Car stolen from Rockville apartment building

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a vehicle being stolen from an apartment building garage in Rockville yesterday. The vehicle was taken from the garage of a building in the 500 block of Hungerford Drive. It is believed the car was stolen sometime between 4:00 PM Sunday and 11:00 AM Monday, according to crime data.

Car stolen from home in Rockville

City of Rockville police responded to a report of a stolen car at a home in the Twinbrook area of Rockville yesterday afternoon. The vehicle was parked along the street in the 300 block of Nimitz Avenue, according to crime data. It is believed the car was stolen sometime between 9:30 PM Wednesday night and midday Thursday.

Rockville Mayor & Council to review recommendations for Wootton Parkway, Woodley Gardens, College Gardens in 2040 plan

Rockville's Mayor and Council will discuss sections of the draft Rockville 2040 comprehensive master plan at their Tuesday, July 6, 2021 meeting related to Wootton Parkway, Woodley Gardens, and College Gardens. In response to public testimony discouraging widening or other methods of increasing vehicular capacity on Wootton Parkway, The City planning staff report is recommending limiting such improvements to "creative solutions" at intersections.

The staff report is also recommending designating the property of the Woodley Gardens Swim Club at 850 Nelson Street as "Open Space Private." While sale of the property is under consideration, the staff report notes, one or more potential new owners have indicated they wish to maintain the existing pool operation. 

In regard to the College Gardens area, the report is supporting public testimony that called for reopening the walking/biking connection between Princeton Place and the Montgomery College - Rockville campus, leaving out any mention of a planned new roadway between W. Gude Drive and Yale Place, construction of a pedestrian path between College Gardens and Woodley Gardens, and for a new sound barrier along I-270 on the western side of Woodley Gardens.

However, the report does not support entirely eliminating a proposed new I-270 interchange with W. Gude Drive. The report recommends the Mayor and Council retain the draft's proposal for studying such an interchange, but to amend the language that would only endorse an interchange "that has minimal or no impact on the Woodley Gardens and College Gardens neighborhoods." A new interchange had support from residents in Fallsgrove and the West End who participated in listening sessions, and from businesses in the Southlawn industrial area, the report states.

Rockville apartment building sold

Mallory Square Apartments at 15251 Siesta Key Way in Rockville has a new owner. Nuveen Real Estate acquired the recently-constructed building for $110 million, according to Julie Sanders of REbusinessOnline. 

Mallory Square is one of two recent stack-and-pack-style apartment buildings along the MD 28 corridor near Shady Grove. It features a Dunkin' Donuts on the ground floor.

Pike Center gets new signage in Rockville (Photos)

Pike Center at 12137 Rockville Pike has new entryway signage. The signage features a vertical Pike Center logo, and several horizontal, lighted panels designed to feature tenants of the shopping center. Only TGI Friday's has been added so far. Its panel manages to squeeze in both the restaurant chain's logo, and its current marketing tagline, "In here, it's always Friday."

Rockville poised to extend outdoor dining streeteries through Halloween 2021

Picnic benches for outdoor dining
on Gibbs Street in Rockville

Diners in the City of Rockville will likely continue to have the option to eat outdoors on some city streets through Halloween, if the Mayor and Council approve an extension of the pandemic-related program this Thursday night. An extension order drawn up for the July 1 meeting will allow outdoor dining to continue in select public rights-of-way through October 31, 2021. Approved streets include Gibbs Street, South Adams Street, and E. Montgomery Avenue.

Seventeen businesses across the city currently hold permits for such outdoor dining spaces on public easements and along public sidewalks. Those are scheduled to expire on Thursday, if officials take no action. The extension is expected to be approved, as the Mayor and Council unanimously voted to allow the outdoor dining use last June.

Slice of Rockville closing tonight - last chance!!

Slice of Rockville at 1111 Nelson Street in the Woodley Gardens shopping center, will close permanently at the close of business (9:00 PM) tonight, June 25, 2021, according to the pizzeria's Facebook page. The pizza parlor has had a good 11-year run in challenging times, but is sure to be missed by the neighborhood and the nearby Rockville Senior Center. A new restaurant tenant will take over the space in the near future, but today is your last chance to stop by for a Slice of Rockville! 🍕