Washington Post: "Plan for Bethesda Mall Meets Opposition" (link)
By Aruna Jain In three years, an excursion to Westfield Shoppingtown Montgomery, formerly Montgomery Mall, might begin with a visit to the spa, some upscale outdoor dining and a movie viewed on a wall-to-wall screen, enjoyed -- with a warm cappuccino in hand -- from the comfort of a "rocking love seat." And of course, there would be shopping, at a collection of boutiques and high-end retailers. In a major expansion that would make the Bethesda mall one of the largest in the Washington area, Australia-based Westfield Group wants to add 500,000 square feet to it, creating a regional shopping destination that could better compete with Tysons Corner in Northern Virginia. But residents are upset and have formed a coalition to push for changes to ease traffic congestion, promote pedestrian safety and make the mall's proposed parking garages more aesthetically pleasing. Residents' feelings about the project range from "mild dislike to extreme antipathy," said Jack Cochrane, president of the Wildwood Hills Citizens Association. Westfield's more than $300 million plan includes 100 new shops and restaurants, a theater complex, several large specialty retailers such as bookstores or electronics stores, an upscale "fashion wing" with designer apparel stores, a revamped food court and two multi-level parking garages. About 1,500 additional parking spaces are planned. The 1.2 million-square-foot mall, anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom and Sears, generates more than $430 million annually in sales, according to Westfield officials. "Westfield constantly looks for ways to invest and reinvest in their properties and make them relevant for consumers," said company spokeswoman Katy Dickey. "Our objective always is to place the widest range of goods and services in one location." Dickey said potential tenants would not be discussed until the project is approved and leases are signed. Concerned residents formed the Montgomery Mall Citizens Advisory Panel, a coalition of about a dozen homeowners associations. The group said it is going to push for revisions to Westfield's plan. "There's a lot of concern," said Cochrane. "If I had to rank the concerns: traffic, pedestrian safety, keeping Westlake Crossing [a small, adjacent shopping strip] and the visuals of the parking garage." Westlake Crossing, which was purchased recently by Westfield, is a small strip center with a bank, dry cleaners, bakery, pizza place and convenience store. At a recent meeting of the mall advisory panel, more than 100 residents showed up to hear more about the expansion and express their concerns to Westfield officials. Some called for traffic-calming measures, such as roundabouts, bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks and landscape buffers, on the five-lane Westlake Drive separating the mall from many apartments and condominiums. Eric Eisen, a longtime resident of Wildwood Hills, said that he is not necessarily opposed to the expansion but that the proposed design resembles a "concrete monolith" and does not fit the character of the neighborhood. He said that developers have a chance to create something like a town center. Instead, the plan "creates a citadel, a fortress, ringed by these large garages with this large commercial area in it," Eisen said. One of the garages spans the length of Westlake Drive from Westlake Terrace to the gas stations near Democracy Boulevard. During the meeting, Eisen mentioned a document drawn up in the 1950s -- a series of covenants and restrictions created in an agreement between community groups and the owner of the land now occupied by the mall. The covenants list height limits, setbacks, driveway locations, aesthetic standards and other requirements. The 13-page typed document is signed by eight community groups, some which no longer exist. Because the contract was written nearly 50 years ago, many provisions are outdated. But Eisen, who is a lawyer, says the document is legally binding. "Each new owner conveniently forgets that these covenants exist, and each time we have these issues," he said. Westfield officials declined to discuss the document. "We're very excited about the project, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Planning Board, the county and the community," Dickey said. County planning staff members are reviewing the plan and will make a recommendation to the Planning Board in coming months. Meanwhile, Cochrane said his group plans to submit its own recommendations about the project and is meeting with county officials about its concerns. Westfield's original expansion plans were approved in 2005. Last June, the company submitted revisions that included tearing down Westlake Crossing and building a multi-story parking deck. Those changes drew community attention, Cochrane said. With its expansion to nearly 2 million square feet, Westfield is trying to position itself as a major regional destination, which puts it in competition with Tysons Corner, said Patrice Duker, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers. "One of the leading trends for malls is to update their tenant mix and bring in upscale retailing to their centers," said Duker. "The luxury end of the market has done well and shown itself to be recessionary-proof." She added that because design trends change rapidly, malls renovate or expand every seven to 10 years. The Bethesda mall, built in 1968, has undergone four expansions and renovations, including major growth in 1991. Tysons Corner Center completed a 362,000-square-foot expansion in 2005, and other area shopping centers are expanding to add upscale retailers. Last year, Westfield finished a $140 million revitalization of Westfield Wheaton, and an expansion is underway at Westfield Annapolis. Although the Bethesda mall project is sparking some strong objections, some shoppers eagerly anticipate the opening of new stores and restaurants. Amanda Cline, who travels from Darnestown to shop at the mall, praised its current high-end offerings but said she looks forward to more. "This is my mall," she said. "I don't go to Lakeforest Mall [in Gaithersburg]. I come here." |
