The Capital Crescent Civic Green is coming to downtown Bethesda as a new park and civic space! The currently vacant land across from the Bethesda Row Cinema near the intersection of Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues will become a new park soon. Now after dinner at Silver or a new indie movie at Bethesda Row Cinema and an ice cream, you will be able to imagine taking a walk through a new
park in the near future! This will be a beautiful addition to new Bethesda condo market like those at the Darcy or the Stonehall.
The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday approved the $8.5 million purchase of this vacant 0.4 acres. The county plans to turn it into the “Capital Crescent Civic Green.” The land will be used for major public events, such as large street festivals on Bethesda Row, as well as for residents to relax and gather.
“We feel like this is going to be a centerpiece of the new Bethesda,” said Planning Board Chairman Casey Anderson. Council member Roger Berliner previously said the county estimates the cost of the Capital Crescent Civic Green could be cut in half. The County Council expects to receive easement money from the state, which plans to use part of the land for Purple Line construction.
The county also might be able to sell development rights for the Capital Crescent Civic Green to a developer in the area who is interested in adding additional density to a project, according to Berliner.
The Planning Board Chairman said Wednesday he doesn’t know when the Capital Crescent Civic Green will be available for public use, but that the county hopes to develop an interim plan for the park while the Purple Line is being constructed.
The Purple Line is scheduled to be completed in 2022. The Bethesda Purple Line station will be built in the tunnel under the former Apex Building on Wisconsin Avenue. That building is about half demolished and is being redeveloped into a massive mixed-use project by Carr Properties. You might remember that building as the location of a multiplex theater and pizza restaurant!