The Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday gave its stamp of approval to the first draft of plans to redevelop two aging apartment buildings on Battery Lane in Bethesda.
The project, at 4901 Battery Lane, will produce a new 12-story apartment building with 399 units. Fifteen percent of the units would be designated as affordable housing, in accordance with county law.
The building would stand about 120 feet tall, according to Planning Board documents.
There will be a parking garage with about 322 spaces, documents say.
The property is within walking distance of both the Bethesda and Medical Center Metro stations. There is a stop for the Bethesda Circulator nearby and there are Ride-On and Metro Bus stops on the adjacent property, according to Planning Board documents.
The project will undergo two more rounds of review by the Planning Board before construction may begin.
It is separate from a larger-scale, multi-phase development on Battery Lane.
In 2019, the county’s Planning Board approved a multi-phase redevelopment plan for what is called the Battery Lane District. The plan involves razing six aging apartment buildings and replacing them with new complexes.
In total, 477 apartments in that project will be replaced with 1,530 new units, a net increase of 1,053 units.
Plans also include 12,000 square feet of commercial space, a “two-way cycle track on the north side of Battery Lane,” several through-block connections to join the neighborhood with Woodmont Avenue and significant landscaping, according to project documents.
Also included in the project proposal are improvements to the Bethesda Trolley Trail, which provides a pathway around the National Institutes of Health connecting Rugby Avenue to Old Georgetown Road.
Development is expected to happen in phases spanning about 15 years. Each current apartment building will remain in use until its turn for redevelopment.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media