The Gazette: "Bethesda Mall Owner Narrows Expansion Plans" (link)Westfield says it is responding to neighbors' and county officials' concerns A new addition planned for Montgomery mall in Bethesda will be smaller than originally proposed, according to the owner, which is trying to address concerns of neighbors and county officials. Westfield LLC showcased changes made to the plan to expand Westfield Shoppingtown Montgomery at a meeting Monday of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board Land Use Committee. The original plan, which has been in the works since 2005, called for a 500,000-square-foot addition to the current 1.2 million-square-foot mall near Democracy Boulevard and Interstate 270. In the past year, the plans have been altered to accommodate suggestions from the Montgomery County Planning Board, the Department of Public Works and Transportation, and the community, said Jim Agliata, vice president of development for Westfield, a global shopping mall owner with headquarters in Sydney, Australia. "We're ready to make all improvements DPWT or the Planning Board recommend," Agliata said. The revised plan is now scheduled to go before county planners on Sept. 20. But a panel of residents still unhappy with the proposal is asking that the hearing be delayed until it can meet with developers to discuss concerns with traffic and parking. That meeting is set for next week. The main concerns from residents and the county include the size of a parking structure and traffic safety around the mall. Architects reduced the proposed expansion to 334,000 square feet and changed a parking structure from a three-story garage that would have wrapped around part of the mall that stretches along Westlake Drive to a smaller, four-story one. The garage will be an expansion of one of the mall's current garages. The proposed addition could house a new "fashion wing", which would include a variety of designer shops, a renovated food court and a series of shops and restaurants that would face the street. Agliata said the new additions would invite customers to sit outside and enjoy a meal or wireless Internet service in a courtyard-style area. Montgomery mall opened in 1968, with its latest renovations in 1991. According to Agliata, the mall has 8 million customers annually. The expansion is made possible by Westfield's purchase of the nearby Westlake Crossing shopping center, home to a variety of shops, including the Corner Bakery Café, Ledo's Pizza, a dry cleaner and a hair salon. Plans call for razing Westlake Crossing to make way for a new parking lot. Construction is expected to take more than three years, and should be completed by 2012, although no start date has been set, according to Agliata. The Montgomery Mall Citizens Advisory Panel discussed its concerns with the plan. "I think the revised plan is an improvement, and I still believe that all of us would be for a thoughtful expansion," said Peter J. Downes, president of the group |
The Potomac Almanac: "Montgomery Mall Expansion Moving Forward"Westfield presents plans to public; site plan hearing scheduled for Sept. 20. Four or five years from now, Montgomery Mall as local residents know it could be a thing of the past. Planned renovations to the popular local mall aim to add more than 300,000 square feet of additional retail space, shops that can be accessed from outside of the mall, and a new, larger parking garage. Mall officials say that the new mall will be a community friendly place for one-stop shopping. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods aren’t so sure. One of the main goals of the renovation is to provide the mall with an identity that it currently lacks, said Jim Agliata, a senior vice president of The Westfield Group, the international shopping center group that owns and operates West-field Shoppingtown Montgomery. The mall’s original name was Montgomery Mall, and most locals still refer to it as such. “One of the problems is that this center never really had a front door,” said Agliata. “We’re trying to create the sense of a front entrance.” The mall is located at 7101 Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda. It is bordered to the east by I-270, to the south by Democracy Boulevard, to the west by Westlake Drive, and to the north by Westlake Terrace. The proposed main entrance would sit along Westlake Terrace. It would be a concave area of shops and possibly restaurants that are accessible from the outside and that would flank a landscaped, ground-level parking area that Agliata referred to as “a common area.” In addition to serving as the main entrance and face of the renovated mall, the common area could also periodically be used to show outdoor movies or host flea markets and other community-oriented events, said Agliata, speaking at a meeting of the Land Use Committee of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board on Monday, Aug. 13. Currently all stores at the mall must be accessed from the inside. Agliata said that the move toward ground-level shopping reflected an industry trend toward so-called ‘lifestyle’ retail that is inviting to passersby and typically features awnings and other features to make businesses look aesthetically appealing from the outside, not just the inside. “We think this is a project that will work for