Urban Center Approved For Downtown Bethesda

Shops, Housing Envisioned in Enclave

The Montgomery County Council approved a plan yesterday that would make the Woodmont Triangle area of downtown Bethesda a more dense urban center with shopping, restaurants and thousands of new residents.

In a unanimous vote among seven members yesterday, the council agreed to a zoning change that would allow developers to add as many as 1,612 residences, most of them condos and apartments, to the Woodmont Triangle, an area bounded on the north by the National Institutes of Health, on the east by Wisconsin Avenue and on the west by Old Georgetown Road.

Although parts of the neighborhood include shops and restaurants, some county officials say it should have more housing and residents to make it livelier.

"There will be, I feel confident, a renaissance in the Woodmont Triangle area," said council member Howard A. Denis (R-Bethesda-Potomac). "This is not only a chance for it, but it's our last and best chance in the Woodmont Triangle area to achieve the potential it's always had."

For years, buildings in the area have been limited to heights of 50 to 122 feet, depending on their location. Under the plan approved by the council, buildings could rise as high as 174 feet on some blocks -- but only if developers agree to include affordable housing units. The tallest buildings would go near the Medical Center and Bethesda stops on the Red Line of the Metro, but the rezoning would allow changes anywhere in the Woodmont Triangle area.

The project is part of the county's push toward "smart growth," a strategy that encourages development near Metro stops and bus stations. Early last month, the council approved a more ambitious project surrounding the Shady Grove Metro stop that will bring up to 6,340 residences to that area.

"With Shady Grove and the Woodmont Triangle, we have sent a clear message that Montgomery County is prepared to implement smart growth and not just talk about it," said council member Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large).

Growth has come slowly to the Woodmont Triangle, parts of which are characterized by a jagged landscape of older office buildings and apartment buildings, small retail shops, inadequately lighted streets and narrow sidewalks.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. A 1994 plan for the area envisioned an increase in housing and retail. Instead, businesses lost clientele to the southern part of Bethesda, which blossomed more quickly. Planners have blamed the building height and density limits for inhibiting redevelopment in the triangle.

The plan approved yesterday would encourage a mixture of new housing, small-scale retail specialty stores on the ground floors of buildings, art galleries and pedestrian-friendly streets over the next 20 years. Norfolk Avenue would become the main street, with bike racks, outdoor seating for cafes, benches and festive lighting.

The council agreed to let developers build taller buildings if they agree to reserve up to 15 percent of their units for low-income residents.

But critics call the project little more than a financial boon to developers that will drive away small retailers and increase traffic in a congested area.

"It's just a great deal for the developer," said Jeff Hooke, chairman of the Maryland Tax Education Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group. "The county, I don't think they get a whole lot out of it."

Kevin Maloney, chairman of the Woodmont Triangle committee for the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, defended the plan. "If we can bring more people who live there, it'll bring more business to the restaurants," he said. "People will be able to walk and have an urban type of atmosphere."