Making a Life Without Driving a Car
What High-Rise's Residents May Lack Is Only a Walk Away

By Sarah Abruzzese
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, December 16, 2006

Marcia Potts, 54, used to weigh more than 300 pounds. Now she's down to half of that.

"I started in this pool," she said about her fitness regime, which includes swimming in her apartment building's rooftop pool during the summer, working out at 4 a.m. on the treadmill in its 24-hour fitness center and walking around downtown Bethesda.

Triangle Towers, the 16-story high-rise building where she lives, has helped her create a healthier lifestyle because of its location within walking distance to downtown Bethesda. It is also a short walk to a Metro station and to the National Institutes of Health, where she works. The building provides residents with older, larger apartments in a recently renovated building that has a yoga studio and retail space on the top floor.

Potts moved into her studio apartment at Triangle Towers, a 260-unit building, about nine years ago. She has loved living there ever since, she said. "I feel like I'm from Bethesda," she said, noting that events such as Taste of Bethesda are held right outside her door.

"It's the location. It's wonderful to be able to walk around. You can go to the store. There is a little bus you can ride around Bethesda," she said. The Capital Crescent Trail is also nearby.

Olga Leskova, 47, has lived in a large one-bedroom apartment at Triangle Towers for about a year and a half. Its close-to-everything location has made her life far simpler, she said.

There are more than 300 restaurants in Bethesda -- and two grocery stores within walking distance for those times she doesn't want to eat out. "I'm so happy to live in this area," she said.

Leskova sold her car because it seemed a waste of money to pay for parking and insurance when she doesn't need to drive.

Brett Jortland, 30, originally chose the building because it is close to NIH, but he has since begun working in the District. His commute via Metro takes about 45 minutes from door to door. Although he has a car, which he keeps in the Triangle Towers parking garage, he rarely uses it.

Jortland said he is pleased that the building is so close to restaurants and that the neighborhood is so large. In comparison, he said, Cleveland Park and other D.C. neighborhoods just have commercial strips.

Even with the many restaurants, Jortland does cook, if infrequently. The kitchen in his one-bedroom apartment suits his needs, he said.

Triangle Towers kitchens have gas cooking, garbage disposals and, in all but the studios, dishwashers. The apartments are renovated as needed upon turnover.

"I do miss definitely having a washer and dryer in my apartment," Jortland said. There is a laundry room in the basement with 12 washers and 14 dryers.

That the building has a laundry room instead of in-unit machines is its one drawback, Leskova said. "It is a little uncomfortable," she said, but added that the machines work well.

Within the past few years, the building has undergone a renovation with a new lobby, fitness center and community lounge in addition to spruced-up hallways.

The end of construction has been welcome for Potts. "I used to call this lobby 'Hotel Beirut,' " she said. "It looked like we were in a war zone."

Jortland chose his apartment 15 months ago because of its location, price and size, he said, adding that the units were bigger than some of the apartments he looked at in other buildings. "It was, at the time, the best value in Bethesda," he said.

However, he added that rents have increased with the completion of construction this year; he is considering a move.

Diana Holland, the property manager, said rent increases varied depending on how long individuals have lived in the building -- newer tenants generally faced bigger increases. She also said demand for apartments has increased because other buildings in the area have gone condo and because the renovations at Triangle Towers added amenities.

Potts plans to stay. Her rent increase wasn't too much, and the lifestyle is worth it to her. "I really like it here. I like the people who work here. When we do events here, they go all-out."

But that doesn't mean the community is overly friendly -- Potts said she doesn't know too many of her neighbors and she doesn't feel she has to. Still, there is the occasional building party, and "there is always a feeling of doing good for the community," she said. For instance, when their mail carrier's home burned, residents raised money for her, Potts said. "Nice people live in this building."