Crescent at Chevy Chase construction

 I went to talk a look at the Crescent at Chevy Chase apartments construction. There are two buildings in this development with a total of up to 111 units. You can see both buildings in this picture.  This is as close as I got, the old road was entirely closed by construction so I couldn't go back into it and the person walking towards me in the picture kept a close eye on me (but didn't say anything), not that I blame him, I didn't have my hard hat and there was a lot of construction activity going on. In addition to the plans linked above, there is an update to them that primarily replaces the normal-sized balconies with mini "Juliet" balconies. No reason was given for the change.

 

This development is on Landmark Court in Chevy Chase.  Never heard of that street?  maybe you knew it under its former name, Newdale Road.  Still unsure? Yeah, it was a short road.  It is right between the Purple line bridge and the Giant gas station on the southbound side of Connecticut Avenue, near the Starbucks and Einstein Bagels. The development also has a website of their own.

This shows the side of one of the buildings and the back yard.  On the right of the photo, on the other side of the trees are single family houses. This picture was taken from the gas station parking lot.

This is how it looks from Laird Place. You can see one of the existing single family houses on the right.

What was here before

Prior to this construction there were five multi-family buildings with 41 total units. Here is a picture from 2014 showing the middle building.

I visited this site at the suggestion of twitter user Rob Bindeman.  I don't think it was just an idle request of his, I think it was an attempt to get cheap publicity since he is the Principal Owner and Developer of the project.  In any case it worked.  Given that the development is a bit back from Connecticut Avenue and right next to Purple Line construction, I hadn't noticed it before now.   I also liked that he had a bit of humor in his cover email to the planning board, I don't see enough of that.

Facebook post about Rob

The best building in Montgomery County

Bethesda Safeway expansion plans

Last Thursday the planning board reviewed site plan 820090170, which is a fancy way of saying that the Safeway store on the corner of Bradley Blvd and Arlington Rd is scheduled for re-development. I saw it on the planning board's agenda with a "recommended for approval with conditions" but without the "approved" note so I'm a little hazy about what happened (anyone out there have a better idea of what this means, was it just a review or did they not get to it?)


The plan is to increase the size of the store from 25,568 square feet to 43,097 square feet. The one store store will become two stories with a parking structure on the ground floor and the actual store above it. Most of the existing parking lot will become part of the store.

In keeping with the Bethesda Streetscape plan there will be public art, brick sidewalks, and a bike station with covered bike parking, a drinking fountain, and an air pump. The developers will also provide a contribution to add art work to the concrete retaining wall across the street.



You can see the site plan if you want more information.

I realize this is on the other side of Bradley Blvd so really it is Chevy Chase, but I like to be inclusive now and then.

Chevy Chase Chevyland no longer sells Chevrolets

Ok, I know it hasn't actually actually been Chevyland in a long time, prefering Chevy Chase Cars, but I have always identified this dealer with Chevy's. According to their website:

We have made the decision to replace Chevrolet with Nissan, reallocate space within our facilities and work on a plan to renovate most areas... Acura will move to the large building and renovations to the service operation will begin quickly. Nissan will take over the current Acura facility and exclusive Nissan service will be provided in the main service area of the large building. We will continue to employ Chevrolet personnel with top-notch technicians and offer outstanding service and maintenance to anyone that desires it for as long as they wish.

They are located in downtown Bethesda MD at 7725 Wisconsin Avenue. I found out about this from the Washington Post.

What's up with Elm Street Park

I went by Elm Street Park in Bethesda, MD (on the border of Chevy Chase, MD). And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but loads of fences criss-crossing the park. According to the sign, it is a "Tree Protection Area", but most of the grassy/tree area is still accessible, just not from all directions. You can see one of the fences in the picture and from the side I was on you could walk right up to it, you could also walk up to the other side if you went along the path. The park's signs were down too. Odd. The playground area was unaffected.

[where: 4600 Elm St, Bethesda, MD]

Save the Trail (by littering)

On March 7th, the Save The Trail petition sponsored a 10k run and Guided Walk. As part of the walk, they put purple ribbons on trees along the Georgetown Branch Trail that will/would be cut down when/if the purple line gets built. I'm all for people protesting both for and against the purple line (save the trail is against it) and the ribbons can make the impact more apparent, but, they really should have taken down the ribbons when they were done. I went for a walk on the trail today and many of them are still up. It has been over a week, at this point, it is littering, no different than the various bits of trash and fast food containers you see on the trail. So you people, show your appreciation for the trail and clean up after yourselves.


[where: Bethesda, MD]
[where: Chevy Chase, MD]