Artena Bethesda developer hires artist to paint windows of vacant storefronts

The developer of the stalled-out Artena Bethesda apartment tower project recently had a row of the vacant storefronts on the Wisconsin Avenue side of the site painted blue. Now an artist has been hired to paint artworks on the store windows. The vertical panels display a variety of colorful scenes, most with a nature theme. I'm not sure if the new paint and artworks will necessarily make pedestrians feel safer walking along that stretch after dark, but it is certainly an improvement over the status quo of the last decade.

Vacant Wisconsin Avenue properties turning blue in Bethesda (Photos)

A row of vacant commercial properties at 7938-8008 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda is turning the color of your face, if you've been holding your breath for the construction of the Artena Bethesda apartment tower. The latest development is that a painting contractor has been hired to paint all of the storefronts blue. That job has taken place over the last five days, as you can see in the photos below. It's unclear if the other buildings on Woodmont Avenue that are part of the Artena site will be getting the same treatment. This action won't stop vagrants and the homeless from continuing to break into the properties, and the expense suggests the long-vacant buildings aren't expected to be demolished anytime soon. You wouldn't spend money painting buildings you are planning to tear down next week or next month, right?

Developer begins trash removal at vacant properties in Bethesda

The developer of the stalled Artena Bethesda project has begun removing trash and debris at the vacant properties at 7938-8008 Wisconsin Avenue, and 8011-13 Woodmont Avenue, in downtown Bethesda. Computer components, a portable grill, and other sizeable items are gone. Scattered trash and broken glass remain. The Virginia-based developer was cited for multiple code violations at the site earlier this month, and the eyesore properties have repeatedly been broken into by vagrants and the homeless. It has been a near-square-block size dead zone that is dark at night, hardly a safe and welcoming stretch for solo pedestrians along three major downtown streets, but a situation the Montgomery County Council is content to allow indefinitely. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Bethesda vacant properties hit with more code violations by Montgomery County (Video + Photos)

The vacant retail buildings associated with the long-stalled Artena Bethesda redevelopment project have been hit with another round of code violations by Montgomery County. Just a month after the Virginia-based developer was cited for failing to clear sidewalks in front of the properties at 7938-8008 Wisconsin Avenue, and 8011-13 Woodmont Avenue, code inspectors have issued multiple code violations for rubbish, dead limbs, computer components, electrical cords, dinnerware, and even a portable grill. The violation notices warn of fines and further consequences for "repeat offenders."

Meanwhile, the developer has just requested another extension for the project from the Montgomery County Planning Board. Incredibly, in a 69-page staff report, no mention is made of the ongoing code violations, vandalism and entry by vagrants and the homeless over many years, and the impact on the surrounding community of this decade-spanning eyesore. And the report shows only the 8008 Wisconsin lot being redeveloped with a single building, leaving the other parcels between that and the 8001 Woodmont apartment tower as they are...for how many more years? The staff report doesn't say. What are the taxpayers even paying these planners for?

Our Marxist-totalitarian-left County Council, which stymied original 8008 Wisconsin developer Douglas Development by demanding a Communist-style seizure of land by the government to the point that Douglas gave up and sold the property to Toll Brothers, is fully content to have these dilapidated structures greet those entering downtown Bethesda on Wisconsin Avenue from the north. The Council doesn't give a damn about you, or downtown Bethesda - even while smugly running for re-election, and in some cases, a promotion to County Executive. It's outrageous.

Landscapers cut back overgrowth at stalled-out development site in downtown Bethesda

Landscapers tackled overgrown shrubs, bushes, and other assorted vegetation at the historic building that once housed the iconic Sir Walter Raleigh Inn steakhouse at 8011 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda yesterday. The lot is one of several vacant properties that were supposed to be redeveloped as the Artena Bethesda apartments many years ago. That project remains stalled after several false starts, leaving the abandoned commercial buildings on them to fall into decay, and to be invaded by vagrants. The result has been to create an eyesore for much of a block between the former surplus store at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue and the 8011 Woodmont apartment tower, as well as on the Woodmont side.