The design certainly takes several cues from those and other new-generation Bethesda buildings. An angled facade facing the Cordell-Woodmont intersection reminds one of the early renderings for the twin towers of Donohoe's Gallery Bethesda/The Rugby site. That frame at the lower left of the Cordell Avenue facade echoes a similar design touch on several proposed buildings, as well as the one on the nearly-completed Bainbridge Bethesda. But there are also some unique features, such as the curved rooftop overhang along Cordell.
A presentation by Emily Vaias, partner with Linowes and Blocher LLP, revealed the first renderings of 8008 Wisconsin last night. Rents are expected to start at over $2000, and the units will be 1 and 2 bedrooms. Douglas is making the submission under the current CBD zoning and master plan, and will officially file the proposal with the county planning department by the end of August. The expected schedule at this point would include a Montgomery County Planning Board hearing in September or October, a site plan and preliminary plan by the end of 2014, and a construction start date in 2016.
8008 will be 14 stories tall, with 130 units and 4000 square feet of retail, including a restaurant along Woodmont Avenue. Residents will have access from Wisconsin Avenue, and garage and service entrances will be along Cordell. A moving water feature and pocket park will also be a street level on Woodmont, as well as planter boxes to filter water. There will also be outdoor seating for the restaurant on Woodmont. If you take a lot of those features together, it seems the building will be oriented towards the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood, as opposed to the state highway of Wisconsin Avenue, which makes a lot of sense in terms of where people might prefer to gather.
The building's rooftop will have features familiar from other recent Bethesda rooftops, including a pool, club room, fitness center, grills and a seating pod to provide views down to Woodmont Avenue. 8008's pool will be inspired by "hot springs" in its shape.
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An underground garage will hold 77 parking spaces, which generated the most controversy at the meeting. Vaias noted that the project is situated in a parking lot district, which means the developer is not required to provide parking. "The county plan is you don’t provide parking and people won’t drive cars," Vaias said. "The goal of the county is to have less parking everywhere." She said the county has found that downtown public garage spaces are underutilized, and that is where some residents would have to park.
The limited size of the surface public parking lot on Woodmont still left some nearby property owners and businesspeople concerned. One adjoining property owner said his tenants already complain about the lack of parking, and that a wellness center in his building needs more parking spaces. Could Douglas dig a deeper garage to add further spaces? Douglas' Cooper said probably not. Although Douglas is awaiting geotechnical analysis of the site, Cooper said he expects they will hit bedrock further down, and blasting through that might not be economically feasible. Several other downtown projects have been forced to blast for deep excavations, including 4500 East-West Highway, Lot 31, and 8300 Wisconsin. "Please don’t take our livelihood by taking away our parking," a nearby business owner pleaded.
One interesting issue that was brought up, was the "at-risk" windows on the south side of the building. Should a new building be constructed within 3 feet of 8008 on that side, 8008's windows would have to be bricked-in. The developer says this would be possible, as the units are rental apartments, not condos.
"Douglas Development is incredibly excited about this project," Cooper said. The project is one of at least two potential redevelopments on Douglas-controlled land in downtown Bethesda. A second site is currently home to Tommy Joe's and Pines of Rome.
Here are images of the renderings and blueprints on display at last night's meeting (click to enlarge for greater detail).
Renderings courtesy of
WDG/Douglas Development, All rights reserved
All photos: Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row
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| Floorplans |
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| Rooftop - note pool shape as mentioned in my post |
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| Parking garage |
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