Thursday, March 14, 2013
The construction of a nine-story office building is prompting traffic pattern changes between East-West Highway and Montgomery Lane.
Pearl Street is now a one-way southbound street between East-West Highway and Montgomery Lane, near construction of a nine-story office building at the site of the former McDonald's. The new traffic pattern went into effect Wednesday and will last for the duration of the construction project -- about a year, according to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. Signage will alert motorists to the new traffic patterns, Patch reported. The traffic changes will accommodate excavation and construction at the site, where blasting will launch in several weeks. Neighbors can sign up for Alert Montgomery to receive text message alerts about daily blasting activity. The old McDonald's restaurant on the site was torn down starting last …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Developers likely will use a new text message notification system set in place following excavation at the Lot 31 project site.
Blasting will begin in several weeks at the project site of a nine-story office building planned for the former McDonald's site at 4500 East-West Highway. The news was first reported by Bethesda blogger Robert Dyer. Developers Carr Properties broke ground on the structure last November. Excavation has begun at the site, but engineers have determined that a layer of rock on the south side of the site will require blasting to remove, according to an update from Carr. Recently-completed blasting at another Bethesda construction site at the corner of Bethesda and Woodmont avenues rattled neighbors late last year, taking some by surprise. Using the Lot 31 project as a test case, Montgomery County has implemented a notification system through …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Excavation continues at the project site where a public parking garage and two residential developments are under construction.
Construction blasts at Lot 31 are expected to last six more weeks, according to a project update from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. The blasts began on Dec. 5 after crews conducting excavation encountered a level of dense, hard rock. The blasting was halted temporarily Dec. 18 and resumed again in early February. The construction project has taken out a popular Bethesda Row surface parking lot with about 270 spaces. An underground parking garage with 940 public spaces and two mixed-use residential buildings—one five stories, the other nine stories—are planned for the site, located at the intersection of Bethesda and Woodmont avenues on busy Bethesda Row and across the street from Bethesda's iconic Barnes and Noble. …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The re-developed office building at 7550 Wisconsin Ave. marks Bethesda's first new commerical office property in more than ten years, according to developers.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set to mark the completion of a newly re-developed office building at 7550 Wisconsin Ave. A "glass-breaking" ceremony in November of 2011 marked the launch of the project at the 120,000 square foot building, spearheaded by Akridge and Rockwood Capital, LLC. According to developers, the space is Bethesda's first new commerical office property in more than 10 years. The building once housed offices of the National Institutes of Health. Developers also are aiming for LEED gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, which rates environmentally-friendly structures. Read more about the building's green features at Bethesda Green. “In spite of being a sort of model child in terms of mixed use, Bethesda…
Friday, February 8, 2013
One lane of Pearl Street between Montgomery Avenue and East-West Highway will be closed, and that block of Pearl Street will become a one-way street.
Drivers headed to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, take note: A new traffic pattern on Pearl Street is about to take effect. To accommodate the construction work at 4500 East-West Highway (where a McDonald's building once stood), the west lane of Pearl Street between East-West Highway and Montgomery Avenue will be closed in the next few weeks, and the east lane of that block of Pearl Street will become a one-way, southbound lane, according to an email from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. Signage along both Montgomery Avenue and East-West Highway will alert drivers to the new traffic pattern, the email added. The groundbreaking for the nine-story, 220,000-square-foot office building took place last November. A new …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Construction work that has left some neighbors rattled is back on again in downtown Bethesda.
After a hiatus, blasting that left some neighbors rattled began again at the Lot 31 construction site last Friday, The Gazette reported. The blasts began on Dec. 5 after crews conducting excavation encountered a level of dense, hard rock, according to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. The blasting was halted temporarily on Dec. 18. Doug Firstenberg, a principal at StonebridgeCarras, told The Gazette that the blasting will continue for another few weeks. Excavation at the site is about 80 percent finished and is expected to be complete in two months, The Gazette reported. The construction project, known as Lot 31, has taken out a popular Bethesda Row surface parking lot with about 270 spaces. An underground parking garage …
Construction work that has left some neighbors rattled is back on again in downtown Bethesda.
After a hiatus, blasting that left some neighbors rattled began again at the Lot 31 construction site last Friday, The Gazette reports. The blasts began on Dec. 5 after crews conducting excavation encountered a level of dense, hard rock, according to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. The blasting was halted temporarily Dec. 18. Doug Firstenberg, a principal at StonebridgeCarras, told The Gazette the blasting will continue for another few weeks. Excavation at the site is about 80 percent finished and is expected to be complete in two months, The Gazette reported. The construction project, known as Lot 31, has taken out a popular Bethesda Row surface parking lot with about 270 spaces. An underground parking garage with 940 …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Many Chevy Chase, DC, residents are frustrated that no neighborhood commission review is required for a 90-foot tall apartment building planned for Connecticut Avenue NW at Military Road.
The prospect of a glass apartment building rising up on Connecticut Avenue NW in Chevy Chase, DC—and the heretofore lack of opportunity for residents to voice concerns about the project to developers—brought out between 200 and 300 residents at a community meeting last week at the Chevy Chase Community Center, The Washington Post and Greater Greater Washington reported. The property in question—at 5333 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC—is owned by Calvin Cafritz Enterprises and has been zoned for dense development for more than 30 years, WJLA reported. But, because the project is considered a "matter-of-right" project (because it stays within its zoning regulations), "it needs no zoning approval nor is there a 'statuary requirement for …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Residents say the tall building planned for the vacant lot on Connecticut Avenue NW between Military Road and Kanawha Street is incompatible with the neighborhood.
A tall apartment building planned for Connecticut Avenue NW at Military Road has been in the works for years, but that hasn't softened the attitudes of many Chevy Chase, DC, residents toward the development, which—they say—is incompatible with the site. The property—at 5333 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC—is owned by Calvin Cafritz Enterprises and has been zoned for dense development for more than 30 years, WJLA reported. The 5333 Connecticut Avenue Coalition's website includes an image of what developers are planning for the property. From the illustration, the building appears to be nine or 10 stories tall. (The site is zoned to allow a 90-foot-tall residential building, The Washington Post reported.) Other tall apartment buildings …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Trail users will no longer be detoured near the construction site.
The Capital Crescent Trail has re-opened on its original path near the Lot 31 construction site, according to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. Trail users were being detoured around the original path as construction crews worked to complete an overhead protection structure on the trail. Now that the overhead strucure has been completed, trail users can once again use the original path. Seeding and mulching alongside the trail has also been completed.
Eric S.
12:30 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013
I blame the groundhog. more ›