Car stolen from apartment building in Bethesda

Montgomery County police are investigating the theft of a vehicle from an apartment building in the Pooks Hill area of Bethesda. The vehicle was stolen from the parking lot of Pooks Hill Tower & Court at 3 Pooks Hill Road. Police believe it was stolen sometime between 9:15 PM on Sunday, May 3, 2026 and 9:00 AM yesterday morning. A description of the stolen vehicle was not released.

Tower crane erected at construction site of The Astrid in Bethesda (Photos)

A tower crane has been assembled, and is now working at the construction site of The Astrid at 5151-5159 Pooks Hill Road in Bethesda. Two 160' tall apartment towers are under construction. They will hold a total of 631 apartments, 15% of which will be affordable MPDUs. The Astrid is named for Princess Astrid, who stayed with other members of the Norwegian royal family in the now-demolished castle of Merle Thorpe on his Pook's Hill estate during World War II.

Car stolen in Pooks Hill

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the Pooks Hill area of Bethesda early yesterday morning. The vehicle was reported stolen from a residential parking lot in the unit block of Pooks Hill Road. It is believed the vehicle was taken sometime between 10:00 PM Saturday night and 6:10 AM Sunday morning.

Car stolen from Strathmore, assault on Cordell Ave. + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on September 4, according to crime data:

Theft. 7900 block Woodmont Avenue.

Assault. 4900 block Cordell Avenue.

Theft from vehicle. 4800 block Battery Lane.

Theft. 4800 block Battery Lane.

Theft. 6900 block Clarendon Road (Edgemoor).

Theft. 5600 block Chesterbrook Road (Springfield).

Vehicle burglary. 5300 block Pooks Hill Road.

Stolen car. Strathmore Hall at 8:03 PM.

Assault. 10400 block Old Georgetown Road at 9:12 PM.

Theft. Lord and Taylor.

Drug arrest. I-270 ramp at Rockledge Drive.

Theft. 11400 block Rockville Pike (Pike District).

Theft. Westfield Montgomery Mall.

"Other sexual offense." 6100 block Stonehenge Place at 7:42 AM.

Robbery in Pooks Hill, assault on East-West Hwy. + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on July 26, according to crime data:

Assault. 4500 block East-West Highway at 9:12 PM.

Vehicle burglary. 7500 block Meadow Lane (Chevy Chase).

Theft from vehicle. 7700 block Oldchester Road (English Village).

Theft. Bloomingdale's (Friendship Heights).

Robbery. 5200 block Pooks Hill Road at 2:03 AM.

Drug arrest. 5200 block Tuckerman Lane.

Stolen car. 5400 block Marinelli Road (Pike District).

Death. 5000 block Westport Road at 6:31 AM (Orchardale).

Death. 5500 block Tuckerman Lane at 6:39 AM.

Weapons offense. 12200 block Wilkins Avenue.

4 assaults in Bethesda, robbery in Friendship Heights + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on July 7, according to crime data:

Assault. 7200 block Woodmont Avenue at 4:30 PM.

Robbery. 4400 block Willard Avenue at 5:49 PM.

Theft from vehicle. 7600 block Old Georgetown Road at 2:11 PM.

Theft from vehicle. 4800 block Bethesda Avenue at 1:13 PM.

Theft. 4400 block Willard Avenue.

Theft. 4400 block Willard Avenue.

"Other sexual offense." 5300 block Tuckerman Lane at 7:17 AM.

Assault. 5300 block Tuckerman Lane.

Assault. Westfield Montgomery Mall at 5:14 PM.

Assault. 5300 block Pooks Hill Road at 2:23 PM.

Assault in Kenwood, sex offense in Pooks Hill + more - Bethesda crime update

A highly-unusual late night assault in Kenwood tops the Bethesda rap sheet for this past Thursday. There was also a second assault within 48 hours in the Randolph Hills neighborhood, which is worth keeping tabs on in the coming days. Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on June 4, according to crime data:

Theft. 7600 block Old Georgetown Road.

Theft. 4800 block Bethesda Avenue.

Vehicle burglary. 7000 block Wisconsin Avenue at 8:27 AM.

Assault. 6400 block Shadow Road at 11:46 PM (Kenwood).

