What's Hot: The Grass House in Anacostia | 6.13%: Mortgage Rates Fall Again
Movie Theater Nixed and Less of Everything Else: The Latest Plans for a Downtown Bethesda Site

A movie theater is no longer in the plans for a new mixed-use project in downtown Bethesda.
Woodfield Development and Starr Capital have amended the application to raze and replace the surface parking lot at 6936-7000 Wisconsin Avenue (map) with a mixed-use development, making the project slightly smaller. The project would now have up to 188 units rather than upwards of 200 units, above roughly 8,000 square feet of commercial space rather than up to 15,000 square feet of commercial space. And the project will no longer have a theater on the ground level.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
The site is designated for by-right construction of 110 feet, offering an additional 22 feet of building height for any project which included a movie theater; in the current proposal, the development team is committing to setting aside at least 17.5 percent of the residential space as moderately-priced dwelling units (MPDUs) in order to get twelve additional feet in height.
Although it is unclear what motivated the development team to back out of the plans for a theater, planning staff previously implied that the proposed theater seemed to be a ploy to get additional height. As the theater would have occupied just 4,000 square feet of commercial space, the clearance heights were lower than is typical for black box theater use, and no operator for the theater had signed on.
SK+I Architecture is the designer. The Design Advisory Panel is reviewing the sketch plan application tomorrow.
See other articles related to: bethesda, downtown bethesda, montgomery county, sk+i architecture, starr capital, wisconsin avenue, woodfield development
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/movie-theater-nixed-and-less-of-everything-else-the-latest-plans-for-downto/15425.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

This Week's Best New Listings includes a Shaw condo with soaring ceilings, a Wesley H... read »

Dupont Circle’s Swann House, a former 15-bedroom bed and breakfast, will be listed ... read »

A recent build in Anacostia made history as the first code-compliant bamboo building ... read »

There are two new proposals to redevelop the center at 14th and U Streets NW that are... read »

The recently-filed amendment would help move redevelopment of a police and fire stati... read »
- Best New Listings: Soaring Ceilings and Stone Exteriors
- One of Dupont Circle's Oldest Mansions to Hit the Market
- The Week's Find: The Grass House in Anacostia
- Apartments, Amphitheaters, and Dave Chapelle: The Revised Proposals For DC's Reeves Center
- Map Amendment Could Pave Way For Big U Street Redevelopment
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro