Live-Work Units Added to 300-Unit Development North of Downtown Bethesda

• June 9th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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A year after a nearly 300-unit development was approved on Old Georgetown Road just north of Woodmont Triangle, the developer is making a slight pivot to the uses.

JLB Realty has filed a sketch plan application for the 2.5-acre site at 8015 Old Georgetown Road (map) to add commercial to the site, resulting in a development with 224 apartments, 73 live/work units, and up to 6,000 square feet of co-working space.

The 90 foot-tall development would replace the church and three houses on the site. Thirty of the apartments and 15 of the live/work units would be moderately-priced (MPDUs), and the unit mix for both the regular and live/work units will be one- and two-bedrooms. The development would also include up to 298 parking spaces and 95 bicycle storage spaces. SK+I Architecture is the designer.

This will be the third recent change to the development proposed for the site.The latest change was inspired by the developers' pre-pandemic trip to New York, along with an assessment of how the pandemic has changed living and working behaviors over the past year. 

"JLB believes that, in the post-pandemic world, multifamily buildings will no longer be seen as static residential spaces, but instead will continue to be hybrid spaces of both residential and commercial uses, as they have been throughout the duration of the pandemic. Residents who have grown accustomed to working from home will continue to use their units as both living and office spaces, and will conduct business both in their units and within the Project’s amenity spaces. JLB is therefore seeking amendments to its approvals to reflect this new reality and account for the more commercial nature of these evolving spaces."

The co-working space will only be available to residents and their guests; there will also be some waiting rooms. The space will be configured with a central shared work area surrounded by glass-enclosed offices and access to restrooms. A clubroom/executive center amenity on the second floor will have direct access to an outside courtyard.

The county Design Review Committee will consider the project later this month.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/73-live-work-units-added-to-proposal-for-old-georgetown-road-site/18360.