by UrbanTurf Staff
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If you drive through downtown Bethesda, it seems like there is a new project going up on every block, as several new residential developments are in various stages of construction.
Below, UrbanTurf takes a look at the latest with the buildings in the works along this stretch of Wisconsin Avenue. If we missed a big one, just shoot us an email at editor(at)urbaturf.com.
7475 Wisconsin/4650 East-West Highway
MRP Realty and Prime Finance Special Situations acquired a four-parcel assemblage last August and are proposing a 29-story, 420-unit building with 274 parking spaces and ~6,500 square feet of public open space, reaching 302 feet at the Wisconsin/East-West Highway corner before stepping down to 187 feet mid-block. A pedestrian tunnel would link the site directly to the Bethesda Metro Station. A potential Phase Two could eventually come to 7401 Wisconsin Avenue.
4719 Hampden Lane
Washington Property Company has plans for a 26-story, 260-unit tower at 4719 Hampden Lane. The triangular site forced architect Design Collective to step and narrow the building as it rises, with two masonry bookends and cascading floors that keep it looking distinctly slim. The ground floor would activate all three street frontages with a glazed "living room" lounge connecting visually to Hampden Plaza and the transit connection below.
7749 Old Georgetown Road
Stonebridge is planning to redevelop the former Jewelry Exchange building at 7749 Old Georgetown Road (map) into a 17-story, 270-unit apartment building with 6,000 square feet of retail and up to 150 structured parking spaces. Stonebridge purchased the site, formerly home to the Jewelry Exchange, in late 2022 for $3.6 million. The project is designed by SK+I architectural design group.
4861 Battery Lane
Plans to tear down an aging three-story apartment complex on Battery Lane in Bethesda and replace it with a 12-story residential building appear to be moving forward.
A development team that includes Kossow Management Corporation filed a Site Plan application this month with Montgomery County for the proposed redevelopment of 4861 Battery Lane, which currently houses an 84-unit building constructed around 1960. The new project would deliver up to 446 apartments, with 15% of those units set aside as Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs).
The project, designed by Architects Collaborative, aims for a contemporary base-middle-top massing with what the applicant describes as a "dynamic façade of cantilever bays" running from the 4th through 11th floors, and a recessed tower anchor at the southeast corner intended to soften the building's presence along Battery Lane. At street level, the design proposes expanding the sidewalk and introducing a landscaped "pocket green" plaza. Residents would also have access to a large interior courtyard, rooftop amenity space, and below-grade parking.
Montgomery Pearl
A new mixed-use development would bring hundreds of new residential units and a health and wellness center to Bethesda.
Montgomery Pearl, a project pitched by Promark Development, would replace a series of aging office buildings along Montgomery Avenue and Pearl Street (map). The project would deliver three new buildings containing up to 590 residential units, a 76,000-square-foot health and wellness club, and 2,000 square feet of retail space. BKV Group is designing the new development.
One of the cooler parts of the development is reimagining Pearl Street, which currently ends in a dead zone at the Capital Crescent Trail, as a shared pedestrian-focused street featuring trees and outdoor seating. A terraced staircase would be built connecting directly to the Capital Crescent Trail, effectively creating a gateway to downtown Bethesda.
7201 Wisconsin Avenue
The Pinkard Group has plans for a 26-story, 450-unit conversion of 7201 Wisconsin Avenue (map), a seven-story commercial building across from the Farm Women's Market. SK+I Architecture designed the new project.
The proposed development would clock in at 262 feet — slightly above the allowed 250-foot maximum, thanks to a height bonus unlocked by the project's affordable housing commitment. Of the 450 units, 80 would be Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs), exceeding the standard threshold and triggering the additional 12-foot height allowance. The residential building would offer a range of unit types, from studios to multi-bedroom apartments, along with rooftop and terrace amenities.
Lot 25
Monument Realty and Mosaic Realty Partners have redevelopment plans for a surface parking lot.
The development team is proposing a new 235-unit residential development with a 90-foot wide public park and up to 145 public parking spaces at the site of county controlled surface parking lot 25 (map).
The new development will offer either live-work units or coworking space, and up to 20% of the apartments will be moderately-priced dwelling units.
Broad Branch Partners and Mosaic Realty Partners have plans for a condo and townhouse development for a plot just east of Woodmont Triangle (map) adjacent to the project above. The project is designed by Torti Gallas Partners.
