Developer Pitches 310-Unit Project On Site Of Bethesda Church
A long-planned effort to build condos alongside a Bethesda church has been scrapped. Instead, the site is being tapped for a project nearly three times bigger.
JLB Partners has filed plans with the Bethesda Downtown Advisory Panel to build a multifamily project of up to 310 units on the site of the Christ Lutheran Church at 8015 Old Georgetown Road.
The 2-acre site, about a half-mile from the Bethesda Metro station, is currently home to the church and an adjacent three-story community building. The church in 2007 began seeking to build on the site, and in 2016 it received approval to build a new church building and a 107-unit condo building.
Following that approval, Christ Lutheran Church abandoned its plans to build a new church on the property and is instead seeking alternative locations, according to JLB's application. It selected JLB to develop the property and is under contract to sell the site to the developer, the application said.
The new plan calls for an 85-foot-tall building, shorter than the originally planned 94-foot-tall project and well below the 120 feet the zoning allows. It would include up to 310 multifamily units, with 15% of them set aside as moderately priced dwelling units, plus 274 parking spaces, a rooftop terrace, an outdoor pool and a courtyard. JLB is working with SK+I Architecture on the project.
Dallas-based JLB maintains its D.C. Metro-area office in Bethesda. It has completed residential developments in Beltsville, Herndon, Tysons and Rockville. A hearing is scheduled May 22 for the developer's proposal.
