Progress continues on the construction of Phase 1 of the Brownstones at Westbard Square, townhomes on what was the parking lot of the Westwood Shopping Center in Bethesda, but now are part of the redeveloping town center that replaced it. Phase 1, encompassing the homes that you see taking shape here, is already sold out. A Phase 2 set of homes is expected to be offered for sale before the end of spring. There will ultimately be 101 brownstones between the shopping center site on Westbard Avenue, and on the former nursing home property at River Road and Brookside Drive.
16 comments:
Man, I hate this redev. I had such high hopes too.
At one point Robert had reported that they are trying to restructure the design of phase 2, reducing the number or retails units. If this is the case, I would agree with you. If not there is still hope in the 2/3rd left to build…
What don't you like about it?
4:11: This is still the case. Much of the retail space from the apartment building will be deleted under the new plan. That has put tremendous pressure on signing a good restaurant tenant for that last big space that will front onto the town square, as there is little room left to make a splash.
7:16 - Too right, too crammed in, too hard to understand, from the street, what's there and how to get there. This is already widely seen as the case with Giant for example. A new center is great in theory but like Pike and Rose, they jammed way to much in there. There was a matter plan for that entire sector that may never fully get realized. It's light industrial in an extremely affluent area and I don't see that changing. Lastly, that was one of the latest parking lots in lower MoCo so you can't blame the developer for trying to maximize the site.
Just because you can build something doesn't mean you should.
JAC change is good, give it time. In Cabin John the older crowd hated all the new development and now rave about it online. Change will happen, 1970-1990 buildings need update and some need a total revamp.
Give it time!
LOL! Way too funny.
I would love if they demolished Bowelero and put a great restaurant with a large outdoor space. A Millie's type outdoor space would thrive
8:52 - That's actually not a bad idea. That area would indeed support a place like Mille's.
6:58 - I completely agree actually. And again, that area has been light industrial for decades and desperately needs a refresh. There's no way that that center could have remained as it had been. No, new is positive for sure. It just seems too tight to me and hard to navigate.
They are reducing the retail space from 40,000 sf to 20,000 sf. Still plenty of retail space.
I think the most important thing is we finally got rid of the convenience of a large outdoor parking lot that made crime more difficult and community retail more attractive. This is looking more like Gotham City every day and I think that is nifty. People hate change, especially awful change. This is looking like some real awful change we can all love. That rooftop view overlooking the parking garage is breath-taking.
That is why all the former Giant customers now shop at the Bethesda Giant.
Thanks to our valiant sentinels of justice, Bethesda has morphed into Silver Spring 2.0.
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