Developers have pitched “significantly revised” plans for a project to renovate and revitalize Bethesda’s Farm Women’s Market site, increasing the green space and decreasing residential density.
Bethesda-based developer EYA Holdings presented the latest proposal this week to the county’s Historic Preservation Committee.
EYA officials said they have spent the past six months working with the community and county agencies to overhaul its plans for the historic property.
Previous plans called for a roughly 70-foot-tall building behind the market and 18 townhomes on a parking lot to the east of the market. However, both of those ideas have been removed from EYA’s designs, according to McLean Quinn, vice president of land acquisition for EYA.
The building behind the market, which would have been a 16,000-square-foot “retail pavilion,” was replaced with a roughly 6,000-square-foot addition to the market itself.
A 175-foot-tall high-rise residential building was modified to remove about 30,000 square feet of space on what is now parking lot 24 to increase the amount of park space in the project.
A 300-space underground parking garage is included in EYA’s plan.
The new plans include a patio area in front of the market, a possible “splash pad,” playground and dog park, an area for temporary vendor tents, botanical gardens and an amphitheater.
“We’re really excited to keep working with stakeholders on this project and bring restoration of the Farm Women’s Market to reality,” Quinn said.
The Farm Women’s Market, on Wisconsin Avenue, was founded in 1932.
EYA will submit the updated plans to the Montgomery County Planning Board in the fall to begin the formal review process, Quinn said.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
