Rockville construction update: Funeral home converted to retail center (Photos)

It's taken a long time, but the redevelopment of the vacant funeral home at 1170 Rockville Pike into a retail center is now very close to putting the fun back in "funeral." As you can see, the building has a finished appearance to it, and even the individual unit numbers are now installed on each available space. The more-welcoming lighting has really improved the prominence of the property to the 40,000 drivers who pass by it each day. KNLB is handling the leasing.

Congressional Plaza Lebanese Taverna temporarily closes ahead of move

Future home of Lebanese Taverna
at Congressional Plaza

Lebanese Taverna has temporarily closed at Congressional Plaza, as the restaurant prepares to move to the other wing of the shopping center on Rockville Pike. Its new location is a bit smaller, and the menu will be a bit simpler, featuring a condensed selection of their most popular items. The new Lebanese Taverna will be next to Modern Market. Their Rockville Town Square location at 115-A Gibbs Street remains open for business if you can't wait for your favorite Lebanese Taverna meal.

Current construction status of the
new Lebanese Taverna location

Their current spot in the shopping center,
now closed

Heavy snow and ice Wednesday could fell trees, power lines in Rockville

The weather forecasters got it wrong yet again, and we are facing a much more serious winter storm Wednesday than we were told last week. Heavy snow is expected to begin falling sometime after 3:00 AM Wednesday, most likely toward 5:00 or 6:00 AM. Accumulation of 3-6" is possible before precipitation switches over to freezing rain and ice mid-afternoon. Locations in the northern half of Montgomery County could see totals rise to 10". The storm is expected to end by 10:00 PM Wednesday night.

The combination of heavy, wet snow and a coating of ice will create conditions favorable to trees and limbs falling, and power outages. Temperatures will be the critical factor in the ultimate accumulation totals by nightfall Wednesday. This will be another serious test of the "new" Pepco system. With 48 hours of advance notice, the utility will have no excuse to not have called in backup workers from out of state. As a multi-state operation, Pepco parent Exelon has even more resources within its own nationwide workforce than the old Pepco did, so again, there will be no excuses.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has urged residents to check their home emergency kit, and to prepare a plan for power outages.

Rockville McDonald's closes for renovations (Photos)

The McDonald's at 1390 Rockville Pike has temporarily closed for renovations. It's a major project that required the restaurant to close, unlike some of the makeovers the chain rolled out earlier this decade. Customers are being referred to the Derwood McDonald's location during the project. There are also McDonald's further down the road at 11564 Rockville Pike, and at 2101 Veirs Mill Road in Rockville.

Mass layoffs announced at Rockville company

Centerra Group, LLC, a government safety and security contractor located at 11555 Rockville Pike, has informed the state of Maryland it will conduct mass layoffs of its employees March 31, 2019. The firm filed a WARN notice with the state regarding the layoffs yesterday.

Eighty-seven employees are slated to lose their jobs, according to the notice filing. This is another blow to the anemic job activity in the White Flint area, which was capped off by the humiliating loss in the Amazon HQ2 sweepstakes. Montgomery County's economy grows more moribund with each passing hour, yet our County Council hasn't taken a single action to address the economic development crisis in the first two months of its term. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Federal Realty exceeds revenue forecasts for Q4 2018

Federal Realty, which owns several major retail centers in Rockville including Rockville Town Square, exceeded analysts' forecasts for revenue in the fourth quarter of last year. The real estate trust took in $235.4 million in revenue in the quarter, compared to the $$234.2 million the Associated Press reports analysts had forecast.

Funds from operations, which adds depreciation and amortization to a firm's net income, exactly matched forecasters' estimate of $1.57 per share, the AP reports. Federal Realty's stock has climbed 23% over the last year. The City of Rockville recently began subsidizing anchor Dawson's Market at the struggling Rockville Town Square, where multiple large tenants closed in 2018, including Mellow Mushroom pizzeria, Pandora Seafood, and - briefly - Dawson's Market, until the city subsidy enabled it to reopen.

Federal Realty is headquartered in Rockville.

Public hearing February 25 for N. Stonestreet Ave. Plan amendment

The public can weigh in on the proposed amendment to the N. Stonestreet Avenue master plan at a hearing scheduled for Monday, February 25, 2019 at 7:00 PM before the Mayor & Council at City Hall. You can see the draft of the amendment online.

To testify, call 240-314-8280 by 4:00 PM the day of the hearing, or submit testimony in writing to cityclerk@rockvillemd.gov or City Clerk’s Office/Director of Council Operations, City Hall, 111 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850.