Apex Building in Bethesda to be sold (CCT tunnel under Wisconsin Ave)

[PotomacCyclist]

The owners of the Apex Building had been resisting a sale and redevelopment of the building, probably in an attempt to extract more money and density benefits from Montgomery County. But the County gave up on plans to buy the building or arrange for a private redevelopment. That seems to have worked. The building owners came around later and have now agreed to sell the building. The site will be redeveloped.

Why is this important for cyclists? That building in central Bethesda is linked to the planned Purple Line station as well as the new paved extension of the Capital Crescent Trail through Bethesda, to Silver Spring. The original goal was for the building to be torn down, to allow for construction of a larger tunnel that could accommodate light rail, pedestrian and bike traffic under busy Wisconsin Ave.

When the owners resisted these plans, the County gave up on trying to keep the Wisconsin Ave. crossing for cyclists underground. The CCT crossing would become an at-grade crossing for cyclists.

Now that the building will be sold after all, the building can be demolished and the site redeveloped. That demolition will allow Montgomery County and Maryland to excavate a wider tunnel under Wisconsin Ave. This will accommodate an underground crossing for cyclists along the CCT to the new section along the Purple Line light rail. This is good news for cyclists in the Bethesda area and those who ride between there and DC/Silver Spring. They will not be forced to make an above-ground crossing of Wisconsin Ave. when the Purple Line is built.

The current tunnel could be empty at times, which made it easier for criminals to rob some pedestrians and cyclists in that tunnel over the years. But the new tunnel will have much more pedestrian traffic because of the Purple Line station. This means more eyes on the ground and fewer opportunities for a mugger to operate in an isolated area.

The deal for the Apex Building is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/11/carr-properties-purchases-bethesda-site-with-plans.html

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[mstone]

Yes, good on MoCo for not handing over $70M in extra profits to the building owner. This turned out as a good example of responsible stewardship of public money.

[PotomacCyclist]

It was a relatively easy call for the County. They knew that the owners would get a lot more money from redevelopment, whether or not it was the County that bought the building or a private party. So the owners were likely to come around eventually because it was in their long-term best interest to do so, financially speaking. I don’t believe the building is residential, so there are no residents that will lose their homes. The pharmacist group will have to move but that’s not a major hardship, not when they will be rolling in all the money they will receive. I know I would gladly move a few blocks down the street if someone paid me millions of dollars to do so.

[Author]

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