Armed carjacking in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of an armed carjacking in the King Farm area Saturday night. The carjacking was reported in the 1300 block of Piccard Drive at 9:20 PM on March 11, 2023. According to police, the victim was approached by a thin black male in his early teens, who was approximately 5'7" tall, and wearing a black hoodie. The suspect pointed a handgun at the victim, and demanded their car keys. After the victim complied, the suspect allegedly fled in the victim's blue 2017 Hyundai Sonata with MD tag number 2DB6897. 

Tara Thai closes at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Tara Thai has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Signage has been removed from the exterior of the restaurant. This ends a long run in Bethesda by the local Thai chain, which was at Bethesda Row until 2015, when it relocated to the mall. Tara Thai's Rio location in Gaithersburg has also closed. The only good news is that this opens up a fairly large restaurant space at the mall for a new tenant. Which restaurant chain would you like to see here?

Car stolen from dealership in Rockville

Rockville City police are investigating the theft of a vehicle from an automobile dealership on Rockville Pike yesterday afternoon, March 11, 2023. The vehicle was taken from a dealership in the 800 block of Rockville Pike. There are two dealerships on that block: Ourisman Mazda and Ourisman Chevrolet. As thefts from dealerships have persisted recently, a security vehicle has been seen patrolling the Chevy dealership lot at night.

Police respond to disorderly conduct at Rockville Town Square

Rockville City police were called to Rockville Town Square Thursday night to respond to an incident of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. Officers were called to the 100 block of Gibbs Street at 11:38 PM on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Some residents of the apartments upstairs at the development have complained on social media of the frequency of such incidents during the night and early morning on Gibbs Street.

Assault at Twinbrook Metro station in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd degree assault at the Twinbrook Metro station Tuesday night, March 7, 2023. The assault was reported in a parking lot at the station at 8:46 PM.

T-Mobile reopens at Montgomery Mall after renovations

T-Mobile has reopened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda after a store remodeling. The wireless provider is in the process of defining four types of stores, and creating cosmetic design cues that provide "visual distinction for customers to know what type of store they’re visiting to meet their needs," T-Mobile Consumer Group President Jon Freier said in January. Look for the "new and improved" T-Mobile on Level 1 in the Old Navy wing of the mall.

Major changes proposed for once-iconic, long-vacant Rockville mansion

100 W. Montgomery Avenue in Rockville was once an iconic mansion known as one of the most beautiful homes in town. It's hard to argue with that description looking at old photographs of the Queen Anne-style Victorian home built in 1888 for the wealthy Rebecca Veirs. A 1945 fire changed that, with parts of the home having been destroyed, and then rebuilt with additions that greatly altered its appearance. Also altered was its use, from private home to boarding house. Long vacant, the structure is now deteriorating. 

2009 photo of the home

A redevelopment of the property has now been proposed by its owner and local architect Craig Moloney. It would nod to both the original home, and its later multifamily use at the same time. First, the front of the home would be moved forward on the property, closer to the street like the church next door. Second, Moloney would attempt to more accurately recreate the original appearance of the front facade of the home. The post-1945 additions behind it would be demolished, and replaced with an 8-unit apartment building. A small parking lot for tenants would be constructed behind the proposed building.

2022 photo

2022 photo

The Rockville Historic District Commission will conduct a courtesy review of the proposal at its March 16, 2023 meeting. That review is intended to provide feedback from commissioners, and anyone who wishes to testify at the meeting, to the applicant. It is not going to be a final recommendation that will be voted upon that particular evening.

Proposal to move the front of the
home up to the green dotted line

Planning staff have not recommended approval of the proposal yet, finding that it does not meet at least five of the criteria the HDC uses to evaluate this type of application. The proposed building would be significantly larger than the existing home, and larger than most other homes on W. Montgomery Avenue and S. Adams Street. Remaining historic materials on the house would be lost, and the proposed apartment addition would wrap around three sides of the structure. Staff also found that there was not a structural report submitted that adequately verifies that the existing home is beyond repair, and that the proposal would remove several mature trees from the lot.

"The applicant needs to provide much more information to justify the current proposal," the staff report concludes. "Without a structural report there is no definitive evidence of the building’s condition and the HDC can’t make an educated recommendation. With the provided information the HDC can only recommend the house should be rehabilitated and brought into compliance."

Images courtesy City of Rockville, Google Street View