Rockville to consider redeveloping RedGate golf course

City will also 

examine if it can

terminate contract

with Billy Casper Golf

The controversial issue of whether to retain Rockville's public RedGate golf course, or redevelop the site, has come to the surface again. A discussion of the topic initiated by Councilmember Mark Pierzchala late Monday night ended with the Council voting 4-1 to direct City Manager Rob DiSpirito to assess the golf course property's potential for redevelopment, and conduct a fiscal impact study of the different options. Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton cast the lone vote of opposition.

Pierzchala also made a motion to have the City examine its contract with course operator Billy Casper Golf, to see if it can be terminated, citing inadequate maintenance as a potential legal justification to do so. Mayor Newton said she has observed substandard maintenance of the property while playing golf at the course in recent years, and joined in the unanimous vote approving Pierzchala's motion.

In bringing up the matter of RedGate, Pierzchala said he was approached by an unnamed developer, who asked if the golf course was for sale. Pierzchala said he replied that it was not, but that the developer was clearly eager to build residential housing on the land.

Pierzchala initially proposed studying a plan that would redevelop RedGate as City-operated athletic fields (soccer fields in particular), and residential housing consisting of townhomes and single-family homes. An unspecified portion of the parcel would be "returned to nature." After Newton and Councilmember Beryl Feinberg questioned why the study would only look at that specific mix of land-use options, Councilmember Virginia Onley proposed a successful amendment - adding the phrase "including, but not limited to," to Pierzchala's initial language. Newton supported that wording, but still voted against the study.

While - again - the developer was not identified, the "win-win"-style PR talking points, land acquisition choice, and housing types certainly sound like EYA. That developer has just recently offered a similar plan for the Montgomery Women's Cooperative Farm Market in downtown Bethesda, and successfully received approval of a comparable non-Metro-oriented development with the same housing types near Tower Oaks. Of course, EYA is not the only townhome developer in the region, so we'll have to wait and see. But the Spider-Sense is tingling.

The National Golf Foundation is expected to release a report on RedGate in January, which will tell city officials what it will take financially to bring the course up to standards. But Pierzchala said he didn't want that to end up being the sole discussion, and would prefer to have parallel discussion of other uses of the site, as well as Billy Casper's alleged default on its contract with the City.

Feinberg pressed for hard numbers on what the expense and potential revenues of every option would be. Pierzchala said he didn't need completely accurate numbers to move forward, and that ballpark estimates by staff would be sufficient for the decisions that need to be made.

"We will do our best," DiSpirito told the Mayor and Council. He estimated that an in-house analysis, without hiring outside consultants, could be completed by early January. That would be in time for the NGF report on RedGate, which is located at 14500 Avery Road, off of Norbeck Road.

Rockville's interim City Clerk to be the new City Clerk

Former Deputy City Clerk - and current acting City Clerk - Sara Taylor-Farrell has been chosen as the replacement for Kathleen Conway, who left the position last month after a closed session of the Mayor and Council. Taylor-Farrell will formally be designated as "Resident Agent for the Mayor and Council of Rockville" at tonight's Mayor & Council meeting. Municipalities are required to designate a Resident Agent, and in Rockville, it has been standard practice to have the City Clerk fill that legal role.

Rockville mayor schedules public meeting on future of Rockville Town Square

Rockville City Hall is in crisis mode after the announcement that Rockville Town Square retail anchor Dawson's Market will close at the end of this month. The bad news followed the exit of another major restaurant tenant, Mellow Mushroom, the previous week. Dawson's failure has given at least the public perception that the property is taking on water in a big way at this point - fair or not. Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton has now scheduled a public meeting on the future of the Federal Realty development, which was the keystone of the city's revitalized town center when it opened a decade ago.

In her announcement of the meeting, Newton said Dawson's Market was "an incredible community partner, and I am very sad to see them close. It came as a shock to me as well.” The meeting will be held next Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 7:00 PM in the Buchanan Room at VisArts at Rockville Town Square.

The city has had many discussions over the years about the high turnover of tenants at the property, and a parking system that has infuriated patrons and tenants alike. With many high profile closures, including original tenant Toy Kingdom last year, action may finally have to be taken to stop the bleeding.

King Farm man arrested in Rockville rape

Montgomery County police have arrested and charged the suspect in a Rockville rape. An adult female victim was grabbed while walking just after midnight along Route 355 on October 3, and was pulled into the woods along West Gude Drive, where she was sexually assaulted. She managed to break free and run to a nearby office building,, where a security guard called police.

