Five years ago, the land adjoining the entrance to the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station in North Bethesda, Maryland, was nothing more than a commuter parking lot.
Now, the site just outside of Washington, D.C., is covered in greenery and walking trails, and beyond that Ravel & Royale, the first of several residential developments at Strathmore Square, developed by Washington, D.C.-based Fivesquares Development and Denver-based Aimco.
The multi-phase development, which celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 21, currently consists of 220 units across the two properties, a 1.25-acre community park and the CityDance Conservatory Studio, a nonprofit dance institution. Once development is complete, the property will cover 2.2 million square feet with a total of 2,120 residential units and 131,000 square feet of retail, as well as senior housing, according to a news release shared with Multifamily Dive.
Arts and movement
Strathmore Square’s partners include its closest neighbor — the Strathmore performing arts center next door. Residents of Ravel and Royale automatically receive annual Strathmore memberships, entitling them to free concerts, performances and outdoor art exhibits.
Strathmore will also host amenities at the properties themselves, including artist interviews, private concerts and bi-annual concert curator meetings. Residents will have advance ticket purchase rights, discounts on select events and reserved seats for Strathmore’s Live from the Lawn series. Residents can also participate in free dance classes at CityDance and receive discounted tickets to conservatory rehearsals.
“Strathmore believes the arts are essential and everyone deserves access to them,” said Monica Jeffries Hazangeles, president and CEO of Strathmore, in the release. “Our partnership at Strathmore Square is just one more way we are living that commitment.”
Ravel is the smaller of the two properties, with 49 two- and three-bedroom apartments, while Royale has the remaining 171 units, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms. Among the property’s financiers is the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, which has pledged $24 million in long-term, lower-cost financing to fund over 20% of Strathmore Square Phase I and II’s homes as affordable housing for households earning between 50% and 70% of the area median income.
Amenities at Ravel and Royale also will include a pool, private dining room, fitness center and dry sauna, according to the property website. Parking will be available on site. Local nature attractions include trails along Rock Creek Park and Beach Drive. Aimco’s AIR Communities is the property manager.
Strathmore Square is the first project to benefit from Montgomery County’s 15-year real estate tax abatement for high-rise residential development at Metro stations. In addition to the Metro station, residents are close to access points for the I-270 and Beltway highways, as well as seven bus lines.
