JBG requests county permission to move Art Gallery at Bethesda Avenue building to provide space for restaurant
The JBG Companies is asking the Montgomery County Planning Board for permission to demolish the massive stone arch in front of its 7200 Wisconsin Ave. office building and move the public art gallery from its current space in a first floor section of the building to the lobby.
JBG proposed the move as a way to make room for restaurant space and outdoor dining on the first floor fronting Bethesda and Wisconsin avenues. Planning staff noted in its memo to the Planning Board about the move that the public art gallery is separated from the building by a glass wall due to privacy and security concerns, but those concerns no longer exist. The wall “discourages” the public and building tenants from using the space, according to the memo.
To fix this, JBG’s plan calls for moving the artwork and lighting to the building’s lobby and installing benches. Outside, the massive stone arch that fronts Bethesda Avenue near the public gallery entrance would be removed to open up space for what could become an outdoor dining area, if JBG signs a restaurant tenant. The Planning Board is scheduled to review the proposal at its Nov. 20 meeting.
McDonald’s may have been scaring off potential tenants at the Carr Building
We first reported in June that McDonald’s wouldn’t be making a downtown Bethesda comeback at the Carr building. At the time the building’s leasing agent, Phil McCarthy, said the owners were looking for a different restaurant for the Class A office building, but declined to say why they weren’t interested in McDonald’s, even though the burger chain had bought a $1.5 million 5,000-square- foot ground floor space in the new building before it was even built. That space was later purchased back by Carr.
The Washington Post shed some new details in a story published Friday on why that happened: potential tenants were worried about students from nearby Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School hanging out at the fast-food restaurant. According to the Post, McCarthy said, “We all love McDonald’s, but it’s not ideal for trophy-quality office space. No offense to McDonald’s, but 300 teenagers hanging out at 4 o’clock in the afternoon is not what a law firm is necessarily looking for.”
The Carr building in downtown Bethesda on Oct. 14. Credit: Andrew Metcalf
Update: New Bethesda Mews Single-Family Homes Priced from $900,000
Prices for the 29 new single-family homes under construction on Old Georgetown Road by developer Michael Harris Homes start at $900,000, according to a local real estate agent.
The agent said the three moderately priced dwelling units on sale at the location start in the mid-$900,000 range, while the other 26 homes range from $1.45 million to $1.9 million.
Last month the Maryland Newsletter reported the homes were being priced between $1.6 and $2 million. The development's website does not currently list prices for the homes.
Those sale prices are higher than those in other nearby communities such as Alta Vista, Wyngate and Ayrlawn, where homes frequently sell in the mid-$1 million, according to the bi-weekly real estate publication.
The new homes are being constructed using four different floor plans, and will include Viking appliances and “spa-inspired baths,” according to Michael Harris Homes. The development site sits at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Cedar Lane and includes a 3-acre forest conservation area abutting the National Institutes of Health and a small local park.
Rendering and site plan via Michael Harris Homes.
