Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has submitted a letter to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) requesting that the White Flint Metro Station be renamed the “North Bethesda Metro Station.”
Beginning in 2020, the County collaborated in station retitling efforts with the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, the Friends of White Flint, the White Flint Downtown Advisory Committee and other community leaders. A public meeting co-sponsored by those groups, the County Executive and the District One County Councilmember Andrew Friedson was held on March 31. The new designation of “North Bethesda” was selected at that meeting.
“The development of the North Bethesda Metro Station is not only critical to the future economic growth of Montgomery County but the entire state and region,” said County Executive Elrich. “Thanks to our State Delegates in Districts 16 and 18, we have secured $250,000 toward the renaming costs. In addition, the County will contribute $50,000, and there is a commitment that remaining costs will be paid by the key property owners in the immediate vicinity of this station. The choice of ‘North Bethesda’ was the consensus of this community. I expect for generations to come the name ‘North Bethesda’ will be known as an epicenter in the bio-life sciences and quantum computing industries supported by private sector companies, academics, and Federal agencies developed in a 21st Century sustainable and equitable location.”
"The Metro station is crucial to the viability of this area and our community's vision for it," Councilmember Friedson said. "We need a Metro station that reflects that vision and helps our economic development, regional competitiveness and placemaking efforts so the Pike District and North Bethesda become an even more vibrant, walkable, and livable destination."
In 2010, Montgomery County completed a comprehensive update to the White Flint Sector Plan. Since that time, much has changed in North Bethesda including the former White Flint Mall which was dismantled between 2017 and 2020. A key goal for the community—both residential and business—is identity.
"The entire Montgomery County House and Senate Delegations recognize the economic potential of ‘North Bethesda,’ said Marc Korman, a Maryland Delegate from District 16. “Rebranding the Metro Station is crucial to achieving that success and we were pleased to fight to obtain that State investment,"
