Monday, March 18, 2024

Catching up with the Amalyn Development

 

Little Green houses, for everyone

 Here is a row of single family houses under construction. They are quite large and close together.  They won't stay green forever, you can see one on the far left is getting a light brick facade on the front.

A quick recap may be a good thing.  Amaylyn is a new housing development in Bethesda located between Interstate 495 and the Interstate 270 Spur.  This 75 acre site used to house the WMAL radio transmitters. Those towers were brought down in 2020 and the area has been under development ever since.

Amalyn will contain just over 300 dwellings in a mix of town houses and single-family houses.  It is a joint development between Toll Brothers and Tri Pointe Homes. It looks like the townhouses and some of the single family houses are Tri Pointe and the rest are Toll Brothers.  The development will connect to the rest of Bethesda via Greentree Road, Greyswood Road, and Renita Lane.

Newly paved portion of Renita Ln

Just last week they finished paving some new roads.  Here is the new portion of Renita Lane looking towards Greentree Road.

Renita Ln at Greentree Rd

This is where Renita Lane ends at Greentree Road.  I was worried that Renita would be a straight line from one end of the development to the other, but it has light curves at either end which should slow traffic down a little bit.

The backs of some townhouses

A newly paved Sanvitalia Street and the backs of some townhouses under construction.

Townhouses under construction

Here is the fronts of those same townhouses.  They will face Silver Linden Street. This was taken from the corner of Sanvitalia and Silver Linden streets.

More townhouse construction

This row of townhouses is much further along than the last one.  It is also facing Silver Linden Street and is on the corner of that road and Bluestar Avenue.

 You can read my full coverage of the Amalyn development.


 

 

 

 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Purple Line construction in Bethesda

 

The Purple Line has had along and winding history with it taking a long time to get started and then stopping for a couple of years. But, it is on again and they are actively working on it in Bethesda. When finished the light-rail line will
 connect Bethesda, Silver Spring, and beyond. 

This is the Purple Line route towards Silver Spring.  The light rail tracks will be on the right and the Georgetown Branch / Capital Crescent trail on the left. Hard to see, but in the far distance people are doing work on the track area.

The Purple Line at East-West Highway looking towards downtown Bethesda. On the right you can see a partially-built access ramp which will allow you to get on the trail from East-West Highway.

Right after the Purple Line comes out from under the Air Rights building, the Georgetown Branch / Capital Crescent trail will cross over it on this bridge.  It is located at the end of Pearl Street.

The purple line where it exists the tunnel from the station. The Georgetown Branch / Capital Crescent trail is on the far side ramp.

Purple line construction between East-West Hwy and Pearl St.  They are actively working this area too.

I haven't really posted about the Purple Line, but, I did post about the Georgetown Branch trail closing in 2017, about the Purple Line Functional Plan in 2011, and about the Save the Trail petition in 2009.

 

 

 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Hampden House apartments construction

 

 Hampden House is an under-construction mixed-use development that will have 366 apartments.  The 25 story building is located along Wisconsin Avenue between Hampden Lane and Elm Street.  Here it is looking southwest across Wisconsin Avenue to the construction site.

Depending on which website you look at, it is either at 7316 Wisconsin Avenue or 4700 Hampden Lane.  It is scheduled for completion in Summer of 2025, well over a year from now.

Across Wisconsin Avenue looking northwest towards Hampden House.  The white building in front of it is part of the construction of the Purple Line / Bethesda Metro entrance and is covering Elm Street.

Hampden house as seen from Montgomery Avenue. Between me and the building is another construction site.

Looking east up Hampden Lane from Arlington Road.


From the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Bethesda Avenue, looking past the Purple Line construction towards Hampden House.

 

 

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Woodward High School update

Woodward High School from Old Georgetown Road
I last posted about the construction of the new Woodward High School in August. On the surface, it doesn't look like much has happened since then. There is a bit more cladding on some parts of the building, and one of the parking lots is beginning to take shape.  I'm sure a lot more has been going on inside.
 

Woodward is scheduled to have phase one complete by August of this year. At that time, Northwood High School is supposed to move in for 3 years. This is a year longer than originally planned and is due to budget restrictions.  That means that Charles W. Woodward won't open for students of its own until August of 2027.

