Showing posts with label 275 N. Washington Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 275 N. Washington Street. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Corner Bubble, Fusion Academy coming to Rockville Town Center

Rockville Town Square has found a tenant for the briefly-vacant Ev and Maddy's space at 101-C Gibbs Street. Corner Bubble appears to be a bubble tea shop.

Meanwhile, up the road at 275 N. Washington Street, The JBG Companies have found a different type of tenant - a school. Fusion Academy will be a private school offering one-to-one teacher-student learning for middle school and high school students.

With one teacher and one student per classroom, Fusion Academy is designed for children who are not being served well by traditional class sizes. These include gifted students, and those interested in pursuing acting or athletics.

Fusion will hire 15-20 teachers at first, and could have as many as 35 staff members once the school is at full capacity. They will also offer customized schedules tailored to each student's needs. Homework is done at the Homework Cafe at school.

Allison Mapes, who will be the Head of School, is originally from Virginia. “I’m eager to return to the area and to connect with students and parents in a way that fosters true educational, emotional and social growth,” Mapes said in a statement Monday. “Having taught in many private and public school settings, I’m impressed by Fusion’s ability to connect directly with each student, making them feel valued and treasured, which is what we strive to remind them of every day.”

Fusion has schools in Alexandria, Washington, D.C. and Tysons. Fully accredited, the first location was founded 27 years ago in San Diego. The school will share JBG's recently-constructed mixed-use building with Kung Fu Tea and Lavande Patisserie.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Acqua Nails staff leaving for Amber Door Day Spa in Rockville (Photo)

There appears to be a mass exodus from Acqua Nails in Rockville Town Square. According to a sign posted at the nail spa at 100 Gibbs Street, the manager and staff are moving a block north to Amber Door Day Spa at 275 N. Washington Street. The phone number is moving with them also: 301-838-8599.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Soft opening of Lavande Patisserie this Saturday in Rockville (Photos)

The long-awaited opening of Lavande Patisserie at 275 N. Washington Street in Rockville is near. Stop by when they soft-open at 11:00 AM this Saturday, November 14, to try French bakery specialties like macarons and croissants, and much more.

Serving breakfast and lunch, Lavande is positioning itself as a "farm to table café". It is one of four new Asian-owned businesses in JBG's new mixed-use retail center.


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Lavande Patisserie posts Coming Soon signage in Rockville (Photos)

Coming Soon signage has been posted in the window of the future Lavande Patisserie, located in the new JBG retail/restaurant center at 275 N. Washington Street in Rockville. Marketed as a "farm-to-table café," the eatery is scheduled to open this fall.

Locally-owned by Julie Yi and Andrew Liang of Gaithersburg, Lavande will serve breakfast, lunch and French pastries with an Asian twist. It is one of four Asian-owned businesses at the JBG property, and one of many in the vicinity, which is becoming known as the DC area's new Chinatown.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Quickway Hibachi opens in Rockville (Photos)

Work in downtown Rockville? You may have a new spot for lunch. Quickway Hibachi is celebrating its Grand Opening in JBG's new retail development at 275 N. Washington Street. This is north of Rockville Town Square, and part of the Phase II redevelopment of Rockville's town center.

They have hard copy takeout menus, and you can also see their menu online. "Hibachi" may make you think of grilled, but they do have a good selection of sushi as well. You can combine these for a takeout bento box. The dining room is pretty nice, too, if you prefer to dine-in.




Monday, June 8, 2015

Bank of America opening Town Center II branch in Rockville today (Photos)

The first major opening in the Phase 2 construction of Rockville Town Center will be today at 275 N. Washington Street, in the JBG Companies' new retail/office project. Bank of America will open its new branch there this morning.

This branch will replace the one that closed recently in the now-demolished Suburban Trust Building down the street (a.k.a. The Pink Bank).


Friday, May 22, 2015

Rockville construction update: Kung Fu Tea (Photos)

Kung Fu Tea is one of several Asian-owned businesses moving into the 275 N. Washington Street development by JBG. The restaurants and shops hope to open this summer. This development is part of Town Center Phase II.



Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Quickway Hibachi & Sushi posts Coming Soon signage in Rockville (Photos)

Quickway Hibachi & Sushi has posted Coming Soon signage at its future 275 N. Washington Street home. Several Asian-owned businesses have signed leases at that JBG retail/office property. I note that the name has changed from the originally-announced "Quickway Hibachi Grill".

Thursday, February 26, 2015

JBG FULLY LEASES RETAIL AT 275 N. WASHINGTON ST., ASIAN BUSINESSES TO DOMINATE NEW ROCKVILLE BUILDING (PHOTOS)

The established and still-growing Asian community in Rockville has shown its economic power strongly in the retail mix the JBG Companies are bringing to their new 275 N. Washington Street project. JBG has announced the mixed-use building's retail space is fully-leased, and that four Asian-owned businesses will be among the tenants.

Those businesses will be French-Asian cafe Lavande Patisserie, Kung Fu Tea, Quickway Japanese Hibachi Grill and Amber Door Day Spa. Rockville's Asian community has founded many businesses, and the city has increasingly become a major shopping and dining destination for the larger, regional Asian community around the DC area.

