Underground utility work on E. Middle Lane in Rockville (Photos)

A utility crew was working under the street on E. Middle Lane in Rockville Town Center late last night. The work took place near the driveway entrance to the Choice Hotels headquarters garage. A new apartment building is under construction on that block. At least one City of Rockville vehicle was on-site.

Rockville city drinking water again gets a passing grade in annual report

The latest annual report on the municipal water supply shows that Rockville's water once again meets or exceeds federal standards for safe drinking water. Rockville has its own water treatment plant on the Potomac River, and serves 13,000 customers in the city. "Thousands of daily, monthly, quarterly and annual laboratory tests help monitor our water quality and determine the correct type and level of treatment necessary to provide our customers with safe, reliable drinking water," Rockville's Director of Public Works Craig Simoneau wrote in an introductory letter to the new report.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

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."