Rockville’s Farmers Banking and Trust, an Art Deco-style building that was designed in 1931, will be evaluated by the Rockville Historic District Commission on Jan. 18 to determine if the building should receive a historic designation.
Located at 4 Courthouse Square, the bank has been a fixture of the Rockville Town Center community for decades. Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, a community-based non-profit founded on preserving buildings, objects and information important to Rockville’s heritage, submitted the application for evaluation of significance.
The application states that the bank is an “excellent example of the Art Deco style which was popular from 1925 to 1940. The exterior of the bank features carved details which hold popular Art Deco motifs, such as the eagle, radiating lines, half circle and zig-zags.”
According to the non-profit, in recent years the bank was an M&T bank, but it closed in September 2023. The building is now for sale and the group is hoping community members will submit written testimony to advocate for historic designation. A designation would prevent the next owner from altering the exterior or demolishing portions of the building without input from the historic commission. [Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation]
Groundbreaking of a 354-unit high-rise apartment building in Pike District
On Jan. 8, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced the groundbreaking of a new high-rise residential building, called the Envoi, located at the North Bethesda Metro Station. The 12-story building is the final phase of a 2001 joint development agreement between Metro and LCOR, according to a WMATA press release.
The Envoi is the fourth residential building constructed at the site and will join the other buildings to complete “The Quad at Pike District” development plan. Once complete the residential community will have 1,300 residential units, with 164 as moderately priced dwelling units. It is expected to open early summer 2026. [Montgomery Community Media]
60-unit condo and townhouse development planned for downtown Bethesda
Broad Branch Partners and Mosaic Realty Partners filed a concept plan application with Montgomery Planning that proposes a new development of 54 condominiums and six townhouse units at 4702 West Virginia Ave. Seven of the residences will be moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs).
The plans also propose the addition of 99 private parking spaces and a half-acre public park to be included in the new development. Project plans are in the early stages and is part of a joint venture to redevelop two Montgomery County controlled surface parking lots (lots 44 and 25).
Developers are hoping to get the development application in front of the Planning Board and have a public hearing by May 2024, according to planning documents. [Urban Turf]
More than 27,000 square feet of office space leased at two MoCo properties
On Jan. 9, the Chevy Chase Land Company, a local real estate investment and asset management company with properties across the Washington, D.C., region leased 27,644 square feet of office space at the firm’s two properties in the Bethesda and Chevy Chase area Tuesday.
Approximately 5,431 square feet of space was leased to Open Industrial, a Bethesda-based investment company that focuses on acquiring industrial outdoor storage properties, at 2 Bethesda Metro in downtown Bethesda.
The firm also leased 13,938 square feet of space at 2 Wisconsin Circle in Friendship Heights to Eye Doctors of Washington. The company also has locations in Chevy Chase, Tysons Corner, Olney and D.C. [The Daily Record]