We call it the Manhattan-izing of Bethesda
– Robert Smythe, head of the Sacks Neighborhood Association, to the Washington Examiner’s Rachel Baye on upcoming Bethesda apartment projects
Urban, high-rise development has long been a prickly issue in Montgomery County, as residents in single-family home and low density neighborhoods bemoan the construction, traffic and crowding generally associated with such projects.
As Bethesda gets set for a new surge of development (two dozen apartment, office and mixed-use projects are either planned, under review or under construction, according to the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center’s development map) that debate should only intensify.
But Manhattan?
“That’s a bit extreme,” said BCCRSC Director Ken Hartman, a staff member in the county’s executive branch. “It’s not going to be canyons of urban landscape where you never see the sun.”
Population (according to 2010 U.S. Census):
Bethesda (CDP): 60,858
Manhattan (CDP): 1,585,873
Completed high-rises (according to Emporis real estate data company):
Bethesda: 45
Manhattan (actually all of New York City): 5,831
Tallest building (according to Emporis):
Bethesda: National Naval Medical Center, 19 floors, 264 feet (The Chevy Chase Bank East and West Towers are the tallest in downtown Bethesda, each at 19 floors, 250 feet.)
Manhattan: Empire State Building, 102 floors, 1,250 feet (There are 10 buildings tied for the tallest building in the “high-rise” classification at 328 feet, ranging from 25 to 35 floors.)
Number of buldings planned (according to Emporis):
Bethesda: 12
New York City: 131
Manhattan Flickr photo by AndrewHavis