Friendship Heights has gone through a lot of changes over the last few years. There were stores there and then there weren’t. There was a hotel and then it was gone. Now Friendship Heights is ready for more change. Now Friendship Heights is entering a major transition period with a large-scale development looming and a new master plan in the works.
Dubbed the Friendship Heights Sector Plan, staff at Montgomery Planning are aiming to create an updated document hat will help guide the future of growth, development, community connection and transportation in the area for decades to come, according to lead planner Atara Margolies.
The dense urban neighborhood covers approximately 113 acres south of downtown Bethesda. Within the planning area are The Collection, a shopping and dining center, a Saks Fifth Avenue store, multiple high-rise buildings with housing and offices, the Friendship Heights Metro station and the former GEICO headquarters, which is slated for a major redevelopment project. When complete, the sector plan will include long- and short-term recommendations for zoning, land use, housing, transportation, parks and open space, schools, economic development and pedestrian safety,
Planners are about halfway through the development of the sector plan, according to the planning department. Preliminary recommendations for the plan also are available for the public to review and provide feedback online or at drop-in office hours.
This summer, planners will incorporate that feedback and produce the “working draft” of the sector plan, according to Margolies. The Montgomery County Planning Board is expected to review the working draft and provide feedback and recommendations later this summer. The board will then vote on the sector plan and if approved, the plan will be transmitted to the County Council for review.
Planners anticipate the council will review the draft in the fall, but likely won’t vote on it until early 2027 because a new council will be elected in November, according to Margolies.
Here are five things to know about the Friendship Heights sector plan:
1. Zoning changes
Several areas zoned as residential and high-rise residential would be rezoned as mixed-use for commercial-residential developments. For instance, at present, Saks Fifth Avenue’s parking lot is zoned residential. Planners have proposed changing the property’s zoning to mixed-use, commercial-residential zoning to match the zoning of other properties along Wisconsin Avenue. Planners also are proposing to keep the existing single-family residential zoning for the Brookdale neighborhood. The neighborhood is bounded by Willard and Western avenues, River Road and the 29-acre GEICO campus.
2. Increase building heights
Planners also are recommending that zoning allow taller buildings in the downtown Friendship Heights area. The proposed maximum height for buildings along Wisconsin Avenue would range from 200 to 250 feet, an increase from 60 to 145 feet. The height limit would mean that new construction would not be as tall as high-rise towers in downtown Bethesda. Planners also propose that buildings transition to lower heights closer to residential neighborhoods.
3. Increae housing production, affordability
The plan also outlines several housing goals, including adding more affordable housing; creating housing options available to renters, families, older residents and people with disabilities; and creating housing near transit stations. Friendship Heights already has the highest percentage of seniors in the county.
Planners have recommended prioritizing the addition of a mix of housing types and unit sizes, including “family-sized” market-rate units and moderately priced dwelling units; and requiring new development and redevelopment to include at least 15% of moderately priced units. In addition, developers would be encouraged to access county, state and federal incentives to make affordable housing projects more feasible. Those incentives include the county’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes program and Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.
4. Transportation
Planners are also recommending the county’s Bus Rapid Transit system be extended from Bethesda to Friendship Heights. (The county currently plans to extend bus rapid transit from Rockville to Bethesda, but not to Friendship Heights.)
5. Better park access
Planners also recommend improving access to parks in the Friendship Heights area. Margolies said access was a “big concern” for those in the community and planners hoped to provide new parks and public spaces and improve the visibility of existing parks. Planners are also recommending that parks and open spaces be connected to each other. If that recommendation is implemented, the goal would be to create a connected network of open spaces and parks in Friendship Heights.
I love keeping track of what is going on in Bethesda and Chevy Chase in particular. If you have questions about these changes in this area, let’s talk! In the meantime, here is what is for sale in the 20815 zip code. Check these listings out and I will be glad to help you find your new home.