The Escher apartments have been open for fourteen months at 1900 Chapman Avenue in Rockville. Owner Compatriot Capital has just announced the building is now under new management. Village Green, a property management firm based in Detroit, will now be in charge. The company has been around since 1919, which is pretty impressive.
"By partnering with Village Green, we know we're getting a team with a proven track record for delivering the personal touches and prioritizing the needs of residents that will enhance their living experience beyond the walls of their apartment," Compatriot President Mark Van Kirk this morning. "With more than 100 years of experience creating homes and over 50 years in apartment management, we're thrilled to leverage that expertise to provide Escher residents with a truly meaningful living experience and sense of community," Village Green CEO Diane Batayeh added.
The management of the property changed hands August 1, according to Village Green.
Power appeared to be out to several businesses on the west side of Gibbs Street early last night at Rockville Town Square. The businesses impacted were those between SunTrust Bank and Five Guys.
You'll have to head north or south on Rockville Pike to satisfy your appetite for Five Guys in the coming days. Their Rockville Town Square location has temporarily closed for renovations. It will reopen September 23, 2019 at 11:00 AM.
Last week, I showed you a preview of the interior of MOD Pizza at the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike. Now they have announced their opening date - next Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 10:30 AM. The first 50 people through the doors when they open will get free pizza.
The former site of White Flint Mall on Rockville Pike has been reclaimed by nature. Several years have passed since the mall was demolished, and now it is an overgrown field guarded by hyperaggressive security. Perhaps they fear a giant rabbit may jump the fence and munch on the vegetation. The heady greed that led the owners to pull the plug on a fully-leased mall, with crowded parking lots and popular restaurants, has dissipated. Replacing it is stagnation and malaise. And lots of weeds.
An area touted as Montgomery County's answer to Tysons fell victim to MoCo's moribund economy, corrupt and incompetent County Council, and hostile business climate. Tysons is booming, while White Flint Mall's former site is only blooming with weeds and brush. Developers and investors have fled, abandoning or downsizing their plans. Only Federal Realty moved forward with a fully-realized development, leading their CEO, Don Wood, to criticize County officials for not delivering on their end of the bargain in White Flint.
The Montgomery County Council hasn't taken a single action to address our economic development crisis since taking office last December, as MoCo stagnates with the lowest-ranked economy in the region by every relevant measure. No major corporation has moved its headquarters to Montgomery County in over twenty years. County taxes are at an all-time high, but tax revenue is declining, as the ultra-rich flee to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region.
Yet our elected officials have decided to simply put a piece of carpet tape over the "Check Engine" light screaming at them from the civic dashboard. It's intriguing that Lerner is compelled to provide entertainment for the public on a future development site they own in bustling Tysons, but here the Council allows them to leave us an overgrown field. That says a lot about the difference between the two jurisdictions, and the competency of their respective leadership.
This stretch of Rockville Pike looks exactly the same as it did over nine years ago, when the White Flint sector plan passed
Rockville Town Center just got even tougher free-parking-competition in Gaithersburg. The newest Silver Diner opens for dinner hours this week at Rio Lakefront, beginning tonight. Located in the old Cafe Deluxe space, but completely remodeled with new lakefront boardwalk patio seating, the restaurant will officially open on Monday, August 26, 2019 for breakfast, lunch and dinner service.
Rockville has its own Silver Diner with free parking just south of the city limits, of course. But Rio has pumped itself up further this summer, with a new boardwalk, concert stage, luxurious AMC cineplex with bar and restaurant-quality kitchen, Yard House and Dave & Buster's. With free parking, and now its own Silver Diner with waterside outdoor seating, the Gaithersburg development is now an even more dangerous competitor in the battle for local dollars.
I was able to test out the new menu at a soft opening night. While the menu is not a book like The Cheesecake Factory, Silver Diner has the same ability to please a family or group of very diverse tastes. They also have even more options than the Cheesecake Factory for those on special diets. Whether someone wants a trendy, internationally-inspired dish, or old favorites like meatloaf, crab cakes or burgers, it's almost certain each diner will find something of interest,
For my dinner, I ordered Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup (a cup; bowl size is also available), the Chicken Tender Platter with crispy fries and coleslaw, and a seasonal dessert special, the Churro Doughnut Sundae, topped with Breyers vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles, and drizzled with Nutella and raspberry sauce.
Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup
Watch my review of the new Silver Diner at Rio in Gaithersburg right now on the Robert Dyer Channel on YouTube, or at the bottom of this page.
Chicken Tender Platter
The platter includes organic, antibiotic-and-hormone-free chicken tenders, honey mustard sauce, crispy fries, and coleslaw for $13.99
The rehabilitation of the John C. Brown Memorial Bridge on Edmonston Drive in Rockville is now complete. New support pillars, new bridge fencing, a new road surface, and a new plaque honoring Brown are among the upgrades to this heavily-traveled bridge over the CSX and WMATA tracks. Brown was the first Marylander killed during the Korean War.
