Just Upstairs From a World of Restaurants and Shopping

When most apartment-building managers talk about amenities, they mention dishwashers and washing machines, exercise rooms, party lounges.

Upstairs at Bethesda Row, a new five-story building in downtown Bethesda, has all those. But residents and staff say the biggest amenity of all is the variety of restaurants -- from fast-casual to four-star -- right outside the doors.

The 180-unit building opened June 1, and it's one-third occupied and almost 60 percent leased. A handful of units are eligible for one month of free rent, spread over 12 months, and a few have discount incentives of two months' rent.

"Given the economy, I thought it would be a bit slower," said Shannon Lepai, property manager with Bozzuto.

Chiharu Rust arrived in July, moving from a house in West Bethesda.

She already knew the neighborhood. "I used to come here for the dining, the movie theater," she said, and she would run on the Capital Crescent Trail, which also goes through downtown.

Rust considered apartments in Grosvenor and Shady Grove but said this building was better because "you can walk, have a nice life."

Donald Orlic and Roxanne Fischer also moved from a house; they selected a two-level, two-bedroom apartment of about 1,200 square feet.

The couple, who both work at the National Institutes of Health, walk two miles to work and leave their cars in the building's garage.

They cut back on some possessions before the move. "Everything we didn't save went to our children," Orlic said. "Those things we did retain, we enjoy them more, because they're not spread out over a five-bedroom house in upper Bethesda."

Redwood, one of the restaurants that's part of the $80 million development, is Orlic's new favorite.

"We're planning to go out several times a week," he said. "We certainly are going to enjoy the restaurants."