The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a 250-unit residential tower in downtown Bethesda on Thursday, Sept. 10, replacing two vacant office buildings.

Washington Property Company plans to tear down the buildings at 4719 Hampden Lane and 4720 Montgomery Lane. The replacement would be a mixed-use development with structured parking, public space and streetscape improvements, according to the Planning Board agenda. The board, chaired by Artie Harris, approved the subdivision, site and forest conservation plans with conditions.

The Washington Business Journal reported the building would rise 12 stories. Design Collective is the architect.

At least 17.6% of the units will be moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs), the county's affordable housing requirement. That commitment allows the developer to build 12 feet above the site's 250-foot base height limit.

The project sits one block north of the future southern entrance to the Bethesda Metro and Purple Line station, making it a significant transit-oriented addition to the neighborhood.

Washington Property Company first pitched the project in December 2025, initially proposing 260 units. The approved plan caps the count at 250. The firm designed the building with step-backs and varied massing to fit the site's unusually narrow footprint along Hampden Lane, according to UrbanTurf.

Construction is not imminent. Washington Property Company told the Business Journal the timeline depends on market conditions, which the company described as not favorable.

The approval used Montgomery County's expedited commercial-to-residential reconstruction process, created by a zoning text amendment the county enacted in April 2025. MRP Realty Vice President Nick Gordon, whose firm is behind the separate Bethesda Crescent project at Wisconsin Avenue and East West Highway, called the expedited process "a tremendous lift" for moving that project forward quickly at the Planning Board's July 23 meeting.

The Hampden Lane project joins a growing wave of office-to-residential conversions reshaping downtown Bethesda. A June 2026 UrbanTurf survey counted at least 16 projects totaling roughly 6,500 units in various stages of planning or construction in the area.

No specific demolition date or construction start has been announced.