Bethesda’s Construction Boom Update
Tower cranes over downtown Bethesda
About two and a half years ago, we wrote that downtown Bethesda, Suburban Maryland’s flagship CRE submarket, was on the verge of a massive wave of office construction. Not only has the office boom materialized, but it has driven a surge in the multifamily pipeline, as developers seek to capitalize on the expected growth in housing demand that will follow the additional office-using jobs. The relatively compact downtown Bethesda skyline is currently dominated by 11 tower cranes (including one constructing the southern entrance to the Bethesda Red Line station).
Below is a list of all multifamily and office development projects in downtown Bethesda currently under construction, recently delivered, or scheduled to break ground this year. (For the many other projects in the longer-term pipeline, please refer to our Class A multifamily and office publications, download order form here.)
OFFICE
Since our August 2017 post, three of the five projects we highlighted have broken ground, and a fourth delivered late last year. The final building—4 Bethesda Metro Center—was listed as a potential office building, but will instead be a longer-term apartment project. Finally, a speculative lab/office building has since been added to the pipeline.
Source: Marriott International
Marriott Headquarters/7750 Wisconsin Avenue
Developer: The Bernstein Companies/Boston Properties
Status: Under Construction
Size: 795,500 SF
The largest and most prominent office project coming to Bethesda will be occupied by a sole tenant—Marriott International. Since our last update, the building has progressed through the site prep., demolition, and excavation phase, and is currently undergoing vertical construction. The project is being developed by a joint venture of Bernstein and Boston Properties which will own and lease the 22-story office building to Marriott. A 13-story, 230-room flagship Marriott hotel is also going up on the site, with a public plaza located between the two buildings. The office building is still on schedule to deliver in Q2 2021, with the hotel opening in Q1 2022.
Source: Carr Properties
The Wilson/7272 Wisconsin Avenue
Developer: Carr Properties
Status: Under Construction
Size: 360,800 SF
The Wilson broke ground in late 2017 and recently topped out. The majority of its space has been leased ahead of delivery later this year. The 24-story building shares a parking garage podium with the Elm apartment building and is now the tallest office building in Montgomery County. It also sits directly on top of the future Bethesda Purple Line station, as well as a new southern entrance to the existing Red Line Metro station.
Source JBG Smith
4747 Bethesda Avenue
Developer: JBG Smith
Status: Delivered
Size: 280,000 SF
The first in the current generation of trophy office product in Bethesda, 4747 Bethesda delivered late last year, nearly fully leased. The trophy office building is located on the same block as the Wilson and immediately across from the Bethesda Row retail district. The building’s developer, JBG Smith, is also its largest tenant, occupying about 80,000 SF. Host Hotels, Booz Allen Hamilton, Orano USA, and Pebblebrook REIT round out the tenant roster.
Source: Stonebridge Associates
Avocet Tower/7373 Wisconsin Avenue
Developer: Stonebridge Associates
Status: Under Construction
Size: 393,700 SF
Like the Marriott headquarters, the 23-story 7373 Wisconsin Ave. development is a mixed-use hotel/office concept. In this case, the 512,000 SF project is being built as a single structure with shared parking and amenity space, although the AC Hotel (the first in Montgomery County) will be separately owned and operated by OTO Development. The office component is now being marketed as “Avocet Tower” and will boast unique features such as a 10,000 SF public landscaped plaza and 7,500 SF rooftop terrace with a 40-foot tall pergola.
Source: Donohoe
Bethesda Bio/8280 Wisconsin Avenue
Developer: Donohoe/Stonebridge Associates
Status: Planned (Groundbreaking possibly by end of 2020)
Size: 175,000 SF
The Bethesda Bio building is unique among the submarket’s office pipeline as a purpose-built lab/office building targeted at life sciences tenants. The building would be the first of its kind in Bethesda, and the first in an urban location in Montgomery County. While the county is home to one of the largest life sciences clusters in the nation, nearly the entire lab inventory is located along the I-270 Corridor in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown in suburban-style campuses. The only notable exception is the massive United Therapeutics campus in downtown Silver Spring. Bethesda Bio provides a unique opportunity for biotech, pharmaceutical, and other research firms to locate in an urban, transit-accessible environment, less than a mile from NIH which is the region’s largest single source of funding for research.
MULTIFAMILY
Source: JBG Smith
8001 Woodmont Avenue
Developer: JBG Smith
Status: Under Construction
Size: 322 Units
This project was originally intended to be constructed during Bethesda’s last apartment boom but was delayed for several reasons. As a result, the building will instead be the first to deliver in the current mini-cycle.
