I’d like to simplify my life.
My baby boomer husband and I are well into our 15th year of living in a Bethesda house. Too much yard work, too many roof worries, not enough interest. Though both kids will have moved out by the end of the summer, dollhouse wallpaper still hangs in my 20-year-old daughter’s room, and baseball players grace my 18-year-old son’s. It’s tempting to ditch it all and start over.
I wanted a glimpse of what life might be like in a luxury condo in the Bethesda area—the elevators, the marble, doormen, fitness centers, parking garages, onsite shopping. So, like test-driving a Bentley or a Mercedes, I visited condos and spoke with property managers, sales people and developers. I studied Web sites and watched interactive videos. Here’s what I found.
Lionsgate
I had a dream of one day moving up to join the pampered elite on Manhattan’s Central Park West. What would it be like to be greeted by a doorman in a grand marble foyer? So I went on a tour of the elegant, new condominium Lionsgate in the heart of Bethesda. What I found was more Park Avenue than Central Park West, but who’s arguing? 
The glamorous building is a 12-floor celebration of fine detail—and art. Outside, visitors are greeted by two life-size bronze lions created by Washington, D.C., artist John Dreyfuss. Inside, a sleekly decorated foyer features a soaring ceiling and a black marble floor that reflects the light of a 60-piece crystal chandelier. Lionsgate says: “I have arrived.” The art theme is carried throughout, with individual units bearing the names of “Degas,” “Rodin,” “Calder,” “de Rossi” and others.
“The quality of the project is really unmet,” says Marc A. Dubick, president of Duball LLC, the developer of Lionsgate. “It’s all in the details. “We only have 158 units and we sold 100,” Dubick said in May. “We have fewer than 60 to go.”
“We spent a lot of money and a lot of time making the façade look the way it does,” says John M. Segreti, vice president of development for Duball. “When you look at the building, there’s a tremendous amount of detail. It [is] like the classic buildings that you see [on Connecticut Avenue in D.C.] and on Park Avenue in New York.”
Buyers began occupying units in Lionsgate in late April, according to Dubick. The building’s smallest unit is the 1,103-square-foot “Degas.” It features one bedroom and a den and is priced at $800,000, sales manager Dana Cruz says. The “Dreyfuss” is the largest unit at 2,504 square feet. It’s priced at more than $2 million. “Someone bought two of the 12th-floor units and combined them,” Segreti says.
The residences are luxurious, with bay windows, balconies and hardwood floors. The kitchens feature semi-custom Brookhaven by Wood-Mode cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances by Viking and extra-deep sinks. The bathrooms boast stone tile, granite counters and Kohler fixtures.
Condo fees range from $470 to $1,390 a month, according to Cruz. Amenities include a doorman, valet parking, 24/7 front desk concierge, fitness center, community club room and a large rooftop terrace with views extending to Sugarloaf Mountain. At ground level are a Veria Wellness Center, dry cleaner and HSBC bank. Buyers include Bethesda and Potomac empty nesters, local and international residents with homes here and abroad, and young professionals, Segreti says.
Lionsgate
Corner of Woodmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda
301-986-0066
www.lionsgatebethesda.com
Trillium Bethesda
If contemporary is more your style—and you don’t mind waiting awhile for new digs—then Trillium Bethesda might be for you. Developed by the Texas-based Patrinely Group LLC, Trillium will be a three-tower, high-rise monument of glass and sleek design on the site of the former Clarion Hotel on Wisconsin Avenue. All-glass balconies will give residents an unimpaired view of the area. An exercise room will overlook the pool and spa, and there will be a glassed-in studio for Pilates or yoga.
Construction began in May for a planned 2010 opening. In May, Patrick Haley, managing director of sales and marketing for the project, said Trillium “is close to one-third sold…with three buyers of residences priced over $2 million and several more above $1.5 million.” Though buyers have ranged in age from their 30s to their 70s, most are empty nesters in their 50s and 60s, Haley says.
Two of the towers will be constructed with only four units per floor, says Haley, assuring that each unit has a corner location. The 173 units will be Euro-sleek, with Snaidero cabinetry from Italy, Miele appliances and Sub-Zero refrigerators. Master bathrooms will feature deep, over-mounted sinks and glass and stone showers and soaking tubs. “You’re not going to find any fussy colonial trims here,” Haley says, pointing to the deep, clean-edged molding in the sales office model.
The Trillium is offering one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences ranging from $624,000 to more than $2.3 million, Haley says. Condo fees will range from about $600 to $1,600 per month, he says.
