The heart of Olde Towne Gaithersburg is up for sale

The potential sale of a sprawling set of classic retail properties in the heart of Olde Towne Gaithersburg could have a transformative impact on one of the few remaining historic downtown cores in Montgomery County. Five contiguous retail properties with frontage along E. Diamond Avenue and N. Summit Avenue are now on the market. Of course, any sense of continuity of character in Gaithersburg went out the window some time ago, with the development of the soulless, cheap-looking, stack-and-pack Gaithersburg Station apartments further down at 370 E. Diamond. It's a travesty. Will the heart of Olde Towne now meet the same fate?

What's up for sale? 206-208 E. Diamond Avenue, 210-216 E. Diamond Avenue, 220 E. Diamond Avenue and 226 E. Diamond Avenue. It's a total of 32,819-square-feet of land on 1.65 acres. Current zoning allows a maximum building height of four stories on this site. The sale listing notes that the City of Gaithersburg is likely to demand first floor retail in any redevelopment. Parking waivers will be available due to nearby public parking. The listing says there are no historical preservation requirements, another travesty.

This will be a "historic" redevelopment opportunity in a historic downtown. Is there a developer who can do this responsibly, and maintain the Olde Towne character on a site visible from the historic B&O Railroad train station? A site that is one of the first things seen upon entering the heart of Olde Towne on Summit Avenue? I'll concede that the site is certainly easy walking distance to MARC commuter rail, but haven't we learned anything from the wholesale destruction of the historic downtowns of Rockville and Bethesda in the past? This is a saga worth watching closely.

Photos courtesy Transwestern/LoopNet

Rockville Science Center maker space opening at Rockville Town Square

The Rockville Science Center is opening a maker space in one of the vacant storefronts at Rockville Town Square. This is at 33-F Maryland Avenue, next to MaLa Canteen. They already have a maker space in the Rockville Memorial Library up the street, and their main storefront at 36-C Maryland Avenue, in the same development. This space will be for all ages.

Indecent exposure at Rockville convenience store

Rockville City police responded to a report of indecent exposure at a convenience store on Tuesday afternoon, August 22, 2023. A suspect was also accused of disorderly conduct. The incident was reported at a store in the 700 block of Hungerford Drive at 2:45 PM Tuesday. There is a 7-Eleven store on that block.

Masked man testing car doors in Fallsgrove area of Rockville

Lock your car doors, but also remove any valuables visible inside your vehicle's cabin. Rockville City police say a masked man was spotted testing car door handles to see if they were unlocked in the Fallsgrove neighborhood around 10:51 PM on August 16, 2023. The suspect was seen at that time in the 200 block of Jay Drive. 

He apparently did not let a locked door stop him in some cases. Three vehicle owners later reported to police that their car windows had been smashed. RCPD did not specify if any items were taken from the three damaged vehicles. If you have any information about this incident or suspect, call police at 240-314-8900.

White Flint Mall redevelopment still frozen on Rockville Pike (Photos)

The redevelopment of White Flint Mall is still just a Gordon Gekko-esque dream on Rockville Pike. Property owner Lerner Enterprises has fenced off the site, on which only the Lord & Taylor portion of the mall remains standing, surrounded by its former parking lots. That hasn't stopped vandals from trespassing, as the graffiti and boarded-up windows testify. The vast majority of the mall site remains an overgrown patch of weeds and grass, as nature reclaims what was once Montgomery County's ultimate shopping destination.

There's no news on the Lerner website. White Flint Mall's legacy is such an afterthought for the company, that it has placed a photo of it where one of Landover Mall is meant to be on the site. Quelle horreur! Another summer where the property could have been converted into a drive-in theater has nearly passed into history without a single screening of Star Wars or The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

An idol has arisen

White Flint Mall still speaks to those who watch and listen