Rockville bank-to-Dunkin' Donuts conversion advancing (Photos)

A vacant drive-thru bank branch at 16268 Frederick Road in Rockville is rapidly becoming a new Dunkin' Donuts store. As you can see in these photos, the drive-thru's canopy and parts of the bank building itself are now sporting Dunkin' colors. The current Dunkin' Donuts shop at 16220 Frederick will relocate into this building when the conversion is complete. Almost "time to make the donuts" at this new store, on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg.

Lazzaro's Authentic Italian Deli, A Beautiful Closet, De Clichy open at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Three new businesses have opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Lazzaro's Authentic Italian Deli has replaced the recently-closed Big Al's Subs and Soups in the Dining Terrace food court. This was an overnight conversion of the Big Al's stall without any additonal construction. Lazzaro's has no website, no Facebook page, or any other social media presence that I can find.

On the fashion front, two new boutiques have opened. A Beautiful Closet is on Level 2 next to California Pizza Kitchen. De Clichy menswear is also on Level 2, next to LensCrafters.

A Beautiful Closet

A Beautiful Closet

De Clichy menswear

Trammell Crow to develop The Labs at Belward life sciences center in Rockville

Developer Trammell Crow announced it plans to build a 757,000 square foot life sciences center on the former Belward Farm property in Rockville. The Labs at Belward will be on the Belward Campus of Johns Hopkins University, and initially include three buildings of trophy laboratory and research space. Future additions will expand that to 1.6 million square feet across seven buildings.

Trammell Crow said it expects to break ground on the project in June of 2023. An early 2025 delivery is anticipated. 

On the professional scientific side, the project facilities will support BSL Category-2 laboratory functions, and have 18-foot deck-to-deck ceiling heights on both the basement and ground floors, with 16-foot heights on all other floors. There will be outdoor terraces and balconies on each building, and a variety of amenities and "supporting retail" for tenants, Trammell Crow said in a press release.

For the public at large, there will be a six-acre public park with an amphitheater, recreational fields, two retail pavilions totaling approximately 6,000 square feet, large wooded buffer areas, several miles of bike and walking trails, and an effort to preserve the site’s natural elements. Preservation of as much of the farmland as possible was the stated goal of the family who sold it to JHU, a decision that led to much controversy in the years after the sale over whether Elizabeth Beall Banks' wishes were being honored by the university.

“We eagerly await the realization of The Labs at Belward as an integral component of the overall vision for the Belward Camus of The Johns Hopkins University,” Mitch Bonanno, Chief Real Estate Officer for The Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Mitch Bonnano said in a statement. 

Trammell Crow officials are optimistic they can finally deliver a major piece of what had long been expected to be the core of the 2010 Great Seneca Science Corridor master plan. “The Labs at Belward is a first-of-its-kind innovation ecosystem within a campus environment akin to a collegiate setting,” Eric Fischer, Managing Director TCC’s MidAtlantic offices said in a statement. "Most importantly, we appreciate the opportunity to work in close alignment with both The Johns Hopkins University and with Montgomery County to activate this critically important site in a manner that advances the University’s and the County’s shared life sciences vision.”

Clark Construction will be the construction contractor for the project. Gensler is the architectural firm, and OJB will design the landscape architecture.

Rendering courtesy Gensler

Google I/O 2022 keynote shows Maryland digital driver's license joining Google Wallet this year

The most useful NFT on your Android phone may soon be your Maryland driver's license. During today's Google I/O 2022 keynote address, Maryland was shown as one of the first states whose digital driver's license will be accepted by Google Wallet later this year. Our state was already one of the first to qualify for Apple's Wallet app, allowing residents to store their Maryland driver's license digitally on their iPhone or Apple Watch. Aside from the practical benefit for drivers, being one of the earliest adopters gave Maryland some bonus international publicity today, as being one of the more tech-advanced states in digital IDs.

Car reported stolen from Rockville auto dealership

Rockville City police responded to a report of a vehicle being stolen from an auto dealership. The car was reported stolen from a dealership in the 800 block of Rockville Pike on Monday afternoon at 1:07 PM, according to crime data. There is a DARCARS Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership on that block.

Rockville makes list of Top 20 American cities with most speeding tickets

You've seen your share of reckless drivers in Rockville, but now a national study has seen them, too. The city ranks 17th on a list of the top 20 American cities with the most speeding tickets. Insurify, an auto insurance rate comparison website, crunched the data to determine which cities have the most speeding tickets in proportion to their total population.

Insurify found that 14.42% of Rockville's total population of 68,401 (2019) have at least one speeding ticket. 15.01% of insured Rockville drivers have had a prior auto accident, the study showed. Rockville punched above its weight, making the list alongside major cities like Des Moines, Indianapolis, and Kansas City, Missouri. This could be due to the ticket-issuing cameras prevalent in Montgomery County.

Assault at Rockville Town Square restaurant

Rockville City police were called to a restaurant at Rockville Town Square early Sunday morning, to investigate an assault reported there. The assault was reported at a restaurant in the unit block of Maryland Avenue at 12:43 AM, according to crime data.