As development of multi-family residences grows, a North Bethesda apartment complex is seeking to shift its design to reduce lower-level retail space to make room for more apartments.
The North Bethesda Market apartments, on the west side of Rockville Pike across from the White Flint Mall site, opened about a decade ago with 411 units and 223,000 square feet of restaurant or retail space.
The applicant, Boston-based real estate and infrastructure investor CBRE Global Investors, has submitted a development application to the county Planning Board asking for permission to convert 14,259 square feet of “unenticing” retail area on the second floor of the 24-story high-rise building into 13 new apartment units.
Ten will be two-bedroom “loft style” apartments, and three are proposed as one-bedroom units that lease between $1,500 and $2,600 per month, according to a company website. Estimated rent price for the loft-style apartments are not listed, but two-bedroom units of various styles are listed between $2,200 and $4,100 a month.
CBRE Global Investors is one of the world’s leading asset investment managers with $105 billion in assets.
A county data report, released last week by the Montgomery County Planning Department, shows the number of multi-family units grew by almost 50 percent between 1990 and 2016.
Simultaneously, the number of homeowners among people younger than 35 declined by 17 percent, signaling a change in housing needs among county residents.
The development application also proposes converting the 2,000 square feet leasing office into common space for residents, which could include a yoga studio, conference space and concierge service.
Apartment units sit above retail space housing a Whole Foods Market.
The vision for North Bethesda Market is to transform an area “that lacked clear block structure or hierarchy,” and serve as a landmark for the White Flint district, according to the building’s Washington, D.C.-based architect HKS Inc. On campus is also an LA Fitness and other residential buildings.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
