DEMOLITION PERMIT SOUGHT FOR BCC AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING IN BETHESDA (PHOTO)

A demolition permit request has been filed for the former BCC Automotive building at 4912 St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda. The filing is seeking permission to demolish only the building in the back of the property, with the intention of rebuilding it at a later date.

This is one of several buildings in Greenhill Capital's Lot 667 project, which is renovating and updating that plot along St. Elmo, Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues. An interior demolition is already underway at 4901-A Fairmont.

Meanwhile, in a sign of things to come in Bethesda, former tenant BCC Automotive is alive, well and operating - at 15882-C Frederick Road, in Woodbine, Maryland, near Interstate 70. With the demise of gas and service stations in downtown Bethesda, and the current proposal for the new Westbard Sector Plan showing all of its gas stations (and most auto repair facilities) being demolished in the future, getting your car fixed could one day mean a trip that far for repairs.

PLANS FOR FRESH GRILL/LOT 667 REDEVELOPMENT UNVEILED IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Greenhill Capital held a pre-submittal meeting for its Lot 667 redevelopment plan last night in Bethesda. The presentation was made by Todd Brown of the Linowes and Blocher law firm. An L-shaped property fronting on Fairmont, St. Elmo, and Norfolk Avenues in the Woodmont Triangle, Lot 667's current structures are mostly vacant. Bold Bite and office space remain active at 4901 Fairmont Avenue, but former tenants Fresh Grill, BlackFinn, Dansez Dansez, Red Tomato Cafe and BCC Automotive have vacated the premises.

The plan unveiled last evening is a interim project, meaning that a more-ambitious redevelopment of the site - such as the proposal designed by architecture firm of Steven J. Karr, AIA, Inc. - is being postponed to a future date. In short, new floors and new structures will be added to the buildings already there, to create a uniform facade. Eventually, after the second phase is completed, all of the structures will be connected, via the new structure in the center. As a reconstruction, no site plans will need to be submitted, Brown said. A preliminary plan will be filed with the county planning department this fall, however. The project will go to the planning board in the fall or winter, with construction beginning in spring of 2015.

The old Fresh Grill structure, condemned after damage caused by excavation on an adjacent property, will be reconstructed to make it habitable again. It will continue to be 1-story.

Bold Bite will remain in place on Fairmont Avenue, and the BlackFinn space at 4901-A Fairmont will be leased to a future tenant as expected. A new, 1-story addition will be added to the rear corner of the Fresh Grill space at the back of the driveway off of Fairmont Avenue.

Vacant storefronts formerly
inhabited by Dansez, Dansez
and Fresh Grill

Bold Bite is here
to stay on Fairmont

The Red Tomato building - also damaged and condemned - will be stabilized and reconstructed in a later Phase II of the project. It will receive an addition in the rear at that point, and a second story. All floors are currently expected to be retail space.

BCC Automotive building

Only the BCC Automotive structure will be razed. There will be slightly over 1000 SF of public space on the St. Elmo side of the property.

Overall, this is an opportunity for the landowner to finally get some revenue coming in from some of the now-vacant, condemned structures on the property. And a chance to reactivate some dead space along Fairmont and St. Elmo, assuming Bainbridge can get some exciting tenants for its ground-level retail/restaurant space next door to Lot 667.

BLACKFINN, FRESH GRILL, RED TOMATO PROPERTIES MAY BE REDEVELOPED IN BETHESDA (PHOTO)

A major redevelopment study is underway for Lot 667 in Bethesda, which consists of several buildings along St. Elmo, Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues in the Woodmont Triangle. The study, by the architectural firm of Steven J. Karr, AIA, Inc., is being conducted for White Flint Express Realty Group and Greenhill Capital. According to SJK, a final design concept for a new commercial/retail building is expected to be completed by March. The new through-lot structure would contain 15,000-30,000 square feet of space.

Current tenants of the properties within the lower-case-b-shaped lot include Red Tomato Cafe, BCC Automotive, Fresh Grill, BlackFinn and Bold Bite. Red Tomato, BCC and Fresh Grill have already vacated their spaces, in an ongoing property damage dispute between Greenhill and the Bainbridge Bethesda project adjacent to the lot.

Redevelopment is not the only option, however. SJK is also advising the owners of the Red Tomato site in regards to the alleged damage to that structure. In June, SJK will furnish the owners, management and legal team with recommendations. Those findings, and the outcome of the court battle, will likely determine the future of Lot 667. 

The lot in question does not include Hanaro or Bangkok Garden.

Should a redevelopment go forward, it would be a major, cross-block change affecting several street fronts. Karr has completed two recent projects: the Norfolk-Cordell II building (Smashburger, Roof and - soon - Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins) and a retail center at the corner of Rockville Pike and Rollins in Rockville. While one concern would be the question of current popular tenants returning to a new structure, Karr's recent track record is strong. Both new buildings seemed to match market demand perfectly, quickly becoming fully-leased, even as other vacant spaces in Bethesda remain empty. And feedback I've heard on Norfolk-Cordell II's "windows on Woodmont Triangle" design has been highly-positive so far.