7126 Wisconsin high-rise plan revised to accommodate neighbor The Seasons in Bethesda

Developer Foulger-Pratt has revised the design of its planned high-rise at 7126 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, in response to concerns from next-door neighbor The Seasons. The wing of the building that is to be adjacent to The Seasons, which is also a high-rise apartment building, will now be 10' back from the property line on the second-through-sixth floors. A corresponding change has been made to the same wing on the Miller Avenue side of the building. 

Bethesda Avenue design "before"

Bethesda Avenue design "after"

Foulger-Pratt's attorney, Heather Dlhopolsky, writes in a letter to the Montgomery County Planning Department that it is "the Applicant's understanding that the representatives of The Seasons are now supportive of the project and its accompanying revisions." The changes have reduced the total gross floor area of the project, and will therefore reduce the amount of the required Park Impact Payment to Montgomery County. With windows now facing west on the affected lower floors, the new design is also more pedestrian-friendly under the "eyes on the street" theory.

Miller Avenue "before"

Miller Avenue "after"

7126 Wisconsin Avenue incorporates several lots, including the current or former homes of Vace Italian Delicatessen, Starbucks, Lance's Beer & Wine, Carroll Community Bank and Capital One Bank. When completed, it will hold up to 335 residential units, up to 9000-square-feet of retail space, and underground parking. The project revisions will be reviewed by the Bethesda Design Advisory Panel today, and - tentatively - by the Montgomery County Planning Board at its March 7, 2024 meeting.

Renderings courtesy SK+I Architecture/Architect: Andy Czajkowski

Foulger-Pratt unveils latest plan for redevelopment of 7126 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda

Developer Foulger-Pratt unveiled its latest proposal for redeveloping several contiguous lots at 7126 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda at a public meeting last night. The lots front onto Wisconsin, Bethesda Avenue and Miller Avenue, and currently host a vacant bank, a vacant Starbucks and Vace pizzeria. An updated plan was needed because the vacant Capital One bank property on Bethesda Avenue was acquired for the project.

Corner lobby entrance

Proposed for the site is a high-rise apartment tower with up to 335 residential units, structured parking, and up to 9000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The project is now moving forward independently of a previously-related plan for the Farm Woman's Market across Wisconsin. Foulger-Pratt's Judd Ullom said the firm "went back to the drawing board on the design" once it realized it could acquire the Capital One site. 

View of the building looking 
north on Wisconsin Avenue

Capital One has an option to return in the Bethesda Avenue side's retail spaces, but no other tenants have been confirmed at this time. A question about Vace returning in the new building went unanswered by Foulger-Pratt's representatives. 

View looking east on Bethesda Avenue

The company expects to file its new plan with Montgomery County in the next two weeks. It expects a hearing before the Planning Board by the end of 2022. Even if the plan is approved, it will be at least 18 months before construction begins.

Several nearby residents joined the meeting via Zoom, and raised a number of concerns. "Tom M." asked if the proposed parking garage entrance on Bethesda Avenue would create too much congestion. That street recently lost a lane to a new protected bike lane, and has busy driveways for the Capital Crescent Parking Garage already further down the block. The current reasoning for the Bethesda-side garage entry is that left turns are restricted from Miller Avenue onto Wisconsin.

"How can we object to the size of the building?" a resident of a nearby building asked. "The height should be no higher than the Seasons. I am very upset about the size of this building." A resident of Crescent Plaza concurred: "I am concerned that all of us in the Crescent Plaza will further reduce the only sunlight we get.  And it will further contribute to the seasonal depression that I have seen in people.” The proposed height is legal under the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan.

View of building looking south
on Wisconsin Avenue; note
Bethesda Avenue retail storefronts

Another Crescent Plaza resident asked why they had not been notified by mail of the proposal and last night's meeting. Foulger-Pratt's attorney, Heather Dlhopolsky, replied that notices were sent to the homeowners association of Crescent Plaza, rather than to each individual resident.