NEW IMAGES OF PROPOSED MIXED-USE TOWER ON ST. ELMO AVE IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

New images of the future 16-story mixed-use tower proposed for St. Elmo Avenue by the Lenkin Company are in. The St. Elmo Apartments will house 210 residential units, and up to 15,488 SF of office/commercial space. The above image (and many other details) was already seen in my earlier report on the project, but there are some additional sketches, blueprints and plans for the David M. Schwarz-designed tower.

You can see it will be massed as a "C" shape building, and - if all goes as planned - will share an enhanced 10,865 SF public space with next-door neighbor Bainbridge Bethesda apartments. According to a letter to the Montgomery County Planning Department, the developer has already met with representatives of the Bainbridge to begin those discussions.

The sketch plan proposes up to 32 MPDUs, using a higher 15% affordable housing standard than the Montgomery County requirement of 12.5%.

While the current address of the development site is considered 4931 Fairmont Avenue, the future building's lobby will be on St. Elmo Avenue, as will its 4-level underground parking garage entrance. The tower's loading dock will be on Fairmont, however.

Construction would not begin until mid-2016 or 2017, attorney Steve Robins said in August.

Other than the sad news that Chef Tony's and Pizza Pass would have to be demolished prior to construction, most indications seem promising for this project. It will provide high density near Metro, has proposed higher than the required amounts of parking and affordable units, and could create an enhanced public gathering space. What would really make that work best would be if the St. Elmo and the Bainbridge can get some restaurants to lease in their ground floors, so that there will be activity over a greater range of hours, as opposed to a bank or shop that closes at 5 or 6 in the evening. The revitalization of that block of Fairmont Avenue seems stalled out at the present, with no tenants in the Bainbridge ground floor yet, and other future towers still under construction (7770 Norfolk) or in the works (former BP gas station at Fairmont and Old Georgetown Road).

ST. ELMO APARTMENTS DESIGN UNVEILED IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

The future of St. Elmo Avenue got bigger last night, when the sketch design for the 16-story St. Elmo Apartments was unveiled at a public meeting in Bethesda. Steve Robins, with Lerch, Early & Brewer, presented the sketch plan he said Lenkin Companies will submit to county planners within the next month.

A mixed-use project, St. Elmo Apartments will include up to 15,500 SF of retail space, up to 210 luxury apartments, and a potential second floor office space for Lenkin, which has been headquartered at this site since 1970. Chef Tony's and Pizza Pass would be demolished for the construction, currently scheduled to begin in mid-2016 or 2017.

Lenkin has hired David M. Schwarz to design the building, and Robins said they are aiming for a "timeless" design, rather than "trendy or aping past traditional style." He said glass will be the predominant exterior feature. DMS designed the Baltimore Orioles training facility, along with many big projects in the DC region. Lenkin has selected Rhodeside & Harwell for the landscaping and exterior space, a firm that worked on the impressive Intelsat Tysons Tower recently.

Public space is a priority for the developer, Robins said, and Lenkin hopes to work closely with next-door neighbor Bainbridge to realize a pedestrian plaza that will give a strong sense of place.

Speaking of place, the building entrance and parking will front on St. Elmo, as the developer feels that street is "more marketable" than Fairmont Avenue (although the project applicant's official name is 4931 Fairmont Avenue LLC).

Building amenities will include a roof terrace, a pool one flight down from the roof, and dens for some of the 1 and 2 bedroom units.

A St. Elmo Avenue businessperson attending last night's meeting expressed concern about parking, noting that the Cordell-St. Elmo public parking garage is full by midday, creating parking problems for her customers.

In a departure from the trend these days, Robins said St. Elmo Apartments will actually provide more than the required parking on-site - 220 underground spaces in a 4-level garage for 210 (or less) apartments. He also said that the pathway next to the 7770 Norfolk apartments on Fairmont Avenue will make the Woodmont Avenue garage accessible to visitors or patrons of businesses at the St. Elmo Apartments.

As you'll see in the images below (click to enlarge for greater detail), there are alternative plans to capitalize on the space between the St. Elmo and Bainbridge. The most promising would create a large, Bethesda Lane-style public space between the buildings. This is similar to what will eventually exist on Auburn and Del Ray Avenues, when The Rugby is built across from Gallery Bethesda.

There's a lot of potential to do something special with this project, and several high-quality firms involved. Done right, this could be a great addition to the Woodmont Triangle.

Woodmont Triangle and
current zoning

Aerial view that shows several
new and future buildings
in tan color
(Gallery Bethesda, The Rugby upper left;
Bainbridge and 4990 Fairmont center;
7990 Wisconsin, 7770 Norfolk right)

Show me the blueprints,
show me the blueprints

16 stories above
the Woodmont Triangle

Public space

Some individual units

Showing roof terrace and
pool one level down

3 possible configurations for
the public street/plaza between
the buildings

And thank you for
reading!

All images courtesy Lenkin Companies
and DMS Architects, All rights reserved

NEW DATE FOR MEETING ON NEW MIXED-USE PROJECT IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA

The public Pre-Submittal Meeting for the new Lenkin Co. mixed-use residential building proposal has been rescheduled for Monday, August 25, at 7:00 PM, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, in downtown Bethesda. The project will include properties next to the Bainbridge Bethesda apartments on both St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues.

NEW MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR ST. ELMO/FAIRMONT AVES. IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Just when things were winding down at the Bainbridge Bethesda site on St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues... The Bethesda-based construction and property management firm Lenkin Company is submitting a proposal to redevelop property right next door to the Bainbridge.

A pre-submittal community meeting will be held next Monday, August 11, at 7:00 PM, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, at 4805 Edgemoor Lane in Bethesda.

The project will be a mixed-use residential building, but details beyond that aren't likely to be known until the meeting. An office building at 4925 Fairmont Avenue (next door to the Bainbridge), and two adjacent parking lots (one on each street), form a fairly narrow, reverse-L-shaped lot for the project. It should be noted that Lenkin also owns several adjacent properties, including the buildings that currently house Chef Tony's and Pizza Pass. There is no indication that those restaurants will be part of the redevelopment project at this time. Click on this map to enlarge for detail:

The property in question includes
the office building at
4925 Fairmont Avenue, and
the adjacent parking lots
on Fairmont and St. Elmo

Lenkin, whose office address is on St. Elmo Avenue, has several residential buildings in the District. This would be its first apartment or condo project outside of DC. One other interesting Bethesda-related note on Lenkin: the family married into the family of another Montgomery County real estate development dynasty - The Lerners.

Office building in question at
4925 Fairmont Avenue

Parking lot

Another view from the
parking lot