GALLERY BETHESDA OKTOBERFEST (PHOTOS)

Despite a few last minute changes due to Montgomery County's antiquated liquor laws, the Gallery Bethesda had a good turnout for its first Oktoberfest celebration yesterday. Guests enjoyed food and beer catered by Woodmont Triangle neighbor 4935 Bar & Kitchen in the building's well-appointed lobby and cyberlounge. Outside, music was supplied by DJ Maxi and attendees played cornhole on the Gallery's outdoor green space, which was decorated with a fall harvest theme.

Fall decorations on the plaza

4935 Bar and Kitchen's chef
and owner, Ashish Alfred, at
the bar in the Gallery's cyberlounge

Gallery Bethesda property manager
Manuel Majano and DJ Maxi behind
the turntables

Bethesda start-up Spotluck was
there to promote its new app
that gives new deals on downtown
Bethesda restaurants every day

A cornhole game underway

Maybe this will become
an annual event

Hay bales on the plaza

New grass added this week

Spotluck was at the party inside,
too, with a human demonstration
of how the app works

Fun at the photo/video booth

4935 Bar and Kitchen is
at 4935 Cordell Avenue

These signs reminded attendees
that beer drinking had to be
limited to the indoors

While the beer-related changes did not spoil the fun of the event, I do mention them because I was not even aware of these particular regulations. And because these should be a topic in the current discussion about the county's and state's outdated liquor laws, and how they are stifling local business and creative events that are vital to our downtown areas.

You may recall the original plan was for an outdoor biergarten, and a German beer list to be supplied by Gallery Bethesda's own convenience store, Aria Beer Wine & Deli. But citing yet more regulations, the County said the beer would have to be consumed inside the building only. And County regulators said the building could not buy beer from its own convenience store, for an event on its own private property!

This is what I mean when I say that liquor "reform" in the county can't just be about a few issues particular politicians want to change. We hear a lot about the need for public gathering space in downtown Bethesda, and here the county's own outdated rules prevented the public from enjoying an outdoor beer garden setting, on just such a gathering space in the Woodmont Triangle. Clearly these two regulations should be added to the list of those needing review and change.

GALLERY BETHESDA APARTMENTS WINS PACE AWARD

The Gallery Bethesda luxury apartment tower continues to be a magnet for industry awards in downtown Bethesda. Yesterday, the building's management announced the Property Management Association's annual PACE Awards has recognized Gallery as the top building for Lease Up in Maryland. Open since January, the Donohoe-developed property is currently 80% leased and rising.

In a statement, PMA Executive Vice President Thomas B. Cohn said, “PACE recognizes exceptional apartments and identifies communities that are passionate about providing exceptional resident services and delivering unparalleled living experiences.  PACE not only celebrates excellence in the management of apartment communities, it also fills a void. PACE is the only awards program in the national capital region that evaluates apartment communities on their operating efficiencies and ability to deliver world-class customer service. Unlike many apartment award programs in other parts of the nation, PACE is not a beauty contest or a program to honor as many communities as possible. Instead, PACE looks to recognize truly extraordinary properties that are the best of the best.”

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: FLATS AT 8300/HARRIS TEETER GROCERY STORE (PHOTOS)

The construction of Bethesda's first Harris Teeter, and the larger 8300 Wisconsin Avenue mixed-use project which it is the anchor of, continues at the corner of Wisconsin and Battery Lane. Developed by StonebridgeCarras, the building is being constructed by Donohoe Construction. Above the grocery store will be the Flats at 8300 luxury apartments.

GALLERY BETHESDA TASTE OF BETHESDA CONTEST & PRIZES

Get your phone out and snap a photo of your favorite thing at Taste of Bethesda today (11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the corner of Woodmont and Norfolk Avenues and beyond), and you could win a gift card from Gallery Bethesda luxury apartments.

Post your photo to their Facebook page, add the hashtag #TheNewHeight, and the one that earns the most Likes by October 17 will be the winner.

There are more ways to win today, though. Stop by the Gallery's plaza at 4800 Auburn Avenue during the Taste of Bethesda for prize giveaways, and check out the outdoor fall decorations.

GALLERY BETHESDA TO HOST OKTOBERFEST ON OCTOBER 25

One concern that has been brought up repeatedly during the Bethesda Downtown sector plan process has been public space - and rightfully so. But some public spaces are already in the works from private developers, and one will get its first real public test on Saturday, October 25. That's when the Gallery Bethesda luxury apartments at 4800 Auburn Avenue will host an Oktoberfest from 2:00-5:00 PM, on the pedestrian plaza outside the tower.

Live music, pumpkin carving and other activities are planned. Food and - most importantly - the beer will be provided by the Gallery's ground floor convenience store (Aria Beer Wine & Deli), and a second caterer.

Bratwurst, hot dogs, soft pretzels with cheese or mustard dipping sauce, and German potato salad are among the early items on the menu. Sausages will be grilled outdoors on the plaza. Beers currently expected to be on the list are Hofbrau Original Lager, Warsteiner Original, Warsteiner Oktoberfest, Warsteiner Dunkel, Beck's, Beck's Octoberfest, Beck's Light, Beck's Dark, and Fat Tire Tour de Fall. Stay tuned for any additions or changes, as this is an early list.

Let's hope for good weather that day. The green space on the opposite side of the plaza will be appropriately decorated for October, including hay bales.

