Business Specialties Development
First Building at Mixed-Use Project in Suburban D.C. Reaches Completion
May 20, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Construction of Wentworth House, a 312-unit luxury apartment structure at the North Bethesda Center mixed-use project, has reached an end. LCOR is behind the creation of North Bethesda Center, which will cost an estimated $850 million to complete.

A premier transit-oriented-development located under 20 miles from Washington, D.C., North Bethesda Center will ultimately encompass 930,000 square feet of Class A office space, over 200,000 square feet of retail, and a total of 1,275 residential units. Also on tap for the 32-acre project are a business-class hotel and a movie theater. The 18-story Wentworth House features ground-level retail space soon to be occupied by a 65,000-square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store. Additionally, the building contains a fitness center, business center and clubroom, and it is topped by a 17,500-square-foot green roof. Bovis Lend Lease is serving as the general contractor on the entire development.

Ground broke on Wentworth House in 2006 and ground is scheduled to break on the next phase later this year, paving the way for the construction of a 350,000-square-foot office structure, a 325-unit apartment building and 120,000 square feet of retail space. While demand for office and residential has dropped off a bit in Bethesda, it remains strong. According to first quarter reports by real estate research firm Delta Associates, the office vacancy rate in North Bethesda is 6.7 percent, compared to 3.5 percent for the same period in 2007; and the apartment vacancy rate among Class A high-rises in the Bethesda/Rockville submarket is 5.2 percent compared to 2.6 percent last year.

Headquartered in Berwyn, Pa., LCOR is a real estate investment and development concern specializing in complex urban developments, including large-scale multi-family projects and mixed-use properties. The company's portfolio of existing, in-progress and planned projects is valued is valued at over $8 billion.

 
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