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Wisconsin Ave is a major thoroughfare between Washington, DC and its Maryland suburbs. It spans from its southernmost point at the Georgetown waterfront to its northernmost point in Frederick, Maryland.  Wisconsin Ave has been a fixture of the region since the late 1800s – albeit renamed or rerouted slightly in the time since.  The road naturally accrued an eclectic assortment of architectural styles as the region became denser.  In recent years, there has been a growing need for strategic revitalization to provide more housing and an opportunity to visually and functionally cohere the stretch of corporate businesses, mixed-use/multifamily, and retail buildings.

Our recent work at SK+I focuses on transforming this particular stretch of Wisconsin and its surrounding area in the heart of Bethesda from an “edge” city into a city and hotspot in its own right. The goal is to incorporate principles of new urbanism and a series of mixed-use districts, including residential apartments and condos, retail, dining, office space, hotels, entertainment, public art and fountains, forming the new core of the revitalized areas.

4000 WISCONSIN || Upton Place, located at 4000 Wisconsin Avenue, broke ground in January 2021. The project presents an opportunity to transform a recently vacated office building, located in a thriving residential neighborhood, into a vibrant, mixed-use, residential and retail development. Upton Place will offer 126,000 square feet of retail and 700,000 square feet of residential with 689 apartments — 65 of which will be affordable. The project recently reached its halfway milestone in construction and is expected to reach completion in 2024.

5500 WISCONSIN || 5500 Wisconsin is a mixed-use project in the early design phases, set to break ground in late 2022. The building will replace the existing 44,700 sf retail structure with up to 380 high-quality apartments and approximately 15,000 sf of commercial retail. The new building will be surrounded by an innovative and attractive streetscape that will enhance the pedestrian experience on The Hills Plaza, South Park Avenue, and Wisconsin Avenue.

7000 WISCONSIN || Currently under construction, 7000 Wisconsin is a 14-story, 110-foot-tall mixed-use high-rise development that will include roughly 8,000 sf of commercial space. 7000 Wisconsin’s residential floors will offer studio, one-, and two-bedroom layouts across the community’s 181 units. Amenities will include a ground-floor fitness center, rooftop penthouse offering expansive views of Bethesda, a club room with kitchen, and a business center with private workspaces.

7126 WISCONSIN || 7126 Wisconsin is the future home of a 21-story, 360-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail. The project will include a roughly 7,000-square-foot addition to the market itself, and includes building 585 new homes and 32,000 square feet of retail space.

7340 WISCONSIN || 7340 Wisconsin is the site of a long-awaited infill, located between Montgomery Lane and Hamden Lane. The site, housing a vacant Exxon fuel station, received unanimous DAP approval in July 2022. The building will be a 25-story, 310-unit apartment building with retail. The development will include 157 parking spaces, and 15% of the apartments will be moderately-price dwelling units.