Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

Work continues to advance at the construction site of the future Rockville Wegmans grocery store at the Twinbrook Quarter development at the corner of Halpine Road and Rockville Pike. While the exterior continues to look closer to the finish line, nothing has been constructed on the grocery store's interior yet. Developer B.F. Saul says it will turn the shell of the grocery store space over to Wegmans' interior fit-out contractor in the early spring of 2024. As I reported previously, the supermarket will open in 2025.

Regrading of the road surface of Halpine at Chapman Avenue is now underway, and is expected to continue for a few weeks. Stacks of Belden pre-blended bricks can be seen at the site. The brick facade of the building is now about 85% complete, according to B. F. Saul. Storefront spaces should be enclosed by the end of 2022. Contractors have begun tarring the roof.

While no work has been done on the Wegmans interior, the same cannot be said for the apartment building interior. Drywall is now being installed in the residential units on the second floor. Installers will progress upward to higher floors as the fall season goes on.

Signage installed at Flagship Express car wash in Rockville

Signage has been installed at the future Flagship Express car wash at 785 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. The existing car wash there has been closed while Flagship Carwash constructs its new business concept. Their new Express locations offer exterior automatic washes on flat-belt conveyors, 3 unlimited levels of membership packages, and free vacuums, towels and compressed air. The old self-service bays at this Rockville location have been demolished to make way for the Express facilities.

Signage installed at The Grove in Potomac + construction update (Photos)

Signage has been installed at The Grove, the new restaurant opening soon at 7747 Tuckerman Lane at Cabin John Village in Potomac. The logo reflects the flower design theme that is expanded upon in the interior design of the space, which was previously home to Lahinch Tavern and Grill. The Grove is a new Belgian cuisine concept from the Common Plate Hospitality Group. Common Plate is behind several restaurants in the region, including Mason Social and Augie's, as well as the highly-anticipated food hall at The Shops at Wisconsin Place in Chevy Chase, The Heights.

Rockville Wegmans opening delayed to 2025 (Photos)

With construction of the Phase 1 building of Twinbrook Quarter rounding into the home stretch at Rockville Pike and Halpine Road, many including me assumed interior fit-out of the Wegmans grocery store in the ground floor would begin before the end of the year, and that the Wegmans would open in 2024. But the Rockville Wegmans is now anticipated to open in 2025. Here's a look at the latest stage of construction at the site:

New Rockville townhome community draws inspiration from adjacent historic farm

One of the last remaining vestiges of Rockville's agricultural history is inspiring a future townhome community beginning construction next door. Developer EYA has decided on Farmstead District as the branding for the new community, which will rise on the former site of King Buick GMC at 16200 Frederick Road. A logo for the development somewhat resembles rows of crops as seen from above. Promotional banners for the Farmstead District have been placed on construction fencing around the site.

One can still see original farm buildings at the public King Farm Farmstead park at 16100 Frederick Road. The King dealership has just been demolished, and the property has been annexed into the City of Rockville.

EYA is playing up the farm theme with the tagline "A fresh take on the modern neighborhood." W. Lawson King acquired the farm in 1925, local historical preservation group Peerless Rockville says. He added surrounding farmland to create the 403-acre Irvington Farm, which at one point boasted the largest population of Holstein cows in the world, Miriam Bunow wrote for Peerless. Irvington was a milk supplier for Thompson's Dairy, a household name in the D.C. area for older generations. The heritage of the site will now be shared by Farmstead District residents and their neighbors at the King Farm development.

Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

Brick work is being added to the facade at the future Twinbrook Quarter development at Rockville Pike (MD 355) and Halpine Road. The first phase of the B.F. Saul development will include Wegmans as the retail anchor tenant. You'll notice that the color of the brick on each segment of the facade changes. One section is tan, and the next is a more traditional red. Brick facade installation will continue through the fall.

Inside the building, walls are being constructed for hallways and apartment interior rooms. Plumbing, duct work and electrical wiring are also being installed. Outside, underground utilities are still going into place, and new sidewalks, pedestrian ramps and traffic signals are being installed at the intersection of Halpine and Chapman Avenue.