Who’s that Upstairs?
11 01 2008Are you ready for some fake city livin? Then the Upstairs at Bethesda Row may be just what you’re looking for. You really can’t ask for much more in terms of restaurants and shops within walking distance, there is even an ice cream shop!
The developers of the Bethesda row project have done a nice job of mixing materials and creating an urban feel despite the entire project being new from the ground up. They have every type of food you could ask for, though why would you want to eat anywhere other than Redwood Wine Bar?
The apartments “upstairs” also have all the amenities you would expect from a luxury apartment building. However you pay for the right to live in such swanky digs, apartments can go for as much as $3700 a month!
Also it goes without saying that the apartment buildings name sucks!
Follow the jump for one more photo…
Did you really write “Are you ready for some fake city livin?” about Bethesda, Maryland? What’s fake about Bethesda? The last time I visited, it was pulsing with business, shopping and entertainment activity, which are, of course, the earmarks of—gasp!—a “real” city.
Your post is an insult to many, particularly those who live in Bethesda and Montgomery County. You should be ashamed.
It seems like a joke and probably the reference is to the fact that the entire Downtown feel has been created from scratch to create a “fake” city atmosphere.
Would you call Reston Town Center city living?
Regardless, seems like good old DCMetrocentric is just joking around anyways!
Wow, we didn’t expect a response like that DContheMove.
Some of us actually live in Bethesda, and we have been documenting our love of the City of Bethesda for a while now!
We were clearly referring to the practice developer’s employ of removing all the old buildings from a city street, and rebuilding! Some times for the better, and sometime for the worse! Clearly we love down town Bethesda and all of it’s amenities. Must have misunderstood our tone, We’ll buy you a drink at Redwood Wine bar to make it up to you!
i frequent the area, and i live in NE DC. yes, it’s got a lot of activity.
yes, it’s nice.
yes, it’s kind of a fake city.
i know that because i live in a real city.
don’t get me wrong, the area is great.
but it is, without a doubt, an attempt at making suburbanites feel like they live in a “city”.
usually, the burbs are lame. this particular burb used to be lame, but it’s getting more action because of the development. that doesn’t make it a city.
the new developments, IMHO, are a strip mall on steroids.
so, yeah. it is a fake city. maybe it will turn real in 20 years, but right now, it’s an excuse for the suburbanites to not have to leave their back yard and travel to a real city, like Washington, DC. (although i bet many of those folks commute to the REAL CITY OF WASHINGTON DC).
that’s just me though. and i happen to have grown up in Sao Paulo, Brasil. one of the largest cities around.
sometimes, the arguments from people around here are so petty to me, it’s funny.
americans are soooo parochial.
DContheMove your response to this post is an insult to many, particularly those who can understand sarcasm and wit. You should be ashamed.
Rereading my post I see it is intemperate and unnecessarily nasty. I extend an apology to dcmetrocentric and to others who may have put off.
The sarcasm in the original post, which I indeed noted, just rubbed me the wrong way, unfortunately. There have been several developments in the DC region that many would consider inauthentic or “fakes”—such as Kentlands in Gaithersburg, which tries to replicate a small town, and the Washingtonian Center and its artificial shopping street, also located in Gaithersburg. But does Bethesda fall into this category? Some may so say, but I tend to think otherwise.
For one, all of Bethesda’s development has taken place on an established street grid—a grid that’s been around for at least 50–60 years, if not more. It is true the approved and built developments have attempted to create a festive shopping and entertainment district, with offices and apartments above street level retail. But what’s wrong with that? Isn’t this what’s been done (and being done) in New York, San Francisco, or Seattle, or any other large or medium-sized city? How much different is downtown Bethesda from DC’s Gallery Place/Chinatown or Georgetown? There are differences, of course, but certainly more similarities. The grit and dirt are not are as noticeable, to be sure (just give it a few years), and there a slight sterile feel, but with each new building that is built Bethesda becomes a little more big city-like.
Several years ago, Washington CityPaper ran a major article on the city of Manassas and its environs. The article was penned as an ancillary piece to the sensational story surrounding Lorena Bobbit and her infamous slice. Lorena and hubby John lived in the Manassas area at the time of the, um, incident. Anyway, in the CityPaper piece, the Manassas area wasn’t portrayed in exactly glowing terms, as you can imagine, and the term “Manassashole” was employed more than once, if I remember correctly. It stuck. And I’m sure for many residents it still stings today. While Manassas isn’t exactly my cup of tea, there’s a lot of history there, and the town’s small downtown and large Victorians offer for some a pleasant charm. It’s regrettable the area is tinged by such a disparaging tag.
I think we all need to take care with our words and take note of how hurtful it can be when a neighborhood, town and region is put down or labeled negatively, no matter how artfully witty or sarcastic the words are spoken or written. And I include myself here, as on occasion in the past, I, too, have been a bit too carefree with my words and not as mindful of the feelings of others as I should have been.
Can we all hug it out now?
it really is not fake city living. This is how cities are built. someone builds something from scratch, others follow. since when does new=fake?
Poo Poo
I am willing to bet that Bethesda has more characteristics of a city than most of NE DC.
and; “an excuse for the suburbanites to not have to leave their back yard and travel to a real city, like Washington”
Should read, don’t want to deal with the BS of going into DC while a suitable equivalent is right down the street.
“…I think we all need to take care with our words and take note of how hurtful it can be when a neighborhood, town and region is put down or labeled negatively, no matter how artfully witty or sarcastic the words are spoken or written.” um…you’re kidding, right? if i was hypersensitive, i wouldn’t frequent internet blogs (or leave the house, or watch tv, or talk to people, or read a book..)
btw, does anyone know if the list prices for the apartments are holding firm?
I just moved into the Upstairs at Bethesda Row and what a mistake I made. The bedrooms are not well insulated from noise and the walls are thinner that you would expect in such a modern establishment. And have you seen the rent prices?