29-Story, 420-Unit Development Pitched For Bethesda Moves Forward

• 11:11 AM EST

by UrbanTurf Staff

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A major new residential development on the boards for downtown Bethesda is moving forward. 

Last summer, MRP Realty and Prime Finance Special Situations acquired a four-parcel assemblage that wraps the intersections of Wisconsin Avenue with East West Highway, Waverly Street, and Montgomery Avenue (map). That site—currently home to a series of aging and largely vacant office buildings—is poised to be transformed into a large-scale residential development, and the first phase will head to before the Montgomery County Development Review Committee later this month. 

Phase One would demolish 7475 Wisconsin Avenue and 4650 East West Highway, replacing them with a 29-story 420-unit multifamily building with ground-floor retail, 274 parking spaces, and approximately 6,500 square feet of public open space. SK+I is the architect designing the new building. 

Although the office building at 4600 East West Highway is expected to remain in use for the foreseeable future, a second multifamily building could eventually be built at 7401 Wisconsin Avenue. 

As designed, the building in Phase 1 would reach a maximum height of 302 feet at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and East West Highway, then step down to 187 feet mid-block. There will also be a pedestrian tunnel linking the site directly to the Bethesda Metro Station. 

The development team will pursue an expedited Commercial to Residential Reconstruction Plan (CRR Plan), and has already received feedback from the Downtown Bethesda Design Advisory Panel on the massing and architectural concept.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/29-story_420-unit_development_pitched_for_bethesda_moves_forward/24285.