Plans to redevelop a public parking lot into a 235-unit mixed-use housing development and a park in downtown Bethesda are moving forward after the Montgomery Planning Board approved the project Thursday.
Project developer Monument Realty, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate firm, filed plans for the eight-story building and park in March 2024 as part of an agreement with Montgomery County to redevelop Lot No. 25, a county surface parking lot.
The board reviewed and unanimously approved a mandatory referral from the county as well as preliminary, site and forest conservation plans for the redevelopment project during its weekly meeting at the Montgomery Planning headquarters in Wheaton. Mandatory referrals are land use, sale, acquisition or development plans submitted by government entities to be reviewed by the planning board.
Before the vote, board Chair Artie Harris said he hoped the project would “move forward and quickly.”
“This is a wonderful project in terms of when we talk about complete communities where people are able to live near transportation, parks and near retail,” Harris said.
He also praised the developer’s plan to designate 47 of the 235 apartments, or 20%, as moderately priced dwelling units. New housing developments in Bethesda are required by county law to designate at least 15% as such affordable units.
Ryan Kim, vice president of development at Monument Realty, told Bethesda Today after Thursday’s vote that the development team was “excited” by the board’s approval.
“We’re grateful that they got us to this point and gave us the approvals today, so we’re going to do our best to advance the project,” Kim said.
The project site sits to the east of Wisconsin Avenue between Highland and Maple avenues. It is currently a 129-space parking lot that shares the block with TD Bank, Reico Kitchen & Bath and Maple Beer & Wine.
Developers will be in charge of constructing both the mixed-use apartment building and a public park that will be turned over to Montgomery Parks once the development is complete.
Out of 235 apartments, eight will be live-work units, according to planning documents. Of the moderately priced dwelling units, 36 units will be provided at 70% of the area median income, and 11 will be offered at 50% of the area median income.
The mixed-use building will also include a public parking garage with 145 parking spaces to replace the spaces lost in the county parking lot, according to planning documents. Plans also include 101 parking spaces for residents.
The project includes the construction of a nearly 15,000-square-foot park that will be the northernmost portion of the Eastern Greenway, an element of the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan, planning documents state. The Greenway is envisioned as a linear park stretching from Maple Avenue to Cheltenham Drive that aims to provide spaces for recreation and social connection.
A county-developer partnership
The project is part of a larger county vision of redeveloping underutilized county-owned parking lots into housing and the Eastern Greenway. In September, the board approved plans submitted by D.C. developers Broad Branch Partners to construct a 12-story multifamily apartment building with up to 59 for-sale units at the site of county-owned parking Lot No. 44.
That lot at 4704 West Virginia Ave. has 54 parking spaces, according to planning documents. The 145-space public parking garage included in Monument Realty’s plans will also make up for the spaces lost at Lot No. 44.
The county began the request for proposal process to redevelop the two 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.
According to Kim, the next steps for Monument Realty’s project will be to finish design work and secure financing. Kim noted during the board meeting that there are “a lot of moving pieces” involved in advancing the project due to increased construction costs and the “uncertainty” of federal tariffs.
“Our intent is to advance [the project] as fast as we can, as fast as the market will allow and deliver,” Kim said. “We want to deliver the affordable units.”
