The Project
A new, five-story urban mixed-use project in the heart of Bethesda Central Business District. The contemporary building houses 140 residential units occupying 150,000 SF over one level of retail and below-grade parking. The structured roof of the parking level supports two landscaped terraces on the north and south sides of the building serving as gardens, bio-retention ponds and recreational areas. The sloping structured rear yard provides residents access to the adjacent Capital Crescent Trail.
Structural features
The residential portion of the building is Type III wood-framed with wood floor and roof trusses on wood stud bearing walls and a masonry stair and elevator towers supported on a concrete podium transfer slab. Structural accommodations were engineered to facilitate a ground floor car dealership. The residential entry lobby glass façade is set back under the corner of the 4-story building above created by large, cantilevered transfer girders. The deep drilled foundation system is comprised of continuous flight auger caissions designed to bear below deep layers of fill soil. The caisson foundation layout was closely coordinated to work around existing, abandoned piles from the demolished post office building. Steel bracket piles were installed to brace the existing foundation wall of a neighboring building to the north, and an existing retaining to the south was underpinned to accommodate the deeper garage excavation.
