Demolition imminent at site of future apartment tower in Bethesda

Preparations are being made for the first demolition of structures at the site of a new apartment tower at the southeast corner of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Demolition fencing has been erected around vacant storefronts at 4938 and 4940 St. Elmo. Other properties on the assembled site that will also be demolished include the office building with Old Georgetown Grille and Colonial Opticians on the ground floor, and the former Bethesda Florist and Jewelry Exchange buildings. The apartment tower to be constructed by developer Stonebridge will be 175' tall, with 240 residential units, and 6000-square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.

Demolition permits requested for properties on St. Elmo Ave. in Bethesda

The other shoes are starting to drop in the pending demolition of multiple buildings at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Over the weekend, a demolition permit request notice for the former Jewelry Exchange building was posted on the premises. Last night, identical demolition permit notices were posted outside of 4938 and 4940 St. Elmo. Head2Toe Health & Aesthetics had already vacated their space last December, moving to 7505 Democracy Boulevard. Bethesda Boxing & Kickboxing is currently in the process of moving across the street to 4927-A St. Elmo Avenue. Other structures due to be razed for a planned apartment tower on that corner include the buildings that previously housed Bethesda Florist and that currently house Old Georgetown Grille and Colonial Opticians.

Demolition permit requested for Jewelry Exchange in Bethesda

A demolition permit has been requested from Montgomery County for the former Jewelry Exchange building at 7747 Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda. The building is one of several adjacent properties that will be demolished in the near future to make way for - what else! - a new apartment tower. After twenty years and two million TV commercials, "THE JEWELRY EXCHANGE BETHESDA!!!" closed in the spring of 2022. Those "thousands of GIA diamonds" were cleared out long ago, and we'll see how soon the other properties move to the demolition phase.

Woodmont Grill rapid scheduled disassembly continues in Bethesda (Photos)

The rapid scheduled disassembly of Woodmont Grill continues at 7715 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Woodmont Grill closed after the close of business on October 29, 2025. What parent company Hillstone Restaurant Group tells anyone who asks is that the closure was due to a lack of parking. This is rather farcical, given that there is a huge parking garage directly across the street from the restaurant. Tastee Diner and Black's Bar & Kitchen somehow remain in business with this non-existent parking dilemma.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, more pieces of the Woodmont Grill are being hauled away. Signage has been removed, and the words "Proper Attire Requested" have been scraped off the door. Packing boxes are visible inside the building.

Chili's demolished in White Flint (Photos)

The Chili's restaurant at 11428 Rockville Pike has been demolished. Demolition of the adjacent Woodglen Park property is still underway. The site is being redeveloped with a mixed-use residential apartment building, branded for now as North Bethesda Market II. Montgomery County has already approved that project.

Terrain Cafe space is being gutted at Bethesda Row

The interior of the space vacated by Terrain Cafe at 7728 Woodmont Avenue at Bethesda Row last year is now being demolished. Terrain Cafe closed in December 2023. How Anthropologie & Co. intends to use the space going forward has not been publicly announced. The timing suggests it could become more retail display space for the holiday shopping season, but that is merely speculation.

Westwood Shopping Center demolition update (Photos)

The historic 1959 Westwood Shopping Center is no more at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. Demolition of the strip mall is just about finished. In these photos you can see the staircase that was alongside Anglo Dutch Pools & Toys (or Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, for longer-term residents), and remnants of the brick wall that surrounded the service alley and loading docks behind the shopping center. You can also see the extreme grade of the property, which was largely masked by the retail structure between the Westbard Avenue elevation and the elevation of the actual storefronts. The shopping center and its parking lot are soon to be replaced by an apartment building with ground floor retail space, and the Brownstones at Westbard Square townhome development.

Also gone? The monument sign at the "Farrell's" entrance to the shopping center, which advertised anchor tenant Giant. It was removed prior to completion of the building demolition. 

That was a valuable sign placement, which could not be obtained today, as it is now illegal under the current sign code. Many businesses in Montgomery County go out of business because of our absurdly-minimalist sign regulations circa 2024. Drivers pass - and they keep on going, because they have no clue your business is operating "somewhere in there." 

Demolition of Westwood Shopping Center in Bethesda (Photos)

It's a sad sight at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda, where the Westwood Shopping Center demolition has been taking place in recent days. The historic 1959 strip mall holds golden age memories for many longtime members of the community, especially those who grew up in the neighborhood. 

Westwood Shopping Center was home to many beloved businesses over the decades: the over-the-top desserts, birthday celebrations, and arcade games of Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor; Crown Books, which was founded because Robert Haft had a prophetic vision of our present day in which "books cost too much;" the hardware store; the Westwood Pet Center (now at The Shops at Sumner Place); Drug Fair; Beyda's Lad & Lassie; the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins; Pants Corral; the Westwood Barber Shop (still there in the new building next door!); Fashion Craft Cleaners; Frame World; the 24-Hour Bob ATM of Bank of Bethesda; Anglo Dutch Pools & Toys; and, of course, the legendary RadioShack. 

A Martian landscape is being left behind for the time being. The shopping center and its parking lot will be replaced by an apartment building with ground floor retail and restaurants, a town square, an EYA townhome development called the Brownstones at Westbard Square, and a small park. Delivery of that phase of the Westbard Square development is anticipated for 2026-27.