Windsor Bethesda ~ Bethesda, MD
Completed circa 2015, Windsor Bethesda is a 17-story mixed-use residential tower totaling approximately 250,122 gross square feet. The development includes 244 multifamily residential units (including designated affordable housing), approximately 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and 3.5 levels of below-grade structured parking. The project is a mid- to high-rise urban infill building located within a dense downtown Bethesda context, with significant coordination constraints related to adjacent properties and subsurface conditions.
Structurally, the building is understood to utilize a cast-in-place reinforced concrete system typical of high-rise residential construction in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The primary lateral-force-resisting system consists of reinforced concrete shear walls concentrated at the central core and select perimeter wall lines, providing stiffness and torsional stability under wind and seismic demands. Gravity framing is achieved through reinforced concrete slab systems—commonly flat plate or post-tensioned slab construction—spanning between shear walls and column supports to maintain efficient floor-to-floor heights and flexible unit layouts.
Below-grade construction includes reinforced concrete retaining wall systems designed for lateral earth and hydrostatic loads, with foundation support typically provided through mat or spread footing systems bearing on suitable subsurface strata. Special structural considerations include transfer conditions at the ground-floor retail level to accommodate open storefront glazing, as well as localized reinforcement at the rooftop amenity level supporting a pool and elevated occupancy loading conditions.