"Crane of the Year" arrives in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

An unusual celebrity sighting in downtown Bethesda yesterday was the arrival of the "Crane of the Year" at the Cheval Bethesda ultra-luxury condo tower construction site. The Tadano Faun ATF 80-4 was given the honor in 2005 in the 4-axle mobile crane category by the readers of Kran Magazin in Germany.

This crane has an 80 ton capacity and a 48.5 meter boom. For its size and capabilities, you might be surprised as to how fast it can move on the street. Faun was founded in 1845 by Justus Christian Braun in Nuremburg, Germany. Braun was a pioneer in the field of fire engines, starting with horse-drawn vehicles in the 1860s, and moving to motorized trucks after the turn of the century. The firm was acquired by Tadano of Japan in 1990, but the crane is German engineering at its finest.

If the name on the crane sounds familiar, it's because the firm is a Baltimore extension of Bethesda-based Miller and Long. A vice-president at Miller and Long, Roger Arnold, founded the offshoot in the early 1990s. Known for over 200 projects in Baltimore, it's interesting to find one of their cranes over here in Miller and Long territory.

Cheval is being developed by Duball, LLC, and is expected to deliver in 2017. The 17-story tower will house 72 condo units, and 7000 SF of non-residential space. Prices will be ultra-luxury tier indeed: from the $900,000s to over $2.5 million. The site is located at the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road.

Let's get an update on the Cheval construction, and more views of the "Crane of the Year":

Bethesda office building reduced to rubble (Photos)

A demolition crew finished off the small office building that sits on one-half of the site that will eventually hold the Cheval Bethesda luxury condo tower, at 4990 Fairmont Avenue.

These photos are in chronological order, from near-destruction to rubble. Notice that, as of yesterday, you can now clearly see most of the new 7770 Norfolk building from Old Georgetown Road.

Demolition of Bethesda office building underway (Photos)

The demolition of a small office building on Fairmont Avenue has begun. Next to the rubble that used to be the BP gas station at Old Georgetown Road, the building is being removed to make way for the Cheval Bethesda luxury condo tower. The Cheval is being developed by Duball, LLC.

Bethesda gas station demolished in one day (Photos)

Well, they certainly made short work of that. A demolition crew required only a few hours Thurday to obliterate the old BP gas station at the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road. Next up is the office building next door, as this site is cleared for the Cheval Bethesda luxury condo tower.

Eastham's site sealed off on Fairmont Avenue (Photos)

Security fencing has gone up around the former BP gas station that served as temporary home for the legendary Eastham's ServiCenter, at the corner of Fairmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road. The service station and office building next door will be demolished to make way for Duball, LLC's Cheval Bethesda luxury condo tower.

That building is expected to deliver in 2017.

Duball dubs 4990 Fairmont condo project as Cheval Bethesda

Just as demolition and construction operations are about to begin on the 4990 Fairmont luxury condo tower in downtown Bethesda, developer Duball, LLC has announced the official name of the building - Cheval Bethesda. The website for the building has gone live, as well.

Condos in the building will go on sale after groundbreaking for the project, which is scheduled to happen by the end of the year. The former BP gas station and an office building on the site will have to be demolished before excavation can begin, however.

Another business flees doomed asbestos building in Bethesda (Photos)

A second business tenant of the soon-to-be-demolished office building at 4962 Fairmont Avenue has found a new home nearby. Like College Nannies and Tutors, Shipshape IT will stay within the Woodmont Triangle.

The new Shipshape HQ is taking over the vacant space upstairs at the EagleBank building, located at the intersection of Fairmont and Woodmont Avenues.

Meanwhile, ahead of demolition, asbestos removal will begin today at the 4962 Fairmont office building. That work is expected to take 10 days. Ultimately, the building will be demolished to make way for Duball, LLC's 4990 Fairmont luxury condo tower.

As Ace Ventura once said,
"Do not. Go in there." 

Their old location at
4962 Fairmont

Old College Nannies + Tutors
sign left behind at 4962

Another downtown Bethesda building
with distinctive stone from the
local quarry on the facade

This is part of what will
ultimately be a
revitalization of a block
of Fairmont Avenue
that is largely dark
and dead at night