Federal Realty is seeking an extension from the Montgomery County Planning Board for the review of the Preliminary and Site Plans for a proposed new apartment building at 7070 Arlington Road at Bethesda Row. The plans were both scheduled to be reviewed during the board's April 24, 2025 meeting. Federal Realty, which owns Bethesda Row, is asking for a two-month extension until June 26. The board will consider the extension request at its meeting tomorrow, Thursday, April 10, 2025. Planning staff are recommending approval of the request.
Attorney Patricia Harris says the reason for the request is that the Preliminary Plan that was submitted last December cannot be certified by Montgomery County without a noise analysis. That analysis is currently being completed. Once the noise analysis is submitted to the County, it will take about two months for the Preliminary Plan to then be certified, Harris says.
If approved, the reverse-L-shaped apartment building would replace Uncle Julio's, several storefronts on Arlington Road next to Uncle Julio's, and a large portion of the parking lot behind the existing stores and restaurants on the south side of Bethesda Avenue (i.e. the Apple Store, Levain Bakery, etc.). The 100' tall structure would have retail and restaurant space in its ground floor, as well as a vehicle pass-through tunnel for deliveries, moving vans, and ride-sharing vehicles. Theoretically, then, Uncle Julio's could lease a ground floor space and return in the new building.
Renderings courtesy Federal Realty/Hickok Cole
31 comments:
Oh boy, apartments!!! Something the area has been sorely lacking.
What is it JAC says? "Unbelievable."
It would be nice to see more density at the southwest corner of Bethesda Row. With the soon to open southern Metro entrance and the Purple Line Station, transit access to the southern end of downtown Bethesda will be greatly enhanced. One interesting detail on the submitted plans is the robotic parking deck that is proposed on the east end of the building.
Sounds like a mess!
A bummer it doesn't include the single-floor Audi dealership, but still a big improvement for Arlington Rd.
6:09 - Hilarious! This was shared by Robert before but I didn't realize the footprint. Rio Grande had their day but that's way past so that won't be missed. Far cry from Maloney Concrete I'll say that.
Yeah, Purple Line. Can't wait said by no one.
Nearly 40,000 people are expected to ride the Purple Line by 2040. Metro is seeing the largest rebound in ridership of any heavy rail in the country. Thousands of folks will use the south entrance of the Metro and the Bethesda Purple Line station every day. East-west travel in MoCo and PG counties will be greatly enhanced by the PL. Yes of course it was too expensive, messy and too long to build, but in the long run, well worth the effort. Many predict it will be one of the most heavily used light rail systems in the country.
"It would be nice to see more density at the southwest corner of Bethesda Row," because traffic isn't enough of a nightmare at that intersection. I'm pretty sure there isn't a pressing need for hundreds more ovine people to be added, to amble across the street, semi-conscious and self-absorbed.
Correction, JAC, the developers and Planning Board will give a cheer when[sic] the PL opens. That will give them leverage to "modify" (read "betray/abandon") the area master plan more resolutely, and jam through more-&-bigger construction projects.
10:20 - I think all of that remains to be seen.
Anyone who uses the word "density" on this blog is the devil AND a shill for developers.
" Many predict it will be one of the most heavily used light rail systems in the country." @10:20, are your "many" the same anonymous legions as those oft sited by DJT?
The Audi dealer ship has a mezzanine above the main floor and a full second floor as well. So it's really three stories tall. Some of these Audi prototypes also extend the vehicle elevator to the roof to store cars, or for open air rooftop events. Bethesda does not have roof access for vehicles.
Don't be a nimby
I would be interested to learn the actual daily usage of the ICC and how that usage squares with the predicted usage. The highway always seems much less used than predictions. That projected usage and the actual usage can inform a perspective on the prospective accuracy of the Purple Line estimates.
10:20/1:30 Must be employed by the consortium. Rosy predictions certainly haven't been the case for any light rail vanity project in this country but go ahead and keep touting the spending of other people's money.
Me in (Uncle) Julio's, down by the (Bethesda Elementary) School yard! (A lyrical reference the younger crowd might not catch.)
4:11 - That's so well said it's impossible to top.
10:51 - Sadly and bewilderingly, that's probably true.
Even my old Kodachrome© photos ain't enough to keep the memories from that corner (Bethesda Ave & Arlington Road) alive...
Same with the word “activate.”
The old Bethesda continues to be “slip, sliding away”.
Why bother with facts? They predict huge ridership and that's what it will be no matter what the actual numbers are.
You're crying about a building from the 1990s and a parking lot, lol
Folks on this thread don’t seem to understand that one of the reasons downtown Bethesda has about 200 restaurants is the large density of local apartment residents that support these eateries. More residents downtown means more and better restaurants for everyone. More folks living in a dense walkable transit-oriented community also means less folks driving on the roads as getting in JACs way.
7:38 - Witty. You're right, there are a lot of high-end units going in on every corner. But I disagree that those residents are patronizing those restaurants. Downtown seems closed after 9pm. There seems to be very few people walking around most nights and it's less than vibrant and few restaurants are that busy. Maybe because they're mostly crap I don't know.
"More folks living in a dense walkable transit-oriented community also means less folks driving on the roads"
Curious, then, why one of the features of the proposed new building is, as @6:45 highlighted, a "robotic parking deck that is proposed on the east end of the building." Is the developer including that just to impress his date? Building plans that include spaces for residents to park cars likely means. . . residents will have cars, which they'll be driving, adding further to traffic congestion, QED.
7:38: " if you really want "a dense walkable transit-oriented community" with ample dining options, please move to a cruise ship.
Here in the real world, we also need to have EMPLOYERS from commercial firms, industry, service providers, etc . . ..
Bethesda has always had "200 restaurants" since the early '80's supported without the current DENSITY! Your comment is invalid and solely propaganda.
I live in downtown Bethesda with a car. I also drive under 2k miles a year (mostly to visit family out of state) rather than the 15k a year I'd drive back when I lived in Rockville. I can't imagine how often and how far the people out in Clarksburg have to drive.
Do you all know that downtown Bethesda has a combined NADMS (non auto driver mode share) score of 55%? This means that 55% of folks coming to Bethedsa to work, stay in a hotel, visit a doctor, shop or dine, combined with folks who live in downtown and travel elsewhere to work, shop, dine or travel to an airport or Union Station, either walk, bike, car share, ride share or use public transit to get to their destinations. Bethesda has one of the highest NADMS score in the DMV.
Most new residential apartment buildings for lease provide only 0.4 to 0.6 parking spaces per unit, meaning that developers understand how many folks don’t rely on cars. Of course many park in county parking decks in the evening and weekends using spaces not occupied by office workers. This is called reciprocal parking usage.
Uncle Julio's should move to the ground floor of the apartment building nearing completion in Wildwood Medical. The parking lot is empty at night. Easily accessible from all directions.
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