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The mixed-use development will have about 53 multi-family units, up to 15 live/work units, an approximately 7,000 square-foot public park, up to 99 structured parking spaces, and private amenities.
4901 Battery Lane
Plans are in the works to replace a pair of apartment buildings at 4901 Battery Lane (map) with a 12-story building that would deliver 339 market-rate and 60 moderately-priced (MPDU) apartments. The building would provide 322 vehicular parking and 95 long-term bicycle spaces, and the unit mix would span from studio to two-bedrooms. WC Smith is the developer and SK+I Architecture is the designer.
Battery Lane District
Brown Development's multi-phase redevelopment of the six-building, 806-unit mid-century Battery Lane District — located between Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue — is still progressing toward its first phase.
Phase 1, developed in partnership with Hensel Phelps, calls for a 10-story, 315-unit building on Site C. The overall project is expected to deliver 1,530 new units and up to 12,000 square feet of commercial space over 10–15 years, with 20% MPDUs. DNC Architects, Cooper Carry, and KGD Architecture are the designers for the overall project; WDG Architecture is designing Phase 1.
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8001 Wisconsin Avenue
B.F. Saul's planned 350-unit residential development on the block bounded by Wisconsin Avenue, Tilbury Street, Highland Avenue, and West Virginia Avenue (map) has been pushed back.
In March 2026, the developer sought extensions to the validity periods of two key planning board approvals — originally granted in February 2023 — which would effectively delay the timeline by several years. B.F. Saul cited a confluence of market headwinds making it impossible to proceed on the original schedule. As envisioned, the project would still deliver up to 350 apartments (15% MPDUs) and up to 15,000 square feet of retail, along with a 70-foot-wide greenway along Tilbury Street. Torti Gallas + Partners is the architect.
Hampden East
Washington Property Company (WPC) and Douglas Development eventually plan to replace the WPC headquarters at 4719 Hampden Lane (map) with a 262 foot-tall mixed-use building. The development would include 150 residential units (17.6% MPDUs) with 330,000 square feet of office above and up to 10,000 square feet of double-height retail below, potentially including an indoor/outdoor café at Hampden and East Lanes.
Deep setbacks between the residential and office floors would create outdoor amenity spaces, and the office tenants and residents would share a roof deck. There will also be up to 300 parking spaces on 3-4 below-grade levels. Shalom Baranes Associates is the architect.
7-Eleven Redevelopment
Crescent Communities has a 31-story, 450-unit residential development dubbed Novel Bethesda in the works at multiple addresses centered around 7820 Wisconsin Avenue (map), currently the site of a 7-Eleven. Crescent Communities is the contract purchaser for the sites and Design Collective is the project architect.
The 23rd floor may be the centerpiece of the new development, as it includes a clubhouse, an infinity lap pool and a sky deck with sweeping views of the surrounding area. At the top of the building there will be a glass window wall.
The Dax
Construction is well advanced on The Dax, a 100-unit residential building at the former Midas auto shop site along Cheltenham Drive (map). The nine-story building will contain 17 MPDUs and eight live/work units, with no on-site car parking. The project received an $8 million subordinated loan from the Montgomery County Government Green Bank. Community Three is the developer and Eric Colbert & Associates is the architect.
4405 East-West Highway
Transwestern is looking to redevelop the five-story, 65,000-square-foot office building at 4405 East-West Highway (map) into a 10-story, 350-unit residential project.
Approximately 15% of the units will be moderately-priced, there will be 193 parking spaces, and up to 12,000 square feet of "nonresidential uses will include either retail, child care or medical office use."
Farm Women's Cooperative Market
The development plans for the historic Farm Women's Cooperative Market at 7155 Wisconsin Avenue (map) include moving the market building northward and restoring it, and add up to 585 units (15% MPDUs) and 35,305 square feet of non-residential space. EYA and Bernstein Management Corporation are helming the development; Cunningham Quill Architects is the designer.
Bethesda Row Infill
Federal Realty appears to still have plans for an L-shaped infill development behind Bethesda Row, at Bethesda Avenue and Arlington Road (map). The project would deliver 250 apartments above 14,000 square feet of retail; 17.6% of the units would be MPDUs.
As designed by Hickok Cole, many of the units would have balconies, and the retail would have folding garage doors. There would be an interior "private passageway" between the new construction and Bethesda Row, and there would be 242 parking spaces at- and below-grade and via a mechanized stacked system. There would also be a bike room on the ground floor and a roof deck with pergola.
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This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_%20bethesda_%20building_boom/24696.
