BETHESDA BUILDING DEMOLISHED! EXCLUSIVE PHOTO GALLERY

"PHANTOM CONDO"

BUILDING KNOCKED

DOWN TO MAKE WAY

FOR

NORFOLK-CORDELL II

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

It was just two days ago that I exclusively broke the story here that 4901 Cordell Avenue was going to be redeveloped as Norfolk-Cordell II, and include a rooftop restaurant.

Less than 24 hours later, the large vehicle you saw in one of the photos surged forward and demolished much of the old brick building.

Here is an exclusive photo gallery surveying the scenes of destruction:

The old sign for the never-built luxury Veneto condos is
still attached to the building!

Debris cascades out the front door

Hope nobody's working late in that
upstairs office!

The only vehicle in Bethesda with a
sure parking space tonight

Pedestrians should take care in
this area.  Debris - including glass -
was not entirely contained

King of the mountain!

A pay phone?  This really is Old Town Bethesda!

Hope the Bros. made it out in time

Lord Vader, your backhoe is ready

When did old-fashioned wrecking
 balls go out of style, anyway?

Wide shot from across Norfolk

They're not kidding, folks!

THE PHANTOM CONDO PROJECT, CHAPTER III

BETHESDA'S MOST

CONFUSED AND

PUZZLING REDEVELOPMENT

GOES TO PLAN C

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

It's a posh, boutique luxury condo building.  It's a 2-floor restaurant and retail mecca.  On third thought, it's an old office and retail building, desperately in need of tenants.

Will the real 4901 Cordell Avenue please stand up?

Several years ago, the owner proposed a lavish, low-rise luxury condo project known as The Veneto.    Despite its fairly rapid progress towards approval by the county Planning Board, the effort mysteriously ground to a halt.

Then, suddenly in May 2012, Memenza Jewelers announced it was closing on the ground floor.  A new sign was raised announcing a more vague future - lease or renovation "to suit."

Nothing happened.

Two months later, a slightly more ambitious plan was posted on the building's exterior:  a new, glass facade 2-story structure that would house 2 restaurants, and retail space.

Fast forward to yesterday, and yet another, not-ambitious-at-all sign has appeared.  "For Lease:  Approx. 430 sq-ft Office or Retail."

Nothing says "Richest Town in America" like bars on the windows

So this sounds like the individual units are now going to be leased, most likely as temporary pop-up shops, like the scooter store on Norfolk Avenue.

It's surprising that, with the building's unique garage doors on some of the units, some creative person hasn't opened a Boho bar or cafe there.  The building remains a prime spot in the future redevelopment of "Old Town" Bethesda.

For now, there seem to be many plans, but that's all.  Every sign tells a different story - and even has different phone numbers.  The Phantom Condo building's ultimate fate remains a mystery.

DEVELOPER PROPOSES NEW BUILDING FOR CORNER OF NORFOLK AND CORDELL

Remember The Veneto?  That 8 story condo and retail project planned for the corner of Norfolk and Cordell Avenues stalled out in recent years.

Now the owner of the classic building that currently occupies the spot is floating a 2-story, glass facade building for retail and/or restaurant use.  Developer Norfolk-Cordell II, LLC says, optimistically, the "new" building will open in early 2013, and that one floor is already leased.

The concept illustrations, and 2 story height, suggest a renovation of the current building, rather than a demolition of it.  If that's the case, while I think even the existing building design could be made to work, a renovation would be better than knocking it down.

The corner is a prime spot on Norfolk Avenue.  Long-term-minded investors should know that Norfolk is planned to be the "Bethesda Avenue" of the future, redeveloped "Old Town Bethesda."

That makes it a great location to be in, once new residential buildings are constructed and occupied.  There's also a vacuum for a restaurant that is in between the high-end, fine dining of Tragara and Grapeseed, and the more casual spots like Freddy's Lobster and soon-to-open Smoke BBQ.

NEATO VENETO

A PHANTOM CONDO PROJECT

AND THE

MYSTERIOUS FUTURE OF

4901 CORDELL AVENUE

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Cordell Avenue is a tale of two blocks.  The first block, between Old Georgetown Road and Norfolk Avenue, has a number of good restaurants like Tragara and Matuba, but - with the major exception of the Caddies on Cordell patio - can tend to be fairly dead at night.  Once you walk east of Caddies, there just isn't much energy or activity there.

Go to the second block, however, and you have Freddy's Lobster and Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle with outdoor patio buzz, and residents coming and going at Triangle Towers and The Palisades apartments.  It's a lot more welcoming at night.

One of the "dead spots" is a small building at 4901 Cordell.  Six years ago, it was to be demolished and replaced by a boutique, mixed-use luxury condo building, called The Veneto.

Now, before I go any further, I'd say that there's no reason the existing building couldn't be renovated into a nice set of restaurants and shops.

But the owner and developer was intent on knocking it down for The Veneto.

I had mixed feelings about the Veneto project.  You can check out a nifty little Adobe Flash presentation of The Veneto at the architect's website.

Certainly the design is a lot more upscale than the current structure.

What's nice about it?

Well, it certainly was ambitious for the lot size.  It would really bring the corner of Cordell and Norfolk to life, but only if it had the right restaurants.

It had a clever parking solution in its odd, underground garage configuration.

What don't I like?

The design is still fairly bland.  It's not unique in any way, shape or form despite the claims on the website.  This building could be in Rockville, New York City or Clarendon, and nobody would know the difference or even care.

My biggest beef with The Veneto was its lack of affordable housing.  In addition to getting a free pass from the Planning Board on public-use space and parking minimums, The Veneto was almost the poster child for the infamous Bethesda concept known as the "boutique condo building."

As you can read on the website, there were only going to be 2 condos per floor, and then a sumptuous penthouse atop the building.

According to the planning document I saw, there was not even one affordable unit in the building.  You would think the Planning Board could have insisted on at least dividing one unit into 2 or 3 smaller apartments as MPDUs.

So the bottom line on this project's "value-added" score is pretty low.

The Veneto would definitely improve the neighborhood, by activating at least the corner, and part of two blocks which are currently dead at night.  It would bring light, energy and activity, perhaps like that found on Norfolk near Rock Bottom, Hanaro and BlackFinn today.

But it would add nothing architecturally, nor would it address the need for affordable apartments and condos to attract younger residents to Bethesda.  Strictly for the Daddy Warbucks set.

The bigger question, though, is what is the fate of 4901?

While The Veneto seemed to sail through the Planning Board's cakewalk of an approval process, it was never built.

After years of delay, there are vacant and abandoned storefronts.

Now, even the jewelry store is closing for good.

A sign is offering the existing building for sale or lease, and even suggests the seller will assist in renovating and updating the building.

We can speculate that The Veneto was a casualty of the real estate bubble bursting, especially given its high-end, limited target demographic.  I don't think it's a tragedy, given its many shortcomings.

But having said that, the location could certainly use some life at night, whether it's the existing building, The Veneto, or a more architecturally-imaginative blend of restaurants, market rate apartments and luxury units.

Let's hope a grander yet more value-added concept prevails.