The Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday will review new renderings of a walk-thru, public use space proposed for a Bethesda high-rise that planners say “will set a high-water mark for future projects,” in the downtown area.
Chevy Chase-based developer JBG Cos. is behind 7900 Wisconsin, the 17-story, 475-unit apartment building at 7900 Wisconsin Ave. that will take the place of the building that houses the Fitness First health club.
Besides the distinct architectural look of the building, JBG is promising 11,000 square-feet of public-use space on the site.
That space is concentrated in a cut-thru that will have grassy mounds for people to climb and sit on, access to 20,000 square feet of retail (likely anchored by a yet-to-be-named grocery store, according to JBG) and a reflective, metallic treatment on the underside of the building overhead.
At a public meeting about the project in December, a JBG official said the developer was shooting for a January 2014 groundbreaking.
Renderings via Montgomery County Planning Department
