North Bethesda's Rock Spring Centre is Back in Action, For Now

Last night, the Montgomery County Planning Board gave the go-ahead for the final phase of Rock Spring Centre, a massive mixed-use development that will include nine buildings on the 54 acre tract in North Bethesda. DRI Development will navigate the project that's to house a hotel, retail, office, and residential space in a town center located on in the north east quadrant of the intersection of Rockledge Drive and Rockspring Drive in the Garrett Park area of the city.

This isn't a new project, it's a redo of the last phase of a multi-stage development: the first phase began in 1997, with the creation of 390-residential unit, Avalon Bay; the second phase introduced a 352-unit Rock Spring Centre residential towers - approved but not yet built; and the third phase would have been the creation of Canyon Ranch spa, which was canceled in 2006. DRI has been shepherding the project since 2008, at which time it was shelved as a result of the economic downturn.


Last night's meeting was an amendment to the 2008 plans, which shifted 10,000 s.f. retail to office space and tabled plans for a community center. By the numbers, the 1.3 million s.f. project looks like this:

• 590,000 s.f. office space

• 210,000 s.f. retail

• 90,000 s.f. entertainment use space

• 200,000 s.f. hotel, 200 rooms

• 1250 residences

Sandra Pereira, Montgomery County Lead Reviewer for the project, says that financing and permits will determine when they'll break ground. That may not be for a while.

Bethesda, Maryland Real Estate News