Purple Line Station Open Houses Scheduled For Next Month

Bethesda Purple Line Plan area, via Montgomery County Planning Department

Montgomery County planners will use three open houses next month to preview the changes they’ll recommend for the Apex Building and area surrounding the future Bethesda Purple Line station.

The open houses are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 3 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 9 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. All will take place at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane).

The Bethesda Purple Line Plan would allow for more development at and around the 7272 Wisconsin Ave. Apex Building site in order to entice the landowner to raze the building. The Maryland Transit Administration says razing the building before Purple Line station construction would allow for a more complete station, with a full bike path in the Capital Crescent Trail tunnel, a more properly aligned station platform and cheaper costs.

But the process is complicated and must be finished in an unusually short timeframe for such land use issues. The state needs to know how the Bethesda Purple Line station will proceed by the end of this year. State officials are presenting final engineering and design plans for the 16-mile light rail to federal officials early next year.

The open houses will be the only pre-Planning Board and County Council opportunity for community members to weigh in, though planners are hoping for feedback through Twitter and the Plan’s website.

Map via Montgomery County Planning Department

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