NIGHTSWATCH: ROCKVILLE CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported between May 20-21 across Rockville, according to crime data:

May 20

Assault. 800 block Hungerford Drive.

Theft. 500 block King Farm Boulevard.

Vehicle theft. 2000 block Gaither Road.

Vehicle theft. 200 block Poplar Spring Road (King Farm area).

Sexual assault. 7300 block Calhoun Place.

Vehicle theft. 300 block Frederick Avenue.

Vehicle theft. 400 block Hungerford Drive.

Theft. 200 block N. Stonestreet Avenue.

Theft. 1500 block Rockville Pike.

May 21

Assault. 1 block Maryland Avenue.

FIRST IMAGES OF BUILDING TO REPLACE PINK BANK AT 255 N. WASHINGTON ST. IN ROCKVILLE (PHOTOS)

The Kettler mixed-use project that will be constructed on the former site of the demolished Suburban Trust Building (a.k.a. the Pink Bank) will be about 7-stories tall, with ground floor retail and restaurants. These renderings show what it will look like from different vantage points around the property. The architecture appears to reference some design elements of the adjacent Rockville Town Square development, but is hardly as unique as the New Formalist building it replaces.

Images courtesy Kettler/City of Rockville
All rights reserved

ROCKVILLE MAYOR AND COUNCIL BRIEFED ON UPPER ROCK PLAN CHANGES

JBG's attorney, Bob Harris, and Senior Development Analyst Devon Lauer returned to City Hall Monday night, to brief the Rockville Mayor and Council on changes the developer seeks for its 5 Choke Cherry Road project in the Upper Rock District.

There are no real points of contention with the project at this point, although Harris again indicated that JBG will return with greater detail at future meetings. Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr asked about the bicycle plan and stormwater management for the site. Neither Harris nor Lauer were familiar enough with the bike issues at the site to comment, but said they would have that information at the next meeting. City staff said that the project, while having been approved long ago, would be built under current Rockville stormwater requirements.

Councilmember Tom Moore asked if the green space once designated as an office building could be developed as residential in the future, "[i]f the residential market picked up at some point?" Harris said he did not foresee any changes to the current proposal in the future. In a previous presentation before the Rockville Planning Commission, Harris said residential development was not sustainable, given the proximity of Crown Farm and other projects under construction.

LEBRON JAMES SPRITE REVIEW (VIDEO)

What better beverage to test out during the NBA Playoffs than the limited-edition LeBron James Sprite? Watch my video review. This soft drink adds cherry and orange flavors to Sprite's trademark lemon-lime. Is this the "King" of soft drinks? These are the questions to ponder when your team (Washington Bullets) has already been bounced from the playoffs.

CATHERINE'S PLUS SIZES TO CLOSE ON ROCKVILLE PIKE

A major tenant in Pike Center on Rockville Pike in south Rockville, Catherine's Plus Sizes, is going to close. A closing sale is underway at the store. Another storefront is currently vacant. Pike Center had been sought as a location by Walmart, but the big box chain was rebuffed by the Montgomery County Council, and the developer withdrew the proposed plan. Savings are posted as being up to 40% off during the closing sale.

WEAK OFFICE MARKET LEADS JBG TO ASK FOR UPPER ROCK PLAN CHANGES

More evidence of Montgomery County's abysmal office market was on display at this week's Rockville Planning Commission meeting. Developer JBG is requesting an amendment to its Pre-Development Plan for 5 Choke Cherry Road, in the Upper Rock District off Shady Grove Road.

When the plan was approved on May 23, 2005, it included 293 residential units, retail and restaurant space, a community park, and 73,700 square feet of office space, with a surface parking lot.

Devon Lauer, Senior Development Analyst for JBG, said the company wants to replace the 73,700 SF office space component with 35,000 SF of retail and restaurant space. This would be arranged in four, single-story structures, with surface parking serving all four. Potential tenants under discussion include CVS and MOM's Organic Market.

The applicant's attorney, Bob Harris of Lerch, Early & Brewer, said the change is needed due to the poor office market. Residential would not work either, Harris said, due to “the evolution of the residential marketplace in this area,”  noting that such units would have to compete with Crown Farm, the Reed Brothers project, and others on the east side of MD 355, around the Shady Grove Metro. That "softness in the office market” is being felt by existing office building owners near the Upper Rock District. JBG believes that adding retail and restaurant amenities will help it attract new tenants to its existing office space in Upper Rock, as well as to nearby office buildings. Harris recalled another office owner saying he’s struggling to keep his tenants, and could use the retail nearby to help retain them.

JBG will return at future sessions with more detailed information for the commissioners regarding the request. Once again, the weak office market is casting doubt on whether smart growth can be applied in Montgomery County, if there are not adequate, high-wage jobs nearby these new developments.

EVEN HOTEL ROCKVILLE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE, ROOM PREVIEW (PHOTOS)

The transformation of the former Legacy Hotel into an EVEN Hotel continues on Rockville Pike. EVEN Hotels is a wellness-themed brand within the IHG hospitality group, which also includes Holiday Inn. The hotel is designed to not only make healthy travel accommodations available, but also accessible and easy to take advantage of.

In the hotel room renderings by IHG below, you can see that exercise equipment is not just in the expected fitness center of the hotel, but also right in the room. I've seen this trend myself in some Hilton hotels, for example, where there was a treadmill right in the room. On-site food and beverages will also fit the wellness theme, quite a change from the decadent carrot cake I had in the old Phillips Restaurant in the Legacy Hotel.

You may notice some of the Legacy Hotel's windows are being bricked up; as you can see in the IHG rendering below, that brown rectangle is where those windows are being eliminated as part of the redesign.

EVEN Hotel as seen from
Rockville Pike

Note the exercise ball by the window

Spa-type shower

In-room exercise gear

That exercise ball just won't stop
giving you the guilt trip, will it?

Front windows being bricked up (L)

What you'll do at EVEN Hotels

Keep your wellness routine
on the road

Side view

Hotel shuttle, or just
a mobile ad?

Right this way...

Photos by Rockville Nights
Renderings by IHG, All rights reserved