A 60-year-old apartment building in Bethesda is planned for demolition to make way for a multifamily building with more than five times the number of units.

Gelman Cos. and Kossow Management Corp. filed sketch plans with the Bethesda Downtown Advisory Panel to build a 12-story, 580K SF tower with 453 units. The project would replace the 84-unit property at 4861 Battery Lane, owned by the developers.

The development, first reported by UrbanTurf, is being designed by Architects Collaborative.

“The Project proposes redevelopment of a low density aging apartment complex with no amenities and no income-regulated units to modern housing, into a mix of units, recreational and service amenities,” the proposal says.

Fifteen percent of the property’s units will be subject to Montgomery County's 99-year moderately priced dwelling unit regulations.

The application details plans for an underground parking garage with an approximately 1-to-1 parking-to-unit ratio. The development is also planned to feature a rooftop recreation area and a clubroom.

The project is part of a larger redevelopment effort along the stretch of Battery Lane near the National Institutes of Health. Brown Development is similarly in the process of replacing aging low-rise residential buildings along the stretch with higher-density apartment buildings. Its Battery Lane District sketch plan calls for replacing 477 aging garden-style apartments with over 1,100 units across several high-rise buildings along the corridor. WC Smith also filed plans in 2021 to demolish two buildings totaling 87 units on Battery Lane to develop a 399-unit building.