Saul Centers moving forward with 10-building project on Rockville Pike (Photos)

Saul Centers is preparing to begin the process of redeveloping 18.36 acres of commercial property at 1500-1616 Rockville Pike. The mixed-use project is like a small city, consisting of 10 buildings of residential, office and retail use. It will directly abut the Pike, Halpine Road and the Metro/CSX tracks at the rear of the site. Saul won key concessions from the city after lobbying the Mayor and Council, which included deletion of a long-planned access road on the east side of the Pike.

Sketch plan of
Twinbrook Metro Place

The development will have its own road network, including extensions of Chapman Avenue and Congressional Lane, and a main road called Festival Street. This project will be only 150 feet from single-family homes in Twinbrook, and 600 feet from the entrance to the Twinbrook Metro station.

Notably, Saul is requesting a cap on the total number of vehicle trips generated by the project, rather than specific limits on the number of housing units, etc. The company says that will allow them flexibility for a project that will take a significant number of years to complete. Saul will also request a parking reduction, and designation as a "Rockville Champion Project," which will give them more flexibility on retail tenant spaces and signage restrictions. However, the developer is giving a rough estimate of what will be included in the development as follows: up to 1865 residential units, 431440 SF of office space, 472950 SF of retail (including shopping, dining and grocery store), a 9000 SF theater, and a 226-seat "cultural amenity" space.

1.1 acre Central Park shown
in upper right corner

A 1.1 acre "Central Park" is the dominant green space feature planned. An anchor building for the park will have two levels of dining, with dining terraces that overlook the park. Attorneys for the applicant say that this building will become "a destination for the entire City of Rockville." The park is expected to host regular events and activities.

Seven of the buildings will have elevated courtyards for residents and office workers to use. The residential buildings and office building fronting Rockville Pike are expected to have two levels of retail at their bases. All parking will be in garages, with a proposed total of 3900 parking spaces for all uses on the site.

The properties assembled by Saul for this project are: 1500 Rockville Pike, 1580 Rockville Pike, 1582 Rockville Pike, 1584 Rockville Pike, 1592 Rockville Pike, and 1616 Rockville Pike.

Sign installed at Pandora Seafood House and Bar in Rockville (Photos)

The construction of Pandora Seafood House and Bar at Rockville Town Square has drug on for many months. Finally, the sign is in place on the front facade, however. The restaurant is expected to open by September.

3 arrested in Rockville armed robbery after squatters are found in vacant Fallsgrove apartment

Zackery Conrad Thompson

Rockville police have arrested three suspects in a Fallsgrove armed robbery, potentially ending a crime spree in that area. Officers responded to a report of an armed robbery around 4:30 PM on August 6, in the 700 block of Fallsgrove Boulevard. Upon arriving, the victim told them he and his child were walking near the footbridge along the trail near the Thomas Farm Community Center, when he was robbed of his wallet and phone at gunpoint by two individuals. The two suspects then fled toward the Fallsgrove Village Center.

Despite establishing a perimeter around the area, police were unable to locate the two suspects. On August 9, Fallsgrove apartment management staff entered a vacant apartment in the same block of Fallsgrove Boulevard. Inside, they startled 3 people squatting in the unit, who ran past them out the door and fled. Again, police were unable to locate any of the suspects, who had foolishly left behind evidence of the August 6 armed robbery.

A day later, Rockville officers detained 3 people after observing suspicious activity in the 100 block of Jersey Lane. They discovered a home on that block had just been robbed, and arrested the three.

Zackery Conrad Thompson, 19, of the 100 block of Brookes Avenue in Gaithersburg, was arrested and charged with one count of armed robbery and two counts of fourth-degree burglary. He is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center.

 

Charges are also pending against two additional juvenile subjects related to the robbery and trespassing.

 

Anyone with information about this subject or these incidents is asked to call the Rockville City Police Department's Criminal Investigations Unit at 240-314-8938.

Comment period extended for proposed East Rockville asphalt crushing plant

The public will have an additional 60 days to comment on the proposed M. Luis Company asphalt crushing and screening plant at 14900 Old Dover Road in Rockville. This comment period will close on October 6, 2017.

Comments may be sent by U.S. Mail to Maryland Department of the Environment, Air Quality Permits Program, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 720, Baltimore, MD 21230-1720 or emailed to shannon.heafy@maryland.gov.

If you were unable to attend the July 19 public hearing, and have questions beyond what is covered in that report or my previous report, a docket with full information on the project is available for review at the Rockville Memorial Library in Rockville Town Square.

Addie's sets opening date at Park Potomac

Addie's Restaurant will open Tuesday, August 22 at Park Potomac. Although the new iteration won't be in an actual house like the original Rockville Pike location, chef-owner Jeff Black has tried to make his ground floor space at 12435 Park Potomac Avenue to be "as welcoming as Grandma Addie's home," in homage to the namesake and inspiration for the restaurant. There is a "living room," a "dining room," a bookshelf-lined "den," and for a lucky few, a six-seat oyster bar.

As I previously reported, Addie's Mussels and Addie's Rolls are back on the menu, along with a customizable Seafood Tower with a broad array of selections from ponzo marinated uni to old standbys like Addie's premium raw oysters.

Addie's will take reservations, and serve dinner seven nights a week, brunch on weekends and lunch every weekday.

Ride On Extra buses will be free during October

Two of the alternatives to the proposed boondoggle of Bus Rapid Transit in Montgomery County - express buses and free Ride On fares - will be realized on a very limited basis in October: A new express bus service called Ride On Extra will begin service along MD 355, and fares on Ride On Extra will be free that month. Service will run between Gaithersburg and Medical Center station in Bethesda.

The buses are a lite version of BRT, with similar features like low-floor boarding, 10-minute peak rush hour headways, and free Wi-Fi, but will not take travel lanes along Rockville Pike from cars (as BRT will). Ride On Extra buses will also have traffic signal priority, but the County has never addressed how that random impact on traffic signals will affect the synchronization of lights up and down the Pike. It could cause major rush hour delays on an already-jammed road.

There's no mention of how much the month of free service will cost taxpayers, either. Ride On Extra stops will include Lakeforest Transit Center, Summit Ave., Westland Dr., Shady Grove Metro, Montgomery College, Rockville Metro, Edmonston Dr., Halpine Rd., Marinelli Rd., Security Ln., Tuckerman Ln., and Medical Center. There will be new bus shelters and bus stop flag signs to identify Ride On Extra bus stops.

MoCo Council Spanish radio program discusses...federal immigration issue?

A taxpayer-funded Spanish-language radio propaganda program used to promote Montgomery County Council incumbents to the Latino community was an even-greater waste of taxpayer funds this past Friday. En Sintonía con el Concejo del Conado de Montgomery is said to be a program that "talks about important issues before the Council." But the most recent program topic was on a federal immigration law decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth District, which extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) eligibility for some immigrants.

This issue is not before the Council, and surely is being discussed on other programs on WACA-AM and other Spanish language radio stations in the area. Instead the Council used taxpayer money to comment on national politics, a complete abuse of the system. The main guest was a representative of CASA de Maryland, which is one of the largest benefactors of Montgomery County taxpayer funds, and biggest political backers of the County Council.

No political challengers to the Council - Democrat, Republican, or Green - have ever been allowed to appear on this taxpayer-funded program, a violation of the FCC rules on equal time. The payment of taxpayer funds to WACA also raises serious ethical issues, as WACA provides news coverage of the County Council that is paying them.