The Grandview Bethesda construction

 

The Grandview is a senior living community under construction on Fernwood Road in the Rock Spring area of Bethesda, MD. It is on the site of the former Marriott headquarters.  I have written a few times about the demolition of the Marriott HQ and the new construction.  The initial name for the project was ELP Bethesda.

This will be the entrance to the first Grandview building.  The first phase of the project, which will consist of this building and a second, similar one will have 512 independent living units, and associated amenities. 

Here it is as seen from the entrance to Democracy Plaza on the far side of the site. The 13 story building is 150 feet tall and has 247 units.

This area was the main entrance to the Marriott headquarters building.  The new construction is behind where it was.

This will be the second building of the Grandview. It is about ground level now. The first building, still under construction, is to the left. This building will have about 265 units in it.

The construction fence along Fernwood Road is plastered with various signs about the new development.

This is Thomas Branch stream, near it's headwaters.  It was an overgrown mees but it has been re-graded and re-engineered so it is a series of connected pools.  Oddly, it is a "Tree Protection Area" but they cut down most of the existing trees and planted new ones.

There used to be a row of large hardwood trees along Fernwood Road. These have all been cut down, only the stumps remain. I'm sad to see them go because they were quite majestic.

ELP Bethesda construction

 

The first building is going in. Here is the side of it seen from Fernwood Rd at the bridge over I-270.

ELP Bethesda Phase 1-A will be a continuing care retirement community with 512 independed living units, and associated amenities in the Rock Spring area of Bethesda. This the first of two buildings for Phase 1-A, on the east side of the property. It will be 150 feet tall and 13 stories.  It will have about 247 residental units.  The second building in 1-A will be directly adjecent and will have about 265 units.

Here is the building as seen from the entrance to Democracy Plaza.

Later phases of construction will add more buildings. The total proposed project will have 1,300 independent living units, 160-210 assisted living units, and 30-50 skilled nursing units.

This is all that remains of the old Marriot headquarters, part of the basement. The new construction is in the background.

If you stand at just the right spot on Old Georgetown Road, you can see the new building going in through the trees.

The old Marriott HQ is demolished

The demolition of the old Marriott headquarters in the Rock Spring area of Bethesda, MD has been going on for months, with the construction fencing first going up in February.  This campus will be replaced by a senior housing community.  Above is where the main entrance to the Marriott campus was, the building used to dominate this view, now all you see is the sky.
 

December 22, 2023

This is the view from the south looking north.  The building in the distance is the HMSHost building right along I-270.

 

December 16, 2023

Here is a similar view from December 16th, just about a week ago, there was still a small shred of a building left then.  The HMSHost building is in the distance on the left.

 

December 22, 2023

Here's the view from the north looking south-west. The building in the distance on the left is Democracy Plaza and the one on the right is Embassy Suites.

 

December 16, 2023

Here's a similar view from the 16th, just the corner of the building remained then and you could see sky through the windows.  The building in the distance is Democracy Plaza.

 

 

 

Old Marriott HQ demolition update

 

 A little over a month ago, I posted that the demolition of the old Marriott Headquarters in the Rock Spring area of Bethesda had started. I checked on it and they are continuing to make slow progress.

 There is lots of activity going on with multiple pieces of heavy equipment working, but right now it looks like they are moving demolished metal around and cutting beams down to more manageable sizes.

 Here's a view of the area, this is right behind the entrance to Democracy Plaza.

 

 I also took a short timelapse so you can get a better idea of what is happening there.

Old Marriott HQ demolition

 

The old Marriott Headquarters

Back in February they put up construction fences around the old Marriott HQ headquarters in the Rock Spring area of Bethesda, MD.  Since then, visible progress has been slow.  They've done some demolition on the north side, but nothing too dramatic.  I think they have been clearing out the interior of the building.

 

 Now, on the south side, some very visible demolition is occurring. They have removed the facade from part of the building leaving the bare interior visible. There are piles of sorted demolition debris waiting to be recycled.

 

Exterior demolition and a dumpster

 

 

Old Marriott HQ fencing

It looks like they are starting to move forward on ELP Bethesda at Rock Spring.  The property, located at 10400 Fernwood Road, was formerly the site of the Marriott Headquarters. Marriott has moved to downtown Bethesda and sold this site. Construction fencing has been installed around the property limiting access to the site.  Here is the entrance to the old headquarters building, blocked by a fence with black fabric on it.

The first phase of the new development will be senior housing with over 500 units in two buildings. Later phases will add more. The Montgomery Planning staff report for site plan 820210190 has more information.

The southern entrance has a gate across it. When I went by the gate was open.  The bike parking is behind the fence and thus inaccessible.  Access to Democracy Plaza is not impacted.

The north entrance off of Fernwood Road, you can still pull in this area and go to the construction trailer, but there is a gate across the road further down.

The fence carefully goes around the bus stop, leaving it accessible.