Bethesda Project Aims To Provide ‘Missing Middle’ Housing

Plans include demolishing large home and replacing it with eight townhomes

PHOTOS VIA MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING

A Bethesda project being considered by county planners would redevelop a single-family home on West Virginia Avenue to make way for eight townhomes.

Broad Branch Development is seeking county Planning Board permission to redevelop one 4,000-square-foot single-family house at 4702 West Virginia Ave. into eight smaller townhomes.

County officials have long acknowledged a scarcity of “missing middle housing” — multifamily housing options aside from traditional apartment complexes — and planners have said providing the housing is difficult due to negative perceptions and regulatory requirements.

Missing middle housing, which planners say has “all but disappeared from development” over the past 70 years, is intended to provide affordable housing within walking distance of public transit and amenities, and includes bungalows, duplexes and townhomes.

Located about a half-mile from the Bethesda Metro station, the West Virginia Avenue property plans include about 25,000 square feet of total floor area and below-ground parking with 16 spaces. There will also be eight bicycle parking spaces.

The townhome units will be included in one building standing about 50 feet tall and each unit has a rooftop deck.

“Townhomes are a common type of Missing Middle housing and are common in our region and marketplace. However, many townhomes have succumbed to some of the size pressures seen in the single-family detached marketplace,” a recent county planning report says. “Townhouses in the region are often 2,500-plus square feet and, frequently, larger than 3,000 square feet.

The Washington, D.C.-based development company also plans to include 2,500 square feet of outdoor green space and contribute $25,000 for improvements at the adjacent Chase Avenue Urban Park.

A hearing date before the county Planning Board has not yet been set. Developers declined comment Tuesday about the project.

An attorney for developers said the townhomes will be competitively priced with similar existing units and the townhomes’ design will provide a transition from commercial development along Wisconsin Avenue to the west and single-family residences to the east.

This story has been updated to reflect information from an attorney for the project, who clarified development plans that reference the project’s intent to provide “missing middle” housing refers to the style of the townhomes rather than their projected price.

Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@bethesdamagazine.com