our community, that will work for our retailers, and that will work for our customers,” Agliata said. The plan presented on Monday was a scaled-down version of a previous plan, Agliata said. That plan was reduced after concerns were expressed from the surrounding community that the expansion was too large. Westfield is scheduled to present its plans to the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday, Sept. 20, Agliata said. Agliata said that, barring any planning or construction delays, the expansion of the mall could be completed in 2011 or 2012. While Agliata characterized the proposed expansion of the mall as something that would benefit both the mall and the community at large, local residents present at Monday’s meeting [MMCAP leaders] expressed concern over both the nature of the plans as well as what they call the lack of communication with Westfield officials. The increased retail and parking capacity will result in additional traffic that will be pushed onto Westlake Terrace and particularly onto Westlake Drive where the new, larger parking garage is planned, said Pete Downes, the president of the Montgomery Mall Citizens Advisory Panel. “We do represent the 15 different communities that make up the area around the mall. Literally we have hundreds of signatures of people who support us,” Downes said of the panel. The members of those communities are worried about increased traffic that will make their drives more difficult and will make pedestrian travel more dangerous. The ground surrounding the new garage will slope down and then stop at a 10-foot wall that will drop down to the sidewalk, said Jack Cochrane of the Seven Locks Civic Association. That wall would provide an 800-foot long barrier along Westlake Drive that would thwart pedestrian access from apartment and condominium communities such as Bethesda Court, Lakeview House, and Magruder’s Discovery that sit across from the mall and include some affordable housing, Cochrane said. Pedestrians from those communities who use public transportation would also have a longer walk to catch a bus, as the existing transit center on Westlake Terrace would be pushed further east along the mall’s property, according to the renovation plans. “What this does is create a significant barrier between the residential and the retail [areas],” said Cochrane. “It’s a prime pedestrian crisis right there." Cochrane said that the proposed wall along Westlake Drive should be broken up with entrances to the mall and that islands should be added in the median of Westfield Drive to enhance pedestrian safety. “We want mobility as well as safety,” Cochrane said. “Their idea of protecting pedestrians is not to let them cross the street.” Aside from the traffic and pedestrian issues, there are aesthetic concerns about the garage as well, Downes said. “It’s not only that, but that that garage is such a large mass that it’s really obtrusive.” Scott Davenport of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board asked Agliata if Westfield had considered building underground to minimize the obtrusiveness of the parking structure. Agliata said that studies have shown that women do not feel safe in underground parking facilities due to the lack of natural light. Building underground is also more expensive, Agliata said. “Those two factors caused us to eliminate [that option],” Agliata said. The best way to mitigate the litany of concerns surrounding the new garage would be to shift the structure — and the mall’s expansion in general — away from the residential areas to the west and closer to I-270 to the east, Downes said. The proposed mall and parking expansion would sit in part on what is currently Westlake Crossing, a small strip mall at the intersection of Westlake Terrace and Westlake Drive. That is something that should not be overlooked, said Eric Eisen, the general counsel for the Montgomery Mall Citizens Advisory Panel. The stores in Westlake Crossing offer local conveniences that Montgomery Mall does not, such as dry cleaning, eyeglasses, beer and wine and a quick cup of coffee, Eisen said. Eisen said that Westfield officials have said they might put in a P.F. Chang’s restaurant franchise in that part of the mall. “It’s that vision of that destination,” said Eisen of Westfield’s plans. That vision is not locally minded enough for Eisen, who said that local shops and conveniences should be kept there. “That’s not happening here.” The most troubling aspect of Westfield ’s expansion plan is the lack of dialogue that the group has had with the community, said Downes. White Flint Mall in Rockville is currently going through a similar renovation planning process and Downes pointed to that as a model of open dialogue. Downes said that while his group has not directly contacted Westfield to set up a meeting, he has contacted the county’s planning staff and members of the County Council over the last several months to alert them that his group is available for discussion, but he has heard nothing back. “There has been a tremendous effort to have interactive discussions with the communities and the businesses around White Flint Mall [regarding that mall’s proposed renovation] and we would hope the county would give us the same consideration,” Downes said. “To date they have not done that.” “I don’t think what we’re asking is unreasonable. I think if we can sit down we can reach some agreements on some things, probably not on some other things,” Downes said. “If we can’t get communication we’ll have to sit down and ask a guy in a black robe to make a decision.” For more information on expansion plans for Montgomery Mall visit the Montgomery Mall Citizens Advisory Panel at www.mmcap.net. |
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