In addition to the many Asian restaurants nearby, there are several Asian markets in the vicinity - including one only steps away, and a new one in the College Plaza that replaces the venerable Magruder's grocery store. This synergy, which will be enhanced by the new businesses, is creating what JBG's Anthony Greenberg calls "an organically emerging district" of Asian-owned businesses near downtown Rockville. New additions in the adjacent Rockville Town Square include Peter Chang's Bistro, and the Asian-owned Hair Design Zone, both opening this spring.

Quickway Japanese Hibachi founder Bob Liang says the diversity of Rockville, and 275 N. Washington's town center location, were the major factors in deciding to open his 10th area location here. The restaurant will feature fast casual Japanese cuisine.

Lavande Patisserie is owned by mother and son Julie Yi and Andrew Liang of Gaithersburg, and will serve breakfast, lunch and French pastries with an Asian twist, including kumquat fruit tarts. "Buy local" will be a mantra for Lavande. "Everything is fresh and purchased within 50 miles, nothing is store bought or pre-processed,” says Liang. Meat butchering, flour milling and more will be done in-house in this farm-to-table café.

Kung Fu Tea is a New York-based chain serving tea beverages, and this will be its first DC-area location.

Amber Door Day Spa is locally owned, offering massages, facials, body treatments, makeup and other spa services.
All four businesses are moving in, and expect to open this spring. The project's anchor tenant is Bank of America, and 12,000 SF of Class A office space is still available for lease on the building's second floor. This is one of many projects Chevy Chase-based JBG is developing in Rockville.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

275 N. WASHINGTON STREET CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

A lot of progress has taken place at The JBG Companies' 275 N. Washington Street project in Rockville. One of the first Town Center Phase II developments, the building will include 28,000 SF of retail and restaurant space. A battle over how much parking the development would include was resolved by the Rockville Planning Commission recently. One part of the structure has a very traditional brick facade, which contrasts with the glass facade of the rest.







Thursday, July 24, 2014

TOWN CENTER PHASE II DEVELOPER GETS PARKING WAIVER ON 2ND TRY

The Rockville Planning Commission voted unanimously to grant a parking waiver to Hungerford Retail, LLC at last night's meeting. While virtually every future transit-oriented project in the city will likely meet the basic criteria for a parking waiver, the issuing of one is at the discretion of the commission. The planning body reached a consensus around the suggestions of commissioners Charles Littlefield and Jack Leiderman. Littlefield argued that the impact of the future Dawson Avenue extension was detrimental to the JBG Companies' project at 275 N. Washington Street, and reduced their available space for parking. It should be noted that future Town Center road extensions will also impact the Walgreens and an Asian grocery store's property and parking, as well.

JBG was credited by commission chair Don Hadley for its efforts to work with the adjoining property owners, and the West End Citizen's Association, to revise its initially-disastrous waiver presentation. Susan Prince spoke on behalf of WECA, and expressed concern at the downsizing of the planned restaurant space in the development. Prince said the neighborhood would prefer that JBG be required to contract with its neighbor, to provide additional parking in its monthly garage.

Ultimately, the commission declined to stipulate such a contract, which Sam Stiebel of JBG said would put the developer in a poor negotiating position, were it required to make a deal. It deemed sufficient, with some reservations, a deal JBG reached with Town Center II neighbor Shelter Development, that will provide 18 attended spaces in its future Brightview residential project for 275 N. Washington Street customers. A below-grade garage will hold 45 spaces, in addition to some surface parking. In addition, a valet service must begin immediately, rather than the original proposed delay.

The eventual agreement was briefly threatened when Commissioner John Tyner made a motion to grant the waiver, as he preferred to include the findings of the basic waiver criteria in the language. Leiderman and Littlefield said they could not support such a motion. After Leiderman advised Tyner to present a motion a majority could agree upon, Tyner relented. Littlefield seconded Tyner's motion.

There was still a matter of JBG's ability to be released from the parking agreement, should it be able to show there was indeed a surplus of parking available on two occasions, between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. A friendly amendment by Leiderman restored the criteria to the original number of 5 study times.

Overall, several commissioners expressed the feeling that the desire for development in Town Center Phase II - as well as JBG's good-faith efforts in revising their proposal - outweighed their remaining concerns that parking will be a problem there in the future.

Friday, April 18, 2014

JBG ASKS ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR PARKING WAIVER IN TOWN CENTER PHASE II

At next Wednesday's meeting of the Rockville Planning Commission, attorneys for JBG's Hungerford Retail II, LLC project at 275 N. Washington Street will seek a waiver to eliminate 46 parking spaces at the 2-story office/restaurant building. The applicant says the waiver is justified because of sufficient garage parking within Rockville Town Square, and the percentage of clients who will not drive to the bank and restaurants planned for the development.

The waiver request documents, submitted by Ballard Spahr attorney Erica Leatham, include numerous exhibits and citations of both national trends, and specific parking studies conducted recently in Rockville. They also reference a parking waiver recently granted to the 1800 Rockville Pike development.

Leatham argues that most customers will walk to the restaurants from nearby office buildings, and the adjacent residential neighborhood. At the same time, the letter notes that parking tends to be available around the clock in the Town Center garages. JBG's petition also cites the high percentage of Americans who now do their banking online. Of course, this trend does not seem to have stopped a current explosion of new bank branches opening in lower Montgomery County.

The building will have a single below-grade parking garage.

The meeting will be Wednesday, April 23, at 7:00 PM in City Hall.