moriarty & Associates deserves credit for that, as well.
While the reduction in retail at Westbard Square could impact how many essential neighborhood services like dry cleaners or pet supplies might return to the site, the plan does retain the critical retail space fronting onto the "town square." That's important because there aren't many more opportunities to add a larger, sit-down family restaurant to take advantage of the adjacent outdoor seating alongside the square, like Millie's in Spring Valley and Chef Geoff's in Foxhall.
Images courtesy Greystar
9 comments:
“some residents”
The place gives me the creeps!
Every time I drive by it reminds me of Battlestar Galactica!
I hope the county doesn’t approve this change! Boo hoo, they have to lower rents to find more tenants for the retail space they already committed to? They aren’t making enough money from the 1-2M town houses they are selling? Give me a break
Keep the retail, this area needs it!
Stop being a socialist. The land owner can decide what they do.
As a former Retail store owner in the old Westbard we refused to move to the new section with Giant because of the rent increase from $ 5,600.00 a month to the new rent close to $ 15,000.00 a month. From $ 48 a square foot to $ 82 a square foot and triple CAM charges. Then Regency said we could come back to the second phase and get a shop there. LOL, LOL Seems like they are having trouble finding retailers, Well, Not any "Small Business" could pay that kind of rent. Bethesda is chasing the small business's away with the high cost. So we all closed up and disappeared at the end of November of 23. Now they are cutting retail spaces. Having trouble getting tenants ?????????????????
@3:49 PM Thanks for the information and realistic take. Price/lease hikes also drove away many long-term businesses in downtown Bethesda. Lots of spaces that housed those businesses are either sitting idle/boarded up or overgrown with wild grasses and weeds.
Fine by me to scale everything down. Want to point out this is the 2nd major scale down of this project.
The First one was a few years back when residents of the Neighborhood Demanded the project be cut almost in half.
I am all for both scale backs but certain older residents in their 60’s 70’s and 80’s wanting to hold on to a Dilapidated 1960s era Shopping Center in 2024 within a very wealthy prime residential area of Bethesda were Delusional at Best to think that was going to happen !
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