The Oktoberfest is the latest event in what has been a promising fall season for the Gallery. A giant public art mural was recently completed across from the plaza by local artist Jordann Wine. With the first residents having moved in earlier this year, the building is now 80% occupied, according to Property Manager Manuel Majano. Majano and the rest of the Gallery Bethesda staff were celebrating another milestone last Friday, as well. The Donohoe-developed and constructed Gallery Bethesda was named Best Washington/Baltimore Green Apartment Community that day.

The award, bestowed by prominent commercial real estate research firm Delta Associates, recognized the Donohoe Companies, the building's property management firm Vantage Management, and its architect, WDG Architecture. When you consider how many buildings have gone up in the District and Baltimore alone over the last few years, this is indeed an impressive distinction.

8300 WISCONSIN APARTMENTS GET A NAME IN BETHESDA

The future luxury apartments at 8300 Wisconsin Avenue appear to have a name now for marketing purposes - and it sounds awfully familiar to anyone following downtown Bethesda development closely. Apartment management firm Bozzuto is now referring to 8300 as the Flats at 8300.

Of course, this is quite similar to another Bozzuto property currently under construction in Bethesda - The Flats, part of the Lot 31 StonebridgeCarras development. And StonebridgeCarras just happens to be the developer behind 8300 Wisconsin.

Branding multiple buildings the same is not uncommon in this wave of development in Montgomery County. Washington Property Company, for example, is using the name Solaire on buildings in Silver Spring, Wheaton and Bethesda.

The Flats at 8300 is currently under construction by The Donohoe Companies, and will offer 370 apartments over a 50,000 SF Harris Teeter grocery store. Amenities will include high ceilings, walk-in closets, movable kitchen islands, stainless steel appliances, courtyard, fitness center, WiFi, and in-residence washers and dryers.

Rendering courtesy of WDG Architects

All rights reserved

ARTIST COMPLETES NEW MURAL AT GALLERY BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Artist Jordann Wine has completed the latest public art addition to the plaza in front of the Gallery Bethesda apartments, at 4800 Auburn Avenue. Wine was hired by the Donohoe Companies to beautify a drab, blank wall directly opposite the plaza. This is her second finished mural in the Woodmont Triangle this year, and took about three weeks to complete by hand. You can get a sense of the painstaking process in the close-up photo below, where each triangle was pre-outlined with tape, and then painted.

The finished mural spans the 24x90' wall, and includes 26 shades of purple, and over 1200 triangles in all.  It's interesting how the purple matches with the hue of the windows across at Triangle Towers, at the time of day the final photo was taken. 

Wine is a native of Bethesda, and a graduate of Walt Whitman High School.

See the work come together in these time lapse photos:

The finished product

Artist's signature and date
at the top left corner of
the building

Zoomed-in view of the top
photo shows how the triangles
were individually painted

Photos:

Top, bottom: Ilyah Kyriacopoulos

All others by Jordann Wine

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: HARRIS TEETER/8300 WISCONSIN AVE. (PHOTOS)

Here's an update on the future 8300 Wisconsin luxury apartment building, which will include a Harris Teeter grocery store, at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Battery Lane in downtown Bethesda. Developed by StonebridgeCarras, the mixed-use project is being built by Donohoe Construction.

Donohoe's recently-delivered Gallery Bethesda
luxury apartments can be seen from 8300
directly in the center of this photo

DONOHOE GIVES BETHESDA ARTIST A MASSIVE CANVAS AT GALLERY BETHESDA PLAZA (PHOTOS)

The Donohoe Companies' Gallery Bethesda luxury apartment tower is known for its public plaza LED light sculptures. But the development is in the process of adding an additional public art piece to the outdoor space outside the 4800 Auburn Avenue building.

Jordann Wine, a Bethesda artist and Walt Whitman High School graduate, has been hired by Donohoe to further liven up the outdoor environment with a mural. Wine is now painting the 24' x 90' piece on the blank wall of an old building directly across the plaza from the Gallery. She just recently completed another mural downtown, on the side of the Quantum Building at 4912 Del Ray Avenue (see photo at top).

Wine says the Gallery mural will also utilize triangular shapes like the Del Ray piece. "I love working with triangles," she said Tuesday. "[T]hey are very geometric and sharp, but because of their three sides they have the ability to curve and create an organic sense of movement." The triangles on this new mural will fade from a very dark purple to a very light one, and there will be over 2000 of them in the finished work.

Wine has been working on the project for 5 days so far, and you can see the progress in these photos:

DAY 1

 DAY 3

DAY 5

You'll also notice that by Day 5 (yesterday), she had also painted a matching purple stripe along the top and bottom edges of the wall. Wine said when the mural is finished, it will be her largest work ever. Here is her own photo of her Del Ray Avenue work, to give you a sense of the direction she is going with this piece:

Photos: Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row (top)
All others courtesy Jordann Wine

8300 WISCONSIN HARRIS TEETER/LUXURY APARTMENTS CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Here is a new batch of photos from the construction site of 8300 Wisconsin, a mixed-use development that will hold the first Harris Teeter grocery store in Bethesda. Developed by StonebridgeCarras, the project is being constructed by Donohoe, which recently celebrated the grand opening of its nearby Gallery Bethesda apartment tower.

One question that I hadn't thought of before a commenter posed it last week is, will the Bethesda Harris Teeter be 24 hours? With the Montgomery vs. Fairfax rivalry still going strong, it has to be pointed out that the Tysons Harris Teeter is open 24 hours. And Tysons isn't even transformed into an urban area yet.

Is Fuelman the hero
who can stop the gas
stations of Bethesda
from disappearing?