The intersection of Old Georgetown Road Woodmont Ave is designated to be the future Old Georgetown Road Neighborhood Green in the new Bethesda Downtown Plan. It is envisioned as a .3 acre "shady green living room" --- similar to (but smaller than) Fitler Square in Philadelphia and Straus Park in NYC.
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| Circle shows location of future park. |
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| Straus Park - NYC |
The Problem?
TD Bank just built a brand new branch on the location. This means the odds of this site becoming a park anytime soon are slim. The bank replaced a gas station - and they did a commendable job incorporating green features. BUT this is not exactly the kind of "green space" people had in mind.
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| Green features at TD Bank - native plantings, green wall and roof, stormwater swales, energy efficient features. |
The Present?
This block currently contains two residential buildings - The Christopher Condominium and The Edgemont at Bethesda Metro. These older residential projects did incorporate much more actual green space and open space than is usually included in projects today. It also has several older single family homes - most used as offices.
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| Looking down at the block. The future park would be in the upper right corner; ZOM Bethesda would run along the length of Arlington; Edgemont II would take up most of the south east corner (noted as "site"). |
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| Front view of Edgemont. |
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| Front/side of Edgemont with trees and pull-off driveway. |
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| Side of Christopher condominium along Woodmont next to TD Bank (future park). |
The Proposals?
There are now two proposals for further development on the block. ZOM Bethesda along Arlington and Edgemont II along Woodmont. Together they could add an additional approximately 400 units to the block. Each would have other features, but neither one would add very much green space. Other nearby new developments such as the Cheval also do not have much green/open space.
All the more reason for the Old Georgetown Road Neighborhood Green to be implemented and to become a real "green living room."
ZOM Bethesda
Edgemont II
The Edgemont II building would replace a single family home which has a significant amount of existing (private) green space and tree canopy.
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| Single family home at the corner of Edgemoor and Woodmont. There is an impressive magnolia tree on the site that provides year-round green. |
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| View of proposed Edgemont 2 site. |
Awww for the magnolia tree at Edgemoor; hope it stays. I like that brick dwelling, too. Old Bethesda. This is such a well crafted presentation, very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many creative ways to build little pocket parks that invite people to sit and be with their children; read; congregate. Think of Dupont Circle, or the space in front of Barnes & Noble--these are not large places, but they are destination recreational spots. On another subject: Is there a way to REQUIRE the council and planning board to FIRST build a school, or re-open Lynnbrook Center, and THEN build their 400-unit condo? This is in addition to all the condos they're building on Wisconsin Avenue, and what they plan to build directly across from Bethesda Elementary School! It's so irresponsible, and unfair to the teachers and staff of our beloved, overcrowded elementary school.
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