The first speculative office building to be constructed
Lately it seems that every block in downtown Bethesda has some sort of construction underway or just finished. This year we saw two major apartment projects hold grand openings—Gallery Bethesda and Bainbridge Bethesda. Across from the Bainbridge, 7770 Norfolk Avenue, a 17-story apartment building, plans to “top out” next month. Near Bethesda Row, the major Lot 31 mixed-use project is looking more and more like actual buildings than an erector set. The first speculative office building to be constructed downtown in about a dozen years—the Carr Building at 4500 East-West Highway—completed construction in October and then signed its first tenant shortly after. Along Wisconsin Avenue, Washington Property Company is developing a new $60 million apartment building at the former site of Eastham’s Service Center, while on the other side of downtown, StonebridgeCarras is working on its 360-unit apartment building complete with a Harris Teeter store at 8300 Wisconsin Ave. Then there are the luxury condo projects. The Lauren at 4901 Hamden Lane differentiated itself with a sign posted on Woodmont Avenue saying, “Homes from the millions.” Then in Nov. it listed a penthouse condo at a regional record price of $10.5 million. On Fairmont Avenue, Starr Capital is planning to begin construction next year on The Fairmont, a17-story, 72-unit luxury condo building featuring a glass-to-ceiling façade. But all the construction hasn’t come without problems, such as sidewalk and street closures as well as traffic issues.
For many years confusion has existed about what to call the area surrounding the White Flint Metro station. Some say it’s White Flint, others North Bethesda, while parts of it are actually in Rockville. With billions of dollars in new construction now planned and underway in the area by several real estate development companies, a decision was made by stakeholders to come up with a new name. As you may remember, the effort started after certain developers, such as Federal Realty and The JBG Companies, cited problems with the name White Flint, which leaders at the companies believed was too closely associated with the aging White Flint Mall. From there, a community charette was held, and later a group that represents residents, local businesses and developers—The White Flint Downtown Advisory Committee--unanimously approved the name “Pike District.” The name will be used to brand the new developments under one name, but not to identify nearby residential communities or for official purposes—such as for taxes or addresses.