fye's new toy concept Alex Baby & Toys "opening soon" at Montgomery Mall

The new-concept toy store fye is opening at Westfield Montgomery Mall now has a name: Alex Baby & Toys. Only two locations are currently scheduled to open nationally this year, with the other being at Holyoke Mall in Massachusetts. Here at Montgomery Mall, Alex Baby & Toys will be on Level 1 in the Old Navy wing. The store is currently hiring for all positions, and I'm told it will be "opening soon."

Montgomery County transit use, return to offices remains far below pre-pandemic numbers, new data show

Park use and grocery/pharmacy shopping

now less than during pandemic

New Google Mobility data show life in Montgomery County has yet to resume pre-pandemic patterns over the first three months of 2022, and some activity categories have even declined below their pandemic numbers. Transit use in the county has been even worse this year than it was last fall, dropping from 43% below early 2020 ridership numbers to 48% below in early 2022. Workers are heading back to the office only 1% more so far this year than they were last fall, with residents working on-location 30% less than during the same period before the pandemic in 2020.

Wheaton Claridge Local Park

County residents in 2022 so far are still staying home 10% more than they did in early 2020. In a troubling change, residents have actually reduced their time in parks and in grocery and drug stores. Google data during the pandemic months of 2020 and 2021 had showed residents were actually spending more time in parks, grocery stores and drug stores than they were before the pandemic. Now even those categories have gone negative.

Buses lined up at
Rockville Metro station

Residents spent 5% less time in parks between January 21 and March 4, 2022 than they did over the same period in 2020. They spent 6% less time in grocery and drug stores so far this year than they did in early 2020, which is odd considering that Covid-19 cases were way up when the year started, and shelves were bare for several weeks at grocery stores. And they've spent a whopping 30% less time in other types of retail stores and in recreation activities this year than they did in January - March 2020.

County residents spent less time
shopping at CVS Pharmacy so far
this year than they did over the same
period in 2020

The data collected by Google is limited to those users who have opted in to allowing the tech giant to track their phone's location. It measures both the frequency of visits, and the amount of time those users stay in the places categorized in the results, such as grocery stores, transit stations and parks.

Peter Franchot, Wes Moore tout new endorsements in Maryland governor's race

Democrats Peter Franchot and Wes Moore have announced several new endorsements in the crowded primary field of the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial race. Takoma Park resident and Maryland Comptroller Franchot has been endorsed by hospitality unions UNITE HERE Local 23 and Local 7. Among Franchot's efforts as comptroller was a successful push with Governor Larry Hogan (R) to extend the summer vacations of Maryland public school students, a boon for hotels and other businesses in travel destinations like Ocean City. Individual school systems later regained the right to set their own school opening dates each fall through action by the Democrat-controlled state legislature, rendering Hogan's executive order moot.

Wes Moore

Takoma Park native Moore's latest endorsements are from former Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Royce Hanson and Montgomery County Delegate Eric Luedtke (D - District 14). Hanson is recognized as the architect of the County's Agricultural Reserve policy, which has preserved farmland in a designated zone of the county from development. Moore is a combat veteran, former White House Fellow, bestselling author, and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Photo via WesMoore.com

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.