In 2019, the building was rebranded to “8001 Woodmont Avenue” from its original address/name of “7900 Wisconsin Avenue,” perhaps to highlight its location in Woodmont Triangle. Most recently, JBG Smith filed a site plan amendment requesting a reduction in the total number of apartments from 450 to 322, to reflect greater demand for larger units. The building’s ground-floor retail space will be partially occupied by a Trader Joe’s grocery store.
Source: Carr Properties
The Elm/4710 Elm Street
Developer: Insight Property Group/Carr Properties
Status: Under Construction
Size: 376 Units
The Elm is the residential component of the massive Apex Building redevelopment at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue. The twin-towered high-rise will sit on top of the Bethesda Purple Line station and a new entrance to the Bethesda Red Line station. Like the 8001 Woodmont Avenue project, the developer of The Elm has requested a reduction in the total unit count in early 2020. In this case, 80 of the originally planned 456 units will be used for short-term “executive housing” rentals, rather than traditional apartments. The 30-story building will be the tallest residential building in Montgomery County (at least for the time being) and feature an amenity “skybridge” connecting the two towers.
Source: ZOM
Maizon Bethesda/4900 Moorland Lane
Developer: ZOM
Status: Under Construction
Size: 229 Units
Located at the western edge of Downtown Bethesda, Maizon Bethesda is the only mid-rise building on this list. The project is also the first to be approved under the new Downtown Bethesda sector plan, which set new standards for density, height, architecture, affordable housing, and sustainability. Ground-floor residences at Maizon along Arlington Road will have direct access from the street.
Source: Equity Residential
Edgemont at Bethesda Metro II/4885 Edgemoor Lane
Developer: Equity Residential
Status: Under Construction
Size: 154 Units
Edgemont II is going up on the western end of the same block as Maizon Bethesda. This project will be a 15-story high-rise and is the second phase of the existing eight-story Edgemont at Bethesda Metro apartments. The new building’s underground parking garage will functionally be an addition to the existing building’s garage, so residents of either building can park on both sides. The construction of Edgemont II and Maizon resulted in the demolition of older single-family homes that had been converted to office use and will result in nearly the entire block being used for high-density uses – the sole exception being a relatively new standalone TD Bank.
Source: M-NCPPC
8000 Wisconsin Avenue
Developer: Aksoylu Properties
Status: Planned (Groundbreaking by end of 2020)
Size: 441 Units
The 20-story apartment high-rise planned for 8000 Wisconsin Avenue will be sandwiched between two other high-rises: the aforementioned 8001 Woodmont Avenue and Toll Brothers’ delayed condo building at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue. Consequently, the developer was required to carefully articulate the building’s façade and massing to break up the street wall and appear less imposing. The massive building is also notable in that 25% of the total units will be affordable, beyond the required 15%, in exchange for a boost in density.
Source: M-NCPPC
7607 Old Georgetown Road
Developer: Washington Property Company
Status: Planned (Groundbreaking by end of 2020)
Size: 200 Units
7607 Old Georgetown Road is currently occupied by a La Madeline restaurant and parking lot but will be redeveloped with a 22-story apartment building containing 200 units. The building will be located very close to the center of downtown Bethesda and the existing Red Line station entrance. Most of the building’s amenities will be on the roof, including a terrace, fitness center, game room, lounge, dining room, and bar.
Source: M-NCPPC
Metro Tower/7316 Wisconsin Avenue
Developer: B.F. Saul
Status: Planned (Groundbreaking by end of 2020)
Size: 366 Units
Another project on Wisconsin Avenue, Metro Tower will add 366 new units to the submarket in a 25-story, art-deco styled tower. The building is located directly north of the Apex building redevelopment project and will have immediate access to the Red/Purple Line station entrance. The building will feature a rooftop swimming pool and clubroom, as well as a public plaza with a water feature.
Source: M-NCPPC
The Claiborne
Developer: Novo Development
Status: Planned (Groundbreaking by end of 2020)
Size: 84 Units
The lone condo project expected to break ground this year, the 11-story Claiborne is in the heart of the Woodmont Triangle district on Norfolk Avenue. The building will be within easy walking distance of multiple retail and dinging outlets, as well as the Marriott headquarters. The project is fully entitled and building permit applications have been filed with groundbreaking later this year.
Company