Construction crews working on the 4500 East West office building in downtown Bethesda this weekend tore down the McDonald’s that used to stand on the property.
Many reacted with the type of loving memories typically reserved for things other than the most common fast food hamburger restaurant in the world.
“This building was filled with memories,” wrote Chevy Chase Patch blogger Ellouise Schoettler.
“Another Bethesda memory comes to end. What is left of our sleepy little town that once was,” wrote a commenter.
“Sad,” tweeted blogger Robert Dyer.
Montgomery County officials hope the 4500 East West building, 220,000 square feet of the first new Class A office space in Bethesda since the recession, will help stop job losses in the construction sector and attract a shiny new anchor tenant.
It is also in line with the county’s “smart-growth” policy. The standalone fast food joint two blocks from the Bethesda Metro station was not.
Some of the 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in the new building will be occupied by a new McDonald’s, so the popular Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School hangout (and Bethesda landmark, apparently) will be back when construction is complete.
