The Montgomery County Council gave tentative approval Tuesday to a new $89 million garage in downtown Bethesda, clearing the way for a mixed-use retail and residential development that has been planned since 2005.
‘‘It’s pretty much unchanged ... from the original plan,” Doug Firstenberg, a principal with developer Stonebridge Associates, said in an interview before the council vote.
The project, known as Lot 31, at the corner of Bethesda and Woodmont avenues, will include two buildings on either side of Woodmont Avenue, plus a five-story, underground parking garage. The garage would create about 1,450 spaces, including 300 private slots as part of a joint project between condominium developer PN Hoffman and Stonebridge. A joint venture between the two Bethesda companies won development rights in 2005 for the county site, currently two parking lots with 278 surface spaces.
Approved as part of the fiscal 2009-14 capital improvements program, the garage would cost taxpayers about $100,000 per additional public parking space, after discounting the developers’ $4.2 million contribution to relocate utilities.
In the two buildings, Hoffman and Stonebridge will construct at total of 250 residential units occupying 332,500 square feet, plus 40,000 square feet of retail space. The mixed-use project already has won site plan approval.
The garage project, across from the Barnes & Noble book store, awaits final council approval May 22, when a final vote is scheduled on the county’s capital budget.
New York company nowfull owner of Baltimore icon
Lexington Realty Trust of New York has acquired full control of 100 Light St., an iconic downtown Baltimore office tower, in a quit-lease transaction worth $27 million.
USF&G Financial Services Corp., a subsidiary of St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., agreed to early termination of its lease in return for a payment of $27 million to Lexington. USF&G, which built the structure as Baltimore’s tallest in 1973, has been leasing the building’s 530,000 square feet under a deal set to expire in September 2009.
Lexington is preparing to reposition the 35-story structure, now the Legg Mason building, when its major tenant relocates next year to new headquarters in the Inner Harbor East complex. Lexington expects to complete construction by the end of the year on a 10-story parking garage directly across the street from the building, which will gain 500 parking spaces.
Lexington previously entered into an agreement with Legg Mason, the largest subtenant in the building, which gave Legg Mason the option to continue to occupy space on the 17th and 21st through 35th floors of the building for up to an additional three months following the expiration of its sublease on Sept. 30, 2009. The agreement also gives Lexington the authority to cause Legg Mason to enter into subleases with select subtenants identified by Lexington.
Corporate Office Properties Trust leases Colorado space
Corporate Office Properties Trust of Columbia has leased 73,000 square feet of new office space in its Colorado Springs, Colo., development. The first lease with Plasmon LMS Inc. is in a building known as InterQuest Hybrid II, in the InterQuest Office Park.
Plasmon, a professional archive services company, leased 44,000 square feet of the approximately 54,000 square feet in InterQuest Hybrid II, which is expected to be completed this summer.
Rockville’s Finesa takespartner for portfolio venture
Finesa Real Estate Group of Rockville has taken on a new partner in the refinancing of its 731,976-square-foot apartment portfolio in Frederick and Prince George’s counties, according to the Washington, D.C., office of CB Richard Ellis Capital Markets Group, which assisted in structuring the new joint venture.
L&B Realty Advisors of Dallas invested $27 million in the deal to recapitalize almost 1,000 garden-style apartments. The transaction allows Finesa, which is backed by international individual investors who seek capital preservation opportunities, to reposition itself, according to Maury Zanoff, CBRE executive vice president.
Condos to replaceSilver Spring offices
A Silver Spring office building is fated to disappear to make room for more condominiums in Fenton Village, after the project was approved last week by the Montgomery County Planning Board.
The six-story project at Thayer Avenue and Fenton Street will include 52 residential units and a parking garage with 36 spaces for tenants, with about 40 percent of the site devoted to public use space and artwork. The building will replace low-rise offices.
Gaithersburg Marriottgets overhaul
The Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center recently received a $6.2 million renovation to ‘‘enhance its reputation and give guests unique and ultra-adaptable rooms,” according to hotel information.
The renovation encompassed 11 floors with 284 fully remodeled guest rooms and four suites, with new furniture, bedding, high-speed Internet access, 32-inch flat-panel LCD high-definition televisions and multi-use electronic ‘‘plug-in” panels for laptops, MP3 players and other devices.
Agnes Jasinski contributed to this report.
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