Trillium Bethesda
8400 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda
877-293-2500
www.trillium-bethesda.com
National Park Seminary
National Park Seminary in Silver Spring, the site of condominiums, town homes and private homes, initially opened in 1887 as a summer resort. After it failed financially, educators John and Vesta Cassedy acquired the old inn and reopened it in 1894 as a girls’ finishing school—hence the name. It later served as a military rehabilitation facility. 
In 2004, The Alexander Company, a Wisconsin-based developer that specializes in historic preservation, Bethesda developer EYA and the nonprofit community activist group Save Our Seminary (SOS) collaborated to restore the seminary and convert the campus buildings back into usable space. A Japanese pagoda, Dutch windmill and other fanciful structures, once sorority houses, will be converted into single-family homes sold through private contractors. EYA has built new town homes on the site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Most intriguing is Alexander’s conversion of the original campus buildings into 88 condominium units. Each will be different, and many of the original details—including moldings, stained glass and fireplace mantels—will be preserved, according to sales manager Alexandra Minckler. The gothic ballroom, still much as it was in 1940, will house 14 residences with 12-foot ceilings and large windows. The senior house, president’s house, stables and the servants’ quarters all will be converted into condominiums.
“There are no two floor plans alike, simply because we’re creating modern living spaces from an incredibly whimsical past,” says Minckler. “For example, you may walk out of your living room, turn the corner and find yourself traveling down a 27-foot walkway toward your very own turret [in the music house].” The old chapel—complete with cathedral ceilings and stained glass windows—is a stand-alone condominium residence priced at $1 million, Minckler says.
The Aloha House, the Cassedys’ former residence and “welcome” house for the former Seminary students, retains its original statuary—a row of caryatids—along the front façade and houses seven condos. These units were completed in May and are the only condos ready for occupancy. The one- and two-bedroom units range from $300,000 to $500,000, says Minckler.
Each unit will have a unique configuration, depending on its original function in the old school. For example, the condos in the gymnasium may have sunken living rooms because of the location of the original swimming pool.
Amenities in all condos include granite kitchen countertops, stainless-steel GE appliances, solid maple cabinetry, hardwood floors and wall-to-wall carpeting in some rooms. National Seminary is accessible to the Beltway, Silver Spring and the Forest Glen and Silver Spring Metro stops.
In May, Minckler said 24 percent of the 50 condos ready for purchase had been sold. She says the project attracts people connected to the school’s history, as well as young professionals and empty nesters looking to downsize. Completion of the condos is slated for late fall.
National Park Seminary
Address: 2750 Linden Lane, Silver Spring
Phone: 301-495-7707
www.nationalparkseminary.com
Adagio
I stopped next at Adagio, drawn by the new contemporary building that rises from Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. Although the building is sleek, the environs are cozy and suburban. “It has a green vista…You’ve got some views other than just city views,” according to Ron Smith, senior vice president for Mayhood Company of McLean, Va., which handles marketing for Adagio.
In keeping with Adagio’s musically inspired name, buyers can choose from floor plans that include “the Verdi,” “the Ravel,” “the Debussy” and “the Strauss.” Sales manager Melinda Solley says the composers’ names and the musical theme are a conversation starter. “People relate to it,” she says. 
Prices range from about $600,000 for a one-bedroom with a den, to more than $1.2 million for a 1,765-square-foot, loft-style condo, says Solley. A 1,905-square-foot penthouse is available for more than $1.6 million. Condo fees include utilities and range from $535 to $1,254 per month, according to Solley.
Luxury appointments are standard, including hardwood floors, solid-wood Poggenpohl cabinets in both kitchen and bath, and a mix of upscale stainless steel appliances from Miele, Bosch and Sub-Zero. Amenities include a fitness center, an on-site building manager and engineer and a 24-hour front desk. A Washington Sports Club with a pool is located in the building.
Solley says it’s a five- to 10-minute walk from Adagio to the urban center and Metro. “We are in an urban location with a residential feel,” she says. “Residents like the quiet and being close to everything.”
Units are contemporary and have ample windows. Most have metal and glass balconies, and the penthouse units have rooftop terraces. Residents can mingle on a community terrace.
Solley reports that units are currently selling at a pace of three to five a month. The economy “hasn’t slowed down interest,” she says, “It’s just taking people longer to make a decision.”
Adagio
6820 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 5001, Bethesda
301-652-1911
www.adagiobethesda.com
