This project will creatively repurpose two surface parking lots into a vibrant, public park. Built on top of a new underground parking structure, the new park when combined with the adjacent Elm Street Urban Park, will provide approximately four acres of urban green space in downtown Bethesda. The new park will be located adjacent to the historic Bethesda Farm Women’s Market and will include an extensive array of active and social park amenities inviting multi-generational use.
The creation of the new urban park in downtown Bethesda fulfills the vision of the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan which was approved and adopted in 2017. It also meets the social, active and environmental stewardship goals of the 2022 Park Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan. The new park will be developed as a public/private partnership between the Montgomery County Department of Parks, Montgomery County Department of Transportation, State of Maryland, Town of Chevy Chase and Wisconsin Columbia Venture LLC., owners of the Bethesda Market project, co-developed by Bernstein Development Corporation and EYA Multifamily. A Sketch Plan for the overall development, #320190030, was approved by the Planning Board on October 24, 2019.
The project is in the initial community engagement/preliminary planning phase. It is anticipated that a site plan will be submitted for review and approval by the Planning Board in the late Summer of 2023.
Calendar and Meeting Notes
October 24, 2019
Sketch plan approved by Montgomery Planning Board Planning Board meeting
Dates | Events /Activities | Locations |
---|---|---|
March 15, 2023, 6:30 p.m. | Community Meeting #1 | Jane E. Lawton Community
Recreation Center, |
March 16, 2023, 7:00 p.m. | Community Meeting #2 | Bethesda Elementary School 7600 Arlington Road Bethesda, Md., 20814 |
March 16 – April 16, 2023 | Open Town Hall site to submit public comments |
Visit Open Town Hall to the take survey and let us know your ideas for a new park in downtown Bethesda. The comment period ends April 16, 2023. |
May 24, 2023 | Community Meeting # 3: Virtual | Zoom link to come |
Project Manager:
Linda Komes, PLA, ASLA | Landscape Architect
Linda.Komes@MontgomeryParks.org