Bethesda Theatre
August 1997 Status
Status 8/97
August 1997: Proposal for new construction
In
1994, the Montgomery County Planning Board revised its Bethesda Central
Business District Sector Plan, a document intended to envision the next 20
years of development. In that process, county planners, the
Bethesda Theatre's owners, and interested parties such
as ADSW and residents of an adjacent neighborhood of single-family homes
studied alternatives for redeveloping the theater site. They endorsed an
Optional Method of development scheme that would allow a greater level of
density on the site in exchange for the public amenity of retaining most of the
theater structure, restoring its interior, and continuing its use as a movie
theater. [Note: The owner would not be required to retain more than the
theater's front facade, marquee, and tower in the Standard Method of
development, even though the theater has landmark status.]
The 1994 Sector Plan envisioned an office building constructed above the theater, set back 50 feet from the front of the theater building at a secondary parapet original to the theater. This 90-foot-high structure stepped down behind the theater (where there is now a parking lot) toward the residential community, ending in a row of townhouses at street level.
Now, however, as the climate for new construction improves, the owners have come to the Montgomery County Planning Board with a different scheme. They are proposing to build an entirely residential complex with a 94-foot apartment building above the theater set back only 20 feet from the front of the theater.
ADSW is concerned that this will obscure the identity of the theater and make it seem encapsulated into the new construction or, at best, a decorative appendage. In addition to the primary 20-foot set back issue, we are also concerned that the new design is not harmonious with the theater building and its Art Deco style.
On June 11, ADSW attended and testified at a "preliminary consultation" with the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission. The majority of commissioners present agreed with ADSW that the new proposal is not good historic preservation, the new construction should be set back farther from the front of the theater, and the design reworked. This was not a voting decision, however.
The project must go through many stages of planning approval, including a final binding vote of the HPC. ADSW is listed as an interested party, and we are in contact with the Montgomery County Planning Board's staff concerning this project. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on September 25 at which ADSW will testify. Additional hearings concerning rezoning and alley closings are scheduled for early October.
Anyone interested in this matter, especially Montgomery County residents, should contact Linda Lyons, co-chair of ADSW's preservation committee, about supporting ADSW's position and helping with the work of the committee.