Carr Properties' Plan For Bethesda's Apex Building Is Coming Into Focus

Bethesda's Apex Building, which Carr Properties bought in November for $105.5M, will be demolished by spring 2017 to make way for a three-building development above the western terminus of the Purple Line. 

At a public meeting Wednesday, Carr announced its plan to demolish the building by next spring along with new details for the development project, Bethesda Magazine reports. 

After demolishing the 7272 Wisconsin Ave building, Carr will be responsible for building the Purple Line station platform and light rail tunnel, as well as an adjacent Capital Crescent Trail tunnel by the end of 2018. 

Once the developers finish that below-ground construction, they will begin to go vertical. Carr plans to build a 350k SF office building along Wisconsin Avenue and two residential towers that could house up to 500 units. Each building will also include ground-floor retail. 

Carr estimated 2020 as an approximate delivery date for the three buildings.

Current plans have the towers reaching the 250-foot height maximum, but they could go higher if the County Council changes the zoning to a 290-foot maximum, which it is expected to do. 

The Regal Cinemas currently housed in the Apex Building could return to the new development. Carr plans to provide underground space for the theaters south of the two tunnels. 

After buying the building from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in November, Carr received sketch plan approval from the Montgomery Planning Board in February. As part of the deal, ASHSP will relocate its headquarters to a Carr building at 4500 East West Highway. 

This upcoming project is just one of several massive developments being built around Purple Line stations. The rail line will begin construction later this year and is slated to begin operation in 2022. [BETH]