BIG CHANGES Coming to Bethesda

If you haven’t driven through Bethesda lately, you might not recognize it. There’s so much redevelopment happening. There are mixed-use high-rises, luxury apartments, destination restaurants, commercial and trendy retail. Bethesda’s not tip-toeing toward urbanism – it’s diving in, and things are looking amazing! Bethesda is becoming a real hub for arts and entertainment as well. But here’s the real question: can Bethesda keep up with itself or will all the development be too much to support?

If you think all the urban suburban action is in Tyson’s Corner, think again. Bethesda is coming in hot. In 2024, Bethesda Row celebrated 30 years. There’s over half a million square feet of mixed-use space here. The success of Bethesda Row and Pike and Rose up the street has been strong.

What’s New for Bethesda Restaurants & Retail

The very popular Mon Ami Gabi is a French Restaurant that had closed for renovations. It’s open and back with a vengeance, with seating for almost 300. Remember when hotels were motels and their attached restaurant was like, Howard Johnson’s? No? Just me? Okay, anyway, Fialova is a new restaurant that opened in the Bethesdan Hotel – which is a Hilton. Bet they don’t have those clam strips and mac & cheese like HoJo’s did though.

Hailing from Miami, Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar also opened in Bethesda this past spring. 

Evereve is a clothing store that opened this spring, and FP Movement also opened in the same strip of shops adjacent to Bethesda Row.

Sephora is slated to open next year. Now my daughter and her friends will have another outpost at which to spend their parent’s money.

Over at Pike and Rose (North Bethesda) there’s some new stuff happening too. Bouboulina is a new Greek restaurant, very pricey but the foodies are loving it. I have not eaten here, but I have eaten at seaside café’s in the Greek Islands so I have something fab to compare to.

And then, surprise! Brandy Melville opened their first Maryland store last month in Pike and Rose as well. If you haven’t waited in a line just to get into Brandy Melville with your teenager, have you really lived?

Bethesda’s New Infrastructure

The purple line metro development continues. Once complete, you will be able to ride between New Carrollton, Silver Spring and Bethesda. The connection to New Carrollton is critical because that’s also how you could hop on a train to get to Baltimore, New York or Boston. That is a huge win for people living in Bethesda who don’t have a vehicle or who don’t want to drive.

Also happening is the extension of the Capital Crescent Trail. The original trail went from downtown Bethesda to Georgetown. It will be extended from Bethesda over to Silver Spring where it will connect with other trails.

Bethesda Real Estate Development

If you are looking for new home developments in Bethesda, there’s just a couple chances left. There are only a few new homes left in communities. The other avenue for getting a new home is a teardown. Those are still happening in Bethesda, though not as regularly as they once were. Much of Bethesda has been redeveloped.

In the past few years, over 20 multi-family residential development projects have been approved, and it keeps climbing. This has happened thanks to the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan which called for a 20-year vision to really re-build the downtown. The theme here is out with the old, in with the new. Many of the buildings being torn down are 50-60 years old.

The plan wasn’t all concrete though. Maryland values green space. There are 13 additional parks as part of the plan. Bethesda also expects there to be an additional 14,000 jobs by 2040. 

There is currently 30.4 million sf existing, under construction or part of an approved site plan – which means yes, it’s coming. The plan called for a cap of 32.4 million sf for downtown Bethesda, to include 10 apartment buildings. Before I go through the highlights of these projects, let me start with the properties for sale.

Condos & Townhomes

• There’s a mixed-use development planned just adjacent to a County Parking Lot – “Lot 25” which we’ll talk about in a moment. There will be a mix of condos and townhomes as well as 15 live/work units. There will be a public park and amenities for the residents.
• 4824 Edgemoor Lane was originally going to be 111 condos. Now it’s possibly going to be a combination hotel/condo building. That is going to make for some interesting financing.
• Amalyn is a community where they are still building gorgeous new homes and have some spec homes you can move right in to. 
• There is also a townhome development happening at Westbard.

Apartments

There are tons of apartments coming to Bethesda – which is a testament to what the county and developers have planned.

• At 7749 Old Georgetown Road, an assemblage of buildings will be demolished to build a 17-story apartment building. This is going to be part of Bethesda’s skyline as the building is expected to be 175 feet. 
• At 4861 Battery Lane, a 12-story apartment building is in the works, with 453 apartments.
• County Parking Lot 25 mentioned earlier also has redevelopment plans in its future, with 235 units planned and a 90-foot-wide public park.
• At the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Montgomery Lane, a 26-story building should be complete by the end of the year. There will be 300 apartments.
• Just a block over, 4901 Battery Lane has a 12-story building planned. There will be 400 apartments.
• 4858 Battery Lane which is at the corner of Woodmont Avenue, currently has 6 mid-century apartment buildings that will be redeveloped over the next 10+ years. The building, when complete, will have 315 units and will be higher than the current height limit – allowable due to the Moderately Priced Dwelling Units they are including. 
• The Artena will be at 8000 Wisconsin Avenue with over 400 units and commercial space.
• Across the street at 8001 Wisconsin Avenue there will be a nine-story building with 350 apartments. There is also going to be ground floor commercial space here as well.
• 4719 Hampden Lane is going to be replaced with a mixed-use building of 150 apartments and over 300,000 sf of office/commercial space plus ground level retail. 
• 7-Eleven at 7820 Wisconsin Avenue is going to be replaced with a 31-story building with 430 apartments. I’d say How Could They, but I’ve moved on to Wawa or Mickey D’s for my diet cokes.
• 4725 Cheltenham Drive used to be a Midas, but it’s being turned into a building of 110 efficiency/junior one bedrooms. What’s different about this building compared to everything else covered is that there will be no parking here. There is clearly a plan here with aiming at a different demographic.
• 4405 East-West Highway is currently office space but may be redeveloped into a 10-story, 350 unit apartment building.
• Hampden House at 4700 Hampden Lane will be finished at the end of 2025. There will be 366 apartments within the 25 floors, and ground floor retail.
• 7155 Wisconsin Avenue is the Farm Women’s Cooperative. There are potentially 585 units and commercial/retail space coming and the current building will be moved.
• 7126 Wisconsin Avenue has a proposal for 355 apartments plus restaurant/retail space.
• Infill behind Bethesda Row – this is a sliver of a lot behind Bethesda Row that, if approved, would have 250 apartments

You probably noticed this is heavy with apartment rentals. Maryland just does things differently than you might see in Virginia or DC. Affordable housing is a major objective in Montgomery County. They will approve rental apartment developments and then require 20% or more to be “affordable” to help achieve that objective.

The million-dollar question is whether Bethesda can fill all this new space? Growth doesn’t always mean dollars. Office vacancies are climbing region-wide, urban rents are flattening, and not all retailers are rushing back. 

Here are the takeaways. Bethesda is changing – rapidly. That’s not in question. It’s whether the developers, tenants and riders will match the ambition. We will see!