 

South side of Woodward H.S.

The boundary study for the new Woodward H.S. was approved last March but there haven't been updates since then.

Here is the south side of the new school with a future parking lot prominently in the foreground.  The portion of the school facing Old Georgetown Road is to the left.


 

 

Saturday, February 3, 2024

The Cecil apartments construction


 The apartments under construction at 8015 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, MD have a name, The "Cecil".  It will have 297 apartments when completed and on the corner of Glenbrook Rd and Old Georgetown Rd.

 

I last posted about these apartments in October. At the time they were just starting on the fourth floor. Now all eight floors are in progress and the walls of the building are on. There are still a number of windows yet to be installed.

 

The apartment complex is right next to Bethesda Chevy-Chase Rescue Squad and this is how the building looks from their parking lot.

 

Here's the view from Glenbrook Road.


From across Old Georgetown Rd, looking towards Bethesda. The red building in the background is where Glenbrook Road is.

 

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Caroline Freeland Park renovation update

 

Caroline Freeland Urban Park on Arlington Road in downtown Bethesda, MD closed last July for renovation.  I posted about the progress last August when they had just started ripping out trees and other park parts.  Here we are 6 months later and it is time to take another look at what is going on.

 

New Playground

 

The most notable change is the new playground.  It is larger than the old one with all new equipment. Much of the playground equipment has been installed including a very tall structure with multiple slides. The playground area was last renovated in 2010.

 


On the other side of the park, the progress is much less noticeable.  Most of it is bare dirt, but you can see wooden stakes outlining where future work will be done.

The project should be completed later this year. Caroline Freeland was the first woman to chair The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).

 

 

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Stop Feeding the Dumpster Animals!

 

someone has been strewing vegetables and bread around downtown Bethesda for months.  I have noticed it many times in alleys and by dumpsters.  This weekend there was a lot of it on the ground at the old public parking lot on Woodmont Avenue across from Pizzeria Da Marco.

 

Here's a scattering of green squash and sweet potatoes in the same area.

 

I'm not the only person to notice it either.  Here is a sign someone posted by some dumpsters on Battery Lane.  I wholeheartedly agree. There are enough rats in Bethesda already and feeding them just makes the problem worse.

 

 

 

Saturday, January 27, 2024

4909 Auburn construction update


4909 Auburn, an apartment building under construction on Auburn Avenue in Bethedsda, Maryland has progressed quite a bit since I last posted about it in October.


Construction is scheduled to be done in Mid-2024, they still have a lot to do so we'll see if they keep to the schedule.

Auburn Avenue is still uncomfortably narrow where construction has closed a lane.  When I was there a truck was unloading and taking up even more space.

The view from Norfolk Avenue. It rises significantly higher than the buildings right around it.

 

Light gray bricks face almost all of the front of the building. The top three floors still need attention as do areas that are set back.

 

 

 

Thursday, January 25, 2024

A foggy evening in Bethesda

 Tonight was warm and foggy, the last of the snow is quickly melting away.  I went for a walk on the Bethesda Trolley Trail and took these photos.




Sunday, January 21, 2024

Sophia Bethesda construction

Sophia Bethesda construction

It's been a while since I posted about these apartments currently under construction next to Bainbridge Bethesda.  So long, in fact, that they have changed names.  The project used to be called St. Elmo Apartments and you can see my update from September here.


 The name change isn't the only thing that has happened since then, Sophia Bethesda has topped out and has walls most of the way up. It now rises significantly higher than it's neighbor, Bainbridge Bethesda.

The view from the ground

Here's the view from St. Elmo Avenue, Bistro Provence is to the left, and there is a bit of snow on the ground from last week's storm.

According to Apartments.com, there will be 200 units spread across 22 stories. This is down from 276 apartments in the original plans. Rents will range from $1,642 for the lowest priced Studio to $9,113 for the most premium 3 bedroom apartment.

From Fairmont

 Sophia will be accessible from both St. Elmo Avenue and Fairmont Avenue. This is the view from Fairmont.