COMMUNITY MEETING FOR PROPOSED NEW BUILDING AT 4733 BETHESDA AVENUE

A community meeting has been scheduled for December 15, to discuss a proposed 242,000 SF office building that would replace the existing one currently located at 4733 Bethesda Avenue. It also may include additional office space being added to the existing building at 7200 Wisconsin Avenue, and a hotel (not actual office space) as the main use for the new 4733 structure.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM that evening, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center at 4805 Edgemoor Lane.

As proposed, the building would have 13,000 SF of ground floor retail and restaurant space. It is being developed by the JBG Companies, and along with their current efforts to draw a major restaurant tenant to the neighboring Artery Plaza, could help activate that fairly-dead block of Bethesda Avenue after business hours. JBG has previously included a 230-room boutique hotel as part of the 4733 Bethesda Avenue/7200 Wisconsin Avenue project. I've heard nothing to indicate the hotel plan at 4733 being changed to office space, but we will find out at the meeting just what the newest proposal is.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: 7770 NORFOLK LUXURY APARTMENT TOWER (PHOTOS)

The 17-story 7770 Norfolk luxury apartment tower continues to make progress at the corner of Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues in downtown Bethesda. Some of the first glass is being installed on the lower floors right now. You can see corner balconies that look almost livable right now, minus their necessary railings, of course. 7770 Norfolk is being developed by The JBG Companies.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: 7770 NORFOLK LUXURY APARTMENTS (PHOTOS)

Here's the latest update from The JBG Companies' 7770 Norfolk luxury apartment tower construction site at Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues in Bethesda. There's an interesting new structural detail: angled support columns between some of the floors, which you can see in the third and fourth photos below. The finished product will be 17 stories, so we still have a ways to go here.

JBG GIVES BUSINESSES NEAR ITS BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION SITE A BOOST (PHOTO)

Sidewalk (and occasional street) closures on Fairmont Avenue related to construction of the 7770 Norfolk and Bainbridge Bethesda apartment towers have made a challenging environment for the businesses in that area. Now 7770 developer The JBG Companies has taken a step to lessen the impact by posting a banner at the construction site urging passersby to support those businesses, and to increase public awareness that the establishments are there and still open.

Among the businesses touted on the sign are Bold Bite, Positano, Coles Martial Arts Academy, ShipShape IT, Pronto Press, and College Nannies + Tutors.

MOCO'S MILLENNIAL PROBLEM: BLAME COUNTY'S WEAK JOB GROWTH, SAYS DEVELOPER OF BETHESDA CONDOS

One of the big puzzles (for some) in Montgomery County is, how can more millennials be attracted to live and work here? Two panelists at Bisnow's Montgomery County Boom! event last week at the Marriott North Bethesda Conference Center managed to dodge the popular myths, and hit the nail on the head.

Stephen Alfandre of Toll Brothers City Living, which is currently building the Hampden Row luxury condos in downtown Bethesda, got it right. Alfandre argued "poor job growth in Montgomery is holding [attraction of millennials] back," according to Bisnow. His examples of locations where efforts have been more successful - Arlington County and DC's 14th Street - both share one thing in common: proximity to high-wage government, defense and government contracting jobs. If Montgomery County can add more of those type of jobs, it will provide the same draw for young professionals.

Rich Jordan of The JBG Companies identified another major draw - affordable housing. Although, one could argue, if there were enough new high-wage jobs, that would increase the spending power of millennials for housing. If you look where the studies show millennials are currently located in downtown Bethesda, they are clustered most in the Battery Lane and Bradley Boulevard corridors. With demolitions of several older apartment buildings already approved for Battery, that street will have a net loss in affordable units. We're hearing more and more rumors about redevelopment (a.k.a. demolition of existing housing) in the Bradley area, as well. Those ideas will have to be reversed, if Montgomery really is serious about retaining the millennials it has now, much less attracting new ones.

I give both of these guys credit for cutting through the nightlife/"vibrant places" baloney. Millennials vacation and party in Las Vegas, but they sure as heck aren't moving there like they are to DC, Rosslyn, Pentagon City, Clarendon, etc. to start their professional careers.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: 7770 NORFOLK LUXURY APARTMENTS (PHOTOS)

The future 17-story apartment tower at 7770 Norfolk Avenue was a conversation-starter for many attendees at Saturday's Taste of Bethesda, with its skeletal structure looming over the block where many entered the food and entertainment festival. The JBG Companies project has added about 2 additional stories since my last update, and the extra height allows for some good close-up photographic views from nearby vantage points.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: 7770 NORFOLK LUXURY APARTMENT TOWER (PHOTOS)

The Bainbridge Bethesda has drawn a lot of attention this week, with its Grand Opening celebration. But people coming to and from the Bainbridge on the Fairmont Avenue side can't help but notice the hulking structure rising across the street. That's The JBG Companies' 7770 Norfolk project, a 17-story luxury apartment tower with ground floor retail.

