Aimco and Fivesquares Development have received $94 million in financing from EagleBank for the construction of the first phase of Strathmore Square in North Bethesda, Md.
The 2.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project’s Phase 1 has 220 apartments, including affordable housing units, in two multifamily buildings.
EagleBank, which is headquartered in neighboring Bethesda, Md., is one of the largest community banks in the Washington, D.C., area. The transaction was facilitated by EagleBank Commercial Real Estate Lending team members Scott Emmer, first senior vice president, and Richard Koller, vice president and portfolio manager.
Strathmore Square is located across from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail Station, at the intersection of Rockville Pike and just north of the Washington D.C. beltway. The project is being developed in partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. The Amazon Housing Equity Fund is also investing $24 million in the mixed-use development as part of its $300 million commitment announced in 2021 to create thousands of affordable homes near public transportation across the U.S., including in the D.C. metro area. It is also the first project to benefit from Montgomery County’s recently adopted 15-year real estate tax abatement program for high-rise residential development at Metro stations.
Project Details
The first phase will feature two LEED Gold Class A apartment buildings designed by Deborah Berke Partners, a firm led by a well-known architect who is the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, and will be constructed along Cloister Drive and Tuckerman Lane. Building 1 will be nine stories high, with 49 units and Building 2 will be 10 stories with 171 units. The property will feature modern amenities including a state-of-art fitness center with on-demand virtual classes, interior and exterior filtered water stations, coworking spaces, a private dining room, a spa room, pet grooming area and residential lounge. Fifteen percent of the apartments will be reserved for tenants earning between 50 to 70 percent of the area median income.
Andy Altman, principal and co-founder of Fivesquares Development, said in prepared remarks the groundbreaking held in December for the project marked the first step in the transformation of a parking lot into a vibrant community centered on the arts, culture, open space and active living.
In addition to the public park designed by award-winning landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Jones Landscape Architects, designers of the London Olympic Park, the first phase will also include 8,900 square feet of cultural and retail offerings and a new landscaped neighborhood main street.
Phase II is expected to include at least 100 units of housing. Over time, Strathmore Square will become a community of more than 2,100 housing units and an example of an inclusive transit-oriented community centered on the arts, culture, nature and healthy, sustainable living. The site is adjacent to the renowned Strathmore Music Center and Rock Creek Park and located in the center of Montgomery County’s growth corridor. Strathmore Square will be one of the largest sites in Montgomery County and the region to support the achievement of regional housing and climate change goals.
Matt Hopkins, regional vice president of development affairs for Aimco, said in prepared remarks creating a new transit-oriented arts community built on more than 30 years of aspirational regional planning is immensely exciting for the firm’s Washington, D.C.-based development team.
