"Novel Bethesda", a proposed 315 ft. highrise at 7820 Wisconsin Avenue will be the tallest building in downtown Bethesda, if approved. If approved and built as designed, it will also extinguish hopes of building the Veteran's Park Civic Green.

Three Civic Greens were identified in the latest Bethesda Downtown Plan (BDP, 2017) as important new parks to serve the expanding number of residents and employees in the Bethesda central business district. Veteran's Park Civic Green is described in the BDP as a major civic gathering space that would serve as the linkage between the Woodmont Triangle and Wisconsin Avenue Districts. This green open space is meant to complement the hardscape plaza in the current Veteran’s Park and provide expanded space for casual use and more formal events and programming.

 

 

Public input during the master plan process frequently mentioned the need for urban parks in the downtown. A major goal for the Wisconsin Avenue District of the Plan is to create a major civic gathering space as the hinge between Wisconsin Avenue and Norfolk Avenue. The BDP Plan recommended expanding Veteran’s Park through a new civic green bordered by a shared street connecting Wisconsin Avenue to Norfolk Avenue and the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood.

 

 

The "Novel Bethesda" building does not accommodate the expansion of the public Veteran's Park. In fact, it creates more private space via a "Retail Plaza". This would provide private, hardscape outdoor seating.

Downtown Bethesda residents and visitors do not want this. There are no other Woodmont Triangle public spaces designated in the Bethesda Plan of this size. Therefore, approval of "Novel Bethesda" means closing the book, forever, on additional meaningful green space in the Woodmont Triangle.

We ask the Planning Board and Staff as well as the County Council to:

1. Speak out against eliminating the Veteran's Park Civic Green.
2. Support more public parks and less private hardscape.
3. A member of the Bethesda Design Review Board said, at the November 30, 2022 meeting of the Board, that the "problem with parks is that no one uses them." This statement should be repudiated since residents clearly want more parks and Veteran's Park is heavily used as is. The Civic Green will only increase usage. The Design Review Board in this case does not reflect the views of residents.
4. Support "OPTION #2", highlighted in green below. The Planning Department should work with CRESCENT COMMUNITIES to redesign "Novel Bethesda" to accommodate "OPTION #2".  This option expands Veteran's Park across Woodmont Avenue to include the current Eagle Bank and 7 Eleven. This option was presented by the Planning Department on March 26, 2020 and is a viable alternative.

"Novel Bethesda" Rendering:

 

 

 

"Novel Bethesda" and it's developer, CRESCENT COMMUNITIES should:

1. Be good neighbors. This includes reaching out to neighboring residents for feedback and presenting to neighboring condominium boards. There has been no outreach so far since the last community meeting two years ago.
2. Be good neighbors (Again). Provide appropriate setbacks on the Fairmont Avenue side of the building to lessen the impacts on the other residential building on Fairmont Avenue. It makes no sense to provide setbacks from the Marriott Corporate HQ and none facing an existing residential building. The Fairmont Avenue side of "Novel Bethesda", as illustrated below, has no human scale at the pedestrian sidewalk level. Pedestrians are presented will a straight, vertical glass wall.
3. Support the Veteran's Park Civic Green.