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.

 

The Rae apartments: construction update

 I last looked at The Rae Apartments in in October and there has been some noticeable changes since then. The building cladding is now installed. It is a mixture of white, gray, and woodgrain panels.  The Rae is a new apartment building on the corner of Westlake Terrace and Motor City Drive, right next to Montgomery Mall.

The Rae will have 343 apartment units and it backs up to the I-270 spur. The website doesn't have much information on it so I don't know when leasing will start.  Here is the main entrance to the building. Right across the street is the transit center at Montgomery Mall and across the other street (Motor City Dr.) is Home Depot, visible in the background of the photo.

Here's the view from Westlake Terrace looking west. Montgomery Mall is on the left, Home Depot in the background to the right, and the Rae directly to the right.

The back part of the Rae apartments facing Westlake Terrace. To the right is the I-270 Spur. The most notable change here is the ground floor units have had their entrances and porches installed.

Another recent change is that new curbs have been installed on Motor City Drive adjacent to the building.

Fountains of Amalyn

 On Sunday, there was a large jet of water spraying into the air at the Amalyn housing development construction site off of Greentree Road in Bethesda, MD. The water was shooting up 30 feet (or more).

It looks like this isn't a permanent neighborhood water feature, by this morning the water was turned off.

 There is a pipe that sticks up about two feet above ground that the water was coming out of.  The large concrete monolith is one of the footings from the WMAL radio transmitter towers that once were at this site.  Most of the concrete had been buried underground but they have been dug up to allow for development.

 After spraying into the air, the water makes its way to this retention pond on Greentree road. The water then drains under the road to a discharge point that was just upgraded last year.

 

 

 The fountain was a little ways away from where they are actively building houses right now. On the left is the nearest house being built and on the right is the spraying water.

Solaire Bethesda construction update

 

Solaire apartments has gotten a lot taller since my last update on the Solaire construction.  Then it was only 3 floors, now it looks like it is the full 22 stories tall. When finished it will have 198 apartments and a meager 1,500 square feet of retail space.

There are black bricks being installed on the second and third floors

The location, on the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Commerce lane is tough to beat, just a short block from Bethesda Metro Station.  The only way it could be better would be if there were a grocery store right next door.

 

 

The bottom floors have lavender insulating panels installed, but the top floors are, as of now, just concrete.  This corner location is where La Madeleine french bakery and cafe was once located.

More paving in Amalyn

It has been a while since my last update on the Amalyn housing development. For the most part things have been slowly moving along. There have been a few more houses started, and it looks like at least a couple houses are now occupied by their new owners.  This past week there has been a more noticeable change however.

 They now have put a layer of pavement on another set of streets.  It took several days to complete it and the noisome smell of blacktop permeated the surrounding neighborhood for days.  They also worked well past dark at least one night, eliciting complaints from residents of the existing houses.

Where the pavement ends

They haven't paved everything yet, eventually, the road will continue, but for now, this is the end of the line.

Silver Linden St looping around the east side of the Amalyn housing development

 

Update on The Camile / 7000 Wisconsin Ave construction

The Camile, a 14-story Mixed-Use development at 7,000 Wisconsin Avenue is really coming along.  Most of the side of the building and many of the windows are in. This building is directly across the street from Walsh Street, near Don Pollo, Moby Dick and a few other places. The building will have 181 residential units with ground-floor retail. It is expected to be complete in September.
 

 Here's a view of the Camile from behind. It is rising up behind the townhouses on Strathmore Street in Bethesda.

A Bald Eagle in Bethesa?

 This afternoon I went for a hike in Cabin John Park to enjoy the warm weather we are having.  While there, I saw a bald eagle sitting on one of the poles holding up the high-voltage wires. (Thanks to the woman who pointed it out).  It was far away so this was the best photo I could get of it.

After a few minutes it took off and flew away.  A couple of years ago I saw a bald eagle soaring over Democracy Blvd and the I-270 spur, I wonder if this is the same one.

Go Hiking: Seneca Ridge Trail

 It is winter now, and I don't do a lot of hiking in the winter.  Friday, however, was in the upper 50's and, after how cold it was Christmas weekend, getting out of the house was welcome. Sunday will be equally warm, so it is another good day to get out and hike.  I went on the Seneca Ridge Trail which starts on Road in Darnestown, Maryland.  From here the trail goes West towards Maryland Route 118, Germantown Road.

Winter is a good time to find signs of prior habitation, like this old, rusty cooler.  There are what look to be foundations of a couple of houses on the left of the trail near the start.

The trail soon crosses an old, disused, road. If you follow it up to the end you will find a couple of parking lots. I didn't see any other remains of what was here. I believe this is the National Capital Trap and Skeet club.  From a video I found on YouTube, it looks like in 2015 there was a lot more remaining. If you know have any more information, leave a comment.

 

The trail goes through an area with many dead pine trees.  Several of them have been broken off about 10 feet above the ground.

The trail continues around through the woods for several miles. Since it is winter and you are on a ridge, you can see pretty far through the trees.

Car parked in the bike lanes

It looks like the new bike lanes on Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda are being put to use as parking spots.

It actually took a bit of effort for this car to park in the cycle track on Woodmont Avenue outside of Mon Ami Gabi.  The lanes are clearly marked and separated from the rest of traffic by curbs and Mr/Ms '382 pulled right in.

Bethesda's Winter Wonderland, 2023

 Saturday started out rainy and dreary but by afternoon the rain had left us and it was warm.  This was good because the annual Bethesda's Winter Wonderland was from 1pm to 4pm.

 At the wonderland there was ice carving, face painting, visiting with Santa (which was really popular).  There was also food you could by from Dog Haus and the Red Bandana Bakery.

Singing was provided by various groups throughout the afternoon on a stage at Norfolk and St. Elmo avenues.  I believe the group in the photo was from Walter Johnson High School.

Norfolk Avenue was closed between St. Elmo Avenue and Del Ray Avenue, giving people plenty of space to mill around and enjoy the sights and sounds.