As Seen In the Washington Post
Connie Dufner
June 2, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.
In March, Marissa Smith and her family decided that they’d had plenty of pandemic togetherness in the 850-square-foot Rockville, Md., apartment that had been home for eight years. With two parents, an energetic 7-year-old and two dogs hanging out 24/7 at virtual school and work, it was time for a change of scenery.
They decided to start looking on March 17 and put in an offer on their new home just five days later.
“It was the first and only offer we submitted,” Smith said. Fast forward to early May, and Smith, along with husband, Joshua, daughter, Jean, Great Dane, Obi, and English bulldog, Pnut, had settled into the Townes at Grosvenor Place in North Bethesda.
Built by Madison Homes, with Urban Pace as the broker, the community opened in late 2020. Forty-six townhouses are planned, with base prices ranging from $999,000 to $1.3 million. Seven have been sold. Six are move-in ready, and eight will be available for move-in in late fall/early winter. The rest are for future delivery.
Standard features include a loft-level fourth floor with a rooftop terrace and space on each floor for an optional elevator. The community is nestled in the vee created by the Capital Beltway, Rockville Pike and Interstate 270.
“We are first-time home buyers, and this checks all the boxes,” Smith said. “The location and space increase were two of the biggest deciding factors.”
She is a digital communications professional who is currently working at home for a nonprofit that does military-medical research. He is a health-care worker who commutes into D.C. Jean was able to finish the school year before switching schools in the fall. And the dogs get to hang in nearby open spaces, including a surrounding tree conservation area.
The Smiths chose a 2,665-square-foot interior unit with the Braeburn floor plan, one of four floor plans offered. They chose one upgrade: 7½-inch-wide plank engineered hardwood flooring for all levels. Otherwise, they kept the standard features throughout.
A model home with the Braeburn plan includes these upgrades: a Thermador appliance package; an elevator by Savaria, with stops on all floors; 7.5-inch engineered hardwood flooring on all levels; a wet bar in the loft; an Astria fireplace by Paris Lights in the living room; and an epoxy floor in the garage.
“We were stoked to see the elevator space could be walk-in storage on every floor, which we intend to use,” Smith said.
Early plans call for creating a mud room, with room for a bench and dog equipment, on the entry level and additional pantry space on the main level.
“It feels like I’m living in a hotel right now,” Smith said. “It’s so spacious and all brand new and sparkly, with no scratches on the walls yet.”
Nearby: From the Townes at Grosvenor Place, it’s a 15-minute walk to Rock Creek Trail, at Franklin Street and Beach Drive; a seven-minute drive to the Music Center at Strathmore; and a seven-minute drive to the Pike and Rose shopping center.
Schools: Ashburton elementary, North Bethesda middle, Walter Johnson high
Transit: The community is about a half-hour drive from Dulles International Airport and about a 10-to-15-minute walk from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station, on the Red Line. Metro bus service is available along Grosvenor Place and Tuckerman Lane.
10296 Grosvenor Pl., North Bethesda, Md.
Base prices for the 46 townhouses range from $999,000 to $1.3 million.
Features: Standard features include four finished levels with nine-foot ceilings; a fourth floor with a bedroom, full bathroom and a terrace; a Bosch kitchen appliance package; quartz countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms; five-inch-wide engineered hardwood hickory flooring on the entry and main levels; crown molding in areas of the main and entry levels; oak stairs with white risers, Craftsman-style railings and white balustrades on the entry and main levels; Kohler Forté chrome fixtures with a rain showerhead and frameless shower door in the owner’s suite bathroom; and a finished two-car garage with decorative pavers in the alleys and driveways. The neighborhood has landscaped open green spaces with park benches, and the tree conservation area offers serene views from the upper floors.
The Braeburn offers a choice of two standard layouts on the main level. One places the kitchen between the dining and living rooms. In the other, the kitchen is toward the rear, near a balcony deck, and the living-dining area presents as one open, flexible space. The Dellwood floor plan comes standard with an entry-level bedroom and full bathroom. The other floor plans have entry-level dens with optional French doors or semisolid double doors and a powder room, with a full bamthroom option.
Bedrooms/bathrooms: 3 or 4/3 or 4
Square-footage: 2,500 to 2,750
Homeowners association fees: $145 a month
