A major landowner in downtown Bethesda says it can provide more affordable housing, a more friendly street for bicyclists and pedestrians and two half-acre parks if it’s allowed to redevelop its aging 1950s apartment buildings around Bradley Boulevard.
But at a Feb. 4 Montgomery County Planning Board work session, commissioners shot down the proposal from Aldon Management unless the company can get support from a group of neighbors that already opposes major redevelopment of the properties.
“I would just say that 1950s is not old in terms of housing,” Barbara McCall, one of the neighbors who is representing the 4720 Chevy Chase Drive Condo Association, said during the work session. “You can go all over the country and find beautiful buildings that have been made.”
Anthony Falcone, CEO of Aldon Management, said the opposition from McCall and others was a “scare tactic.”
“I don’t appreciate the scare tactic that’s sitting around this table,” Falcone said during the hearing.
Chevy Chase West community leader Naomi Spinrad and Town of Chevy Chase Council member Fred Cecere were also at the table and had also expressed concern about Aldon Management’s redevelopment plans.
Falcone’s statement drew a quick rebuke from board Chairman Casey Anderson.
“I have to say you’re not helping yourself here,” Anderson told Falcone as Falcone tried to continue speaking. “Really, you gotta stop. No, really stop. This is not helpful or constructive. You need to go spend the next few weeks talking to your neighbors.”
Aldon, the largest landowner in downtown Bethesda, is pursuing maximum building heights of 120 feet for its properties fronting Bradley Boulevard in a neighborhood that county planners have labeled South Bethesda.
The company owns six properties of mid-rise 1950s apartment buildings around Bradley Boulevard known for affordable rents that aren’t restricted to those with low incomes in county-sponsored affordable housing programs. It’s hoping to partner on the project with the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), which also owns an apartment building on Bradley Boulevard.
Within the new buildings, Aldon would replace all 404 of its existing units in the area with income-restricted affordable units. One of the board’s primary goals while updating the Bethesda Downtown Plan is to increase the amount of affordable housing.
“Aldon has been here 65 years,” Falcone told the Planning Board. “We demonstrated an affordability to residents who want to come into Bethesda as single people trying to start a career and we intend to continue that. But we need an economic engine to be able to do that.”
He complained that the company’s commitment to affordable housing hadn’t been factored in to the board’s discussion of its proposal.
“All we’ve had is scare tactics against us,” Falcone said.
Doug Wrenn, an architect for Aldon, presented plans showing 120-foot tall buildings on Bradley Boulevard with 70-foot buildings closer to Chevy Chase Drive and Wellington Drive.
Planners have recommended maximum 70-foot building heights throughout the roughly six-acre area and lower maximum densities than Aldon wants.
Wrenn said the increased building heights and densities would allow the company to pay for a realignment of Strathmore Street, which would also be extended south of Bradley Boulevard to Chevy Chase Drive. Wrenn said Aldon would also provide a pedestrian and bicyclist entrance to Norwood Park to the south.
Aldon would build a half-acre park near Wellington Drive and Strathmore Street and another half-acre park at the northeast corner of the intersection of Strathmore Street and Bradley Boulevard.
Norman Dreyfuss, the commissioner who has been most willing to provide more density and higher heights throughout the Bethesda Downtown Plan process, said he wouldn’t support Aldon’s proposal because of the condominiums and single-family homes near the properties.
“You can go on with this,” Dreyfuss told Falcone. “For me personally, and I’m a big proponent of adding density and height, to me this isn’t the place to do it.”
Dreyfuss contrasted Aldon’s plans for redevelopment along Bradley Boulevard with its plans for redevelopment along Battery Lane, where it also owns a series of 1950s mid-rise apartment buildings. A few weeks ago, the board gave tentative approval to higher densities and heights that could open the door to redevelopment there.
“It fit [on Battery Lane],” Dreyfuss said. “I don’t think it fits here.”
The board’s next work session on the Bethesda Downtown Plan is Feb. 25 and is expected to include a discussion of parks and open space recommendations.
