Bethesda's New Icon

Carr Properties' 4500 East West Highway—Bethesda's first new downtown office building in over a decade—is taking shape fast. On Friday, we stopped by the building's topping out to get an update.

After thanking Clark's hardworking construction workers, Carr Properties' Bob Carr (right, with Carr CFO Barry Bass, Transwestern's Keith Foery, and Carr's David Chaconas) told us that 4500 East West is "the best building ever built in the city of Bethesda." The group also told us they're upbeat on leasing for the 220k SF building, which Carr is building on spec. Bob says 4500 East West's anchor could come from a base of law firms, financial groups, and other professional services firms Carr typically scores as tenants. Keith is handling leasing along with colleagues Phil McCarthy and Jovi McAndrew.

Shalom Baranes Associates designed the LEED Platinum pre-certified building, to be completed this summer. What's next? CC Newman, one of Clark's project managers on the building, says the glass skin will be placed as soon as possible. Bob says the building is the latest in a long line of Carr/Clark partnerships—it's the 39th the firms have worked on together over the years. (Between Lewis and Clark, Lois and Clark, and now Carr, people like pairings with Clarks.)

CC (flanked here by colleagues Steve Leary and Brian Abt) tells us she's excited to see 4500 East West's lobby finishes deliver, complete with stone imported from Portugal. (That keeps with the theme of east to west.)