Detectives from the Special Victims Investigations Division determined Dustin Thomas Rogers, 25, was the suspect. Officers went to his home on Gaither Road in King Farm around 6:00 PM last night, and arrested him without incident.

Rogers has been charged with 1st degree rape and 1st degree assault.  He was also charged with a separate count of 1st degree assault via a warrant stemming from an unrelated event. Rogers is being held without bond and will have bond review today at 1:00 p.m. in Rockville District Court.

Incidents of rape in Montgomery County are up 53% this year.

Dawson's Market to close at Rockville Town Square

The bad news at Rockville Town Square continues to pile up. Now anchor retail tenant Dawson's Market says it will close on October 27, 2018. Despite more special events and tastings than any chain grocery store, the organic, hipster-oriented grocery store never took off. "Unfortunately, the store did not generate enough business to be financially viable," owner Rick Hood said Tuesday.

While the immediate focus has been the closure announcement, much of the context for just how big of a blow this is to the Square has been absent. Remember, the grocery space was one of the biggest design failures of RTS from the beginning. The demolition of Magruder's to make way for the new town center was originally meant to be made up for with a new grocery store in the new development.

But the anchor grocery space was hidden in the back corner of the development off N. Washington Street. Major grocery chains passed on the opportunity, leaving landlord Federal Realty without the prize retail anchor they needed for maximum traffic. In fact, Dawson's extracted concessions from Federal before agreeing to the lease, including over-the-top signage the market argued was necessary just for potential patrons to locate their hidden spot.

Apparently, the major grocery chains know their stuff. Dawson's never had anything close to the traffic you would find at any Giant, Safeway or even Trader Joe's or MOM's Organic Market. The too-few complimentary reserved parking spaces for Dawson's were often full at prime times, leaving grocery shoppers in the grip of a paid/validation parking scheme that has enraged drivers and business owners alike.

Failure is not an option here. While there have been sentiments that RTS is another Rockville Mall, it's not going anywhere after the investments made by all the stakeholders, including the City of Rockville. There may be no assurance of attracting another grocer unless major changes are made to the parking arrangement.

Perhaps if Federal Realty could attract either a Lidl store or an Asian grocery store, and provide enough reserved parking, the grocery space could work. Many have argued that more residences are needed within walking distance to provide more foot traffic for all businesses in the Town Square. Two large apartment towers are coming within one block of the development, but they won't be delivered for several more years. 

Unfortunately, the new developments have also provided more dining competition. Gordon Biersch had the craft beer market cornered until World of Beer came along in the Upton/Cambria Suites development, for example. A longer and stronger roster of restaurants at rival developments like Pike & Rose, Washingtonian Center/Rio and Downtown Crown - and their lure of free parking - has cost Rockville Town Square much traffic. A new Wegman's down the Pike in a couple of years won't help matters.

Bill to ban smoking in all outdoor dining areas to be introduced today by Montgomery County Council

Smoking and vaping on outdoor patios at Montgomery County restaurants could soon be a thing of the past, if Montgomery County Council Bill 35-18 passes. Scheduled to be introduced by Councilmember Sidney Katz (D - District 3) today, the bill would ban smoking and vaping in all outdoor dining areas, including partially-enclosed spaces.

A public hearing on the bill is currently scheduled for October 23, 2018 at 1:30 PM. The Council will also have to sit as the Board of Health, and pass an accompanying regulation as that board, to legally enact the smoking ban.

The legislation is very similar to that passed by the Rockville Mayor & Council last year. Adam Zimmerman, an activist who spearheaded the Rockville effort, is also advocating for the County to pass Bill 35-18. He says the ban will improve health, while increasing business at venues non-smokers currently avoid.

Rockville's ban was opposed by some restaurant owners, such as Danny Trahan of Mellow Mushroom. Trahan closed his restaurant permanently last month - though the smoking ban wasn't the primary reason. He viewed the ban as the last straw in Montgomery County's costly and unwelcoming business climate. It will be interesting to see what restaurateurs have to say about the proposed County ban.

Residents who testified before the Mayor & Council last shared Zimmerman's view that business would improve, citing their reluctance to dine at two Rockville Town Square restaurants that allowed outdoor smoking before the ban. Because many restaurants now open their doors and windows, patrons have also complained that smoke now drifts inside from patios.

Goodyear tire shop posts "coming soon" signage at Rockville Town Square

The new tire retail concept from Goodyear is hinting at its imminent arrival on Gibbs Street at Rockville Town Square. But it's still not giving us the name of the concept, which has been referred to as "Roll by Goodyear" in trademark filings.