Rockville Town Center apartment tower sold, rebranded as BLVD Ansel

Dulles-based Comstock Holdings has acquired The Ansel apartments at 33 Monroe Street in Rockville Town Center. The real estate firm will rebrand the newly-delivered Duball, LLC-developed property as BLVD Ansel. Comstock already holds the Ansel's sister building at 44 Maryland Avenue, also developed by Duball, which it rebranded as BLVD Forty Four in December.

“BLVD Ansel is the latest addition to Comstock’s mixed-use, transit-oriented portfolio of high-quality, luxury residential assets in one of DC’s fastest growing employment centers,” Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente said in a statement. “The Duball team did a tremendous job developing The Upton and Ansel, making these properties proud additions to our expanding BLVD brand of luxury apartment communities."

“Duball, LLC has a tremendous amount of pride in developing The Upton (now BLVD Forty Four) and Ansel, with over 600 new residents, much needed parking, and retail services for Rockville residents,” said Marc Dubick, President of Duball, LLC. “For over a decade, we have worked closely with the City of Rockville and believe these two mixed-use developments materially changed the face of the city. We know the project will be in great hands with Comstock as Ansel moves from physical completion to fully operational.”

Assault at Rockville bus stop

A person reported being the victim of an aggravated assault at a bus stop in Rockville yesterday afternoon, March 26, 2022. City of Rockville police responded to the incident at a bus stop in the 2100 block of Veirs Mill Road at 1:32 PM, according to crime data.

Amazon 4-Star closes at Montgomery Mall

The Amazon 4-Star store at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda has permanently closed. Amazon announced a few weeks ago that it would close all of its Amazon Books and Amazon 4-Star locations nationwide this year, and focus its bricks-and-mortar efforts on its grocery stores. Amazon Books closed at Bethesda Row last week.

Two cars stolen from homes in Rockville

Two cars were reported stolen outside of homes in Rockville yesterday. One was parked in the 800 block of 1st Street, and the second in the 300 block of Thompson Dairy Way in King Farm, according to crime data. Remember to lock car doors, remove all visible objects from the vehicle interior, and never leave your keys in the ignition or glove compartment.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Schulz to appear at Rockville fundraiser in April

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announcing
his endorsement of Kelly Schulz (left) in the
Republican race for governor

Kelly Schulz, a Republican candidate for Maryland governor, is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Rockville next month. Hosted by Mark Epstein, the event will be held April 27 at 6:00 PM at the Woodmont Country Club at 1201 Rockville Pike. Schulz, who was endorsed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) this week, is running against Maryland Del. Dan Cox, attorney and former state delegate Robin Ficker, and attorney Joe Werner for the Republican nomination this July.

Photo via Kelly Schulz for Governor, Inc.

Hans Riemer endorsed by Matt Yglesias for Montgomery County Executive

Journalist Matt Yglesias endorsed Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer in the Democratic primary race for County Executive Friday. In a tweet that displayed a portion of a recent blog post, Yglesias wrote, "I would vote for Hans Riemer." Yglesias, who reportedly lives in Logan Circle in the District, wrote that incumbent executive Marc Elrich (D) "is bad and people should vote against him. Hans Riemer is almost certainly the best candidate in that field."

"That field" also includes businessman David Blair, businessman Peter James (who just filed for the race yesterday), and County Councilmember Tom Hucker; no candidate of any other party affiliation has filed to run as of this morning. Yglesias also weighed in with a novel take on the Maryland governor's race, predicting Peter Franchot would top the Democratic field "based on name recognition and being white in a field with many Black candidates. And that's a shame."

A co-founder of Vox Media, Yglesias is now a columnist for Bloomberg, and publishes a subscription-based blog called Slow Boring. He is also a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center.

Tend to open Rockville dental office

Tend is opening an office at 11580 Old Georgetown Road at Pike & Rose. The 2876 square foot office will offer a full range of dental services, including exams, fillings, crowns, root canals, whitening and cosmetic redesign, and preventative care such as oral cancer screenings. In other words, a one-stop shop that includes options some traditional dental offices don't offer under one roof. 

Property owner Federal Realty announced the lease Friday, touting Tend as the first dentist's office "people actually look forward to." Inside Tend's calm and inviting office, patient happiness is the stated goal. "Coming soon" signage was already up at the future location on Thursday. Tend is expected to open at Pike & Rose in the 2nd quarter of 2022.