The proposed redevelopment of a public surface parking lot in downtown Bethesda into a 12-story multifamily apartment building with up to 59 units for sale is moving forward now that Montgomery County planners have approved the project’s latest plans.
The project, led by Broad Branch Partners of Washington, D.C., also includes the construction of a public park that will be part of the downtown Bethesda Eastern Greenway, an element of the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan. The building will be located near 4702 West Virginia Ave. to the east of Wisconsin Avenue.
The Montgomery County Planning Board approved Thursday the mandatory referral for the transfer of the 54-space parking lot, called Lot 44, from the county to the developers for the construction of the Eastern Greenway public park.
In addition to the mandatory referral, the board approved an amendment to the project’s sketch plan to increase the density of the proposed building to up to 125,469 square feet of mixed-use development; a preliminary plan that would turn the site into two lots (one for the building and one for the park); a site plan that increases the height of the building from 70 feet to 114 feet; and a forest conservation plan.
All of the approvals fall in line with Montgomery Planning’s Speed-to-Market initiative, which “streamlines the approval process for development projects by consolidating the processes of planning and land-use approvals,” according to the department’s website.
Jason Weinstein, principal at Broad Branch Partners, told the planning board at Thursday’s meeting that developers hoped to “put a shovel in the ground” and begin construction on the project within one year.
Weinstein also noted that developers estimate construction to take about 18 to 21 months, meaning the project could be completed in 2027 or later.
The building’s 59 for-sale units are expected to include six live/work units and 53 multifamily units, six of which will be townhomes, according to planning documents.
Developers also proposed designating 15% of the units as moderately priced dwelling units (MPDU), as required by county zoning rules, with seven being “deeply affordable” for residents that earn 50% of the Area Median Income, a metric frequently used in affordable housing policies. Of the seven units designated as MPDUs, five will be four-bedroom units, one will be a three-bedroom unit and one will be a two-bedroom unit, according to planning documents.
The project also includes 99 parking spaces for tenants in a structured parking garage within the building, according to planning documents. Before approving plans for the project, some board members questioned the necessity for the 99 spaces.
Commissioner Josh Linden said the number of proposed parking spaces seemed “a little excessive,” noting the county has a goal for downtown areas to be more “pedestrian-oriented.”
In response, Weinstein explained that developers conducted “market research” that suggested two parking spaces per family would be needed. The project currently has about 1.67 parking spaces per unit.
Planning Board Chair Artie Harris thanked developers for bringing the project forward.
“It [has] an attractive design but most importantly it provides, like my board members said, for-sale housing. There’s definitely a demand and most important, seeing how we can provide for-sale for affordable projects,” Harris said.
Harris also said he appreciated that Broad Branch Partners was involved in developing a piece of the Eastern Greenway as well as contributing to upgrades to the Chase Avenue Urban Park, which is to the south of the site.
The public park portion of the project is just one part of the proposed linear park, called the Eastern Greenway, that county planners envisioned would stretch from Maple Avenue to Cheltenham Drive, providing spaces for recreation and social connection, according to planning documents.
To create the park, Lot 44 and a nearby county-owned parking lot called Lot 25 must be redeveloped. The county began the request for proposal process to redevelop the county-owned public parking lots in 2020. A mixed-used high-rise apartment project approved by county planners called 8001 Wisconsin Ave., is expected to be built between the two lots.
Last spring, D.C.-based developers Monument Realty filed a sketch plan to redevelop Lot 25 between Maple and Highland avenues. The plans propose the construction of an eight-story, 230-unit apartment building and a 21,760-square-foot public park that would make up the northernmost portion of the Eastern Greenway.