Sexual assault/"Other sexual offense." 5200 block Pooks Hill Road at 7:11 AM.

Burglary. 7300 block Pinehurst Parkway (Chevy Chase).

Drug arrest. 5400 block Edson Lane (Pike District).

Theft. 7100 block Democracy Boulevard.

Theft. 5400 block McGrath Boulevard (Pike District).

Assault. 11300 block Schuylkill Road (Randolph Hills).

Renderings of new towers planned for Pooks Hill in Bethesda (Photos)

A pair of luxury apartment towers planned for 5151 Pooks Hill in Bethesda are moving forward through the planning process. Developer Quadrangle (through Pooks Hill JV, LLC) filed a sketch plan with the Montgomery County Planning Department on May 1.

The plan will first go before the Development Review Committee (a multi-organization body that represents multiple utilities and public agencies) at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, May 26. It is currently scheduled to come before the Montgomery County Planning Board at its July 30 meeting.

A south tower would be constructed first, with the north tower following later. The site is bordered by the Capital Beltway, the Pooks Hill Marriott hotel, and the existing Promenade, Bristol Square, Pooks Hill Tower and Whitley Park Terrace developments.

While the multifamily buildings are very consistent with much of the existing character of Pooks Hill, placing this number of additional units a mile from the nearest Metro station gives many residents pause. Smart growth advocates have regularly cited a quarter-mile to half-a-mile from Metro as the ideal zone for high-density, transit-oriented development. This site is not within that proximity.

The developer is floating the idea of a Metro shuttle. That would seem like a necessary step, with the project potentially dropping 600 more cars into that immediate area. I also doubt that the Marriott parking lots are as underused as described during well-attended events at the hotel. Somebody will have to figure out where those cars are going to go on X-number of days out of the year. There is also the question of how to prevent traffic from the additional development from affecting the nearby single-family home developments. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase master plan's last update recommended turn and entry restrictions to address that matter.

Quadrangle is proposing to offer 15% affordable units, higher than the 12.5% minimum required by Montgomery County. The buildings are planned to be 160' in height, with approximately 625 units in total.

Among the amenities on-site will be a paved central plaza with a water feature, outdoor pools, club rooms, roof decks and landscaped gardens. Parking will be underground, and one of those garages will be constructed in Phase 1. The two towers are described as "chevron-shaped", and are being sited to preserve existing views from the surrounding residential buildings.

Images via Montgomery County Planning Department

ASSAULTS IN POOKS HILL, SCOTLAND, FRIENDSHIP HTS. + MORE - BETHESDA CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on June 21, according to crime data:

Assault. 4700 block Willard Avenue.

Vehicle burglary. 5000 block Greenway Drive (Green Acres).

Theft. Friendship Heights Metro Station.

Assault. Pooks Hill Road at Rockville Pike.

Theft. 10400 block Grosvenor Place.

Assault/"other sexual offense." 5100 block Crossfield Court.

Assault. 7800 block Scotland Drive.

48 HOUR CRIME SPIKE IN BETHESDA - BETHESDA CRIME REPORT

Crime report data suggests criminals were busy across Bethesda on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  Incidents included 2 stolen cars, an assault, 2 burglaries and more than 9 thefts.

Here is a list of some of the crimes:

January 7, 2012

Assault, 7200 block of Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft from vehicle, 7600 block of Woodmont Avenue/4804 Edgemoor Lane.

Theft, 10400 block of Fernwood Road.

Theft,  Pooks Hill Road.

Theft, 8600 block of Old Georgetown Road.

Theft, 4900 block of Fairmont Avenue.

Stolen car, 7700 block of Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft from vehicle, 7800 block of Exeter Road.

January 8, 2012

Burglary, 5000 block of Alta Vista Road.

Burglary, 10400 block of Montrose Avenue.

Theft, 8900 block of Bradmoor Drive.

Theft, 4800 block of Bethesda Avenue.

Stolen car, 5000 block of Bradley Boulevard.

Theft, 7000 block of Deep Creek Court.

This is yet another good reminder to lock your home and vehicle. These are almost entirely property crimes, and no robberies/muggings to report the last several weeks - at least as far as reported crimes are concerned.