DEVELOPER SEEKS DELAY OF PROPOSED CHANGES AT BETHESDA'S ARTERY PLAZA

The JBG Companies has requested a extension from the Montgomery County Planning Board for its proposal to modify Artery Plaza, located at 7200 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. If you recall, the developer is seeking to remove a large arch across from Jimmy Johns on Bethesda Avenue, in hopes of attracting "Bethesda's next great restaurant" to the building. That potential restaurant space features 825 SF of patio space along Bethesda Avenue.

JBG is also asking the board to allow it to convert the building's art gallery into a fitness center, and to move the art display into the lobby.

Planning staff are recommending the board approve the extension request, scheduled to be taken up at its September 18 meeting.

STREET WORK TO AFFECT PEDESTRIANS, DRIVERS ON NORFOLK AVE. IN BETHESDA STARTING WEDNESDAY

Clark Construction has notified property owners near its 7770 Norfolk Avenue construction site that street work will affect travel by pedestrians and automobiles over the next 7 weeks. Starting Wednesday, September 3, there will be closures and detours on Norfolk, as contractors make deep utility and pipe connections for the 7770 Norfolk apartment tower project below the street. A second, smaller site by the property's Fairmont Avenue side will also be impacted.

The work on Norfolk Avenue will be between Fairmont and Woodmont Avenues. Given that the sidewalk has already been closed on the 7770 side of Norfolk there, one must assume that pedestrians will be affected on the Veterans Park side of the street. A memo on the project says the utility work on Fairmont will be a utility connection between the center of the street (underground) to the 7770 site (see image above; click to enlarge for detail).

7770 Norfolk is being developed by the JBG Companies.

JBG PROMISING BETHESDA'S NEXT GREAT RESTAURANT (PHOTOS)

The JBG Companies, the development firm that owns Artery Plaza at 7200 Wisconsin Avenue, is promising to bring "Bethesda's next great restaurant" to a Bethesda Avenue-side vacant space. An elaborate window display with this theme has been installed on the site, giving an artist's rendition of what the atmosphere might be like (indoors and out) with the addition of this eatery.

JBG has sought to modify the exterior architecture of the building, including removal of a large arch, to make it more appealing to a high-end restaurant tenant. The sizable space includes an 825 square foot outdoor patio area, which would go a long way towards animating the somewhat dark, dead block of Bethesda Avenue where it is located.

If they could somehow get a restaurant that squeezes the word, "American," in between "Great" and "Restaurant," that would be a sure winner. JBG actually did attract the first Great American Restaurant Group (Coastal Flats, Jackson's Mighty Fine Food, Sweetwater Tavern, etc.) location outside of Virginia to its Downtown Crown development in Gaithersburg. So maybe they have an inside contact they can work there? GAR has been part of a trend which has seen several hot restaurant brands leapfrogging over Bethesda, to go further out into the suburbs (Matchbox and Chef Geoff's to Rockville, Ted's Bulletin to Downtown Crown, for example). It's time to reverse the trend!

7900 WISCONSIN AVENUE BUILDING, SIDEWALK BLOCKED OFF (PHOTOS)

7900 Wisconsin Avenue, an office building slated for demolition in the coming months, has been barricaded with cones. The structure will be eliminated to make way for The JBG Companies' 7900 Wisconsin mixed-use project, featuring luxury apartments and anchored by a Trader Joe's grocery store.

Fitness First remains open on Wisconsin Avenue, but 7900 is vacant with a blank lobby directory.

It is unclear if this is a step towards placement of construction fencing, or to what extent the Wisconsin Avenue sidewalk will be impacted by the demolition and construction ahead. The cones are greatly reducing the sidewalk right-of-way. With the newspaper boxes in place, the open width does not appear to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. Even walkers were having difficulty passing each other on the sidewalk Tuesday evening. Adjustments should be made to address this.

One other trivial point - the cones are labeled for Aldon Management, which operates several buildings in the Battery Lane area of Bethesda, including the venerable 8200 apartment tower on Wisconsin.

You can see how much of the sidewalk
is taken up by the cones and
newspaper boxes; not very
pedestrian or ADA-friendly

Now-vacant lobby of 7900

When all else fails, duct
tape is the answer

Aldon Management is a
hometown company

The lights are on, but
nobody's home