An underground garage renovation could force another long term closure in one of Bethesda’s busiest areas.
Four months into the Lot 31 project at Bethesda Row, Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center Director Ken Hartman said the Bethesda Metro station bus bays might be shut down for two years to accomodate the private garage project of office building owner Brookfield Properties.
Brookfield bought Three Bethesda Metro Center in 2011 for $150 million and has submitted a traffic mitigation plan to Montgomery County because they would like to redo the garage for that building that lies under the bus bays.
According to Bethesda Patch, that construction could start as soon as this year, though at a Friday meeting of the Woodmont Triangle Action Group, Hartman said the county is “methodically” going through the traffic mitigation plan.
“It would be a major hassle for at least two years,” Hartman told the group of residents, developers and others.
A representative from Brookfield has not responded to a request for more information on the nature of the garage project.
The closure of the bus bays would force the county, WMATA and others to find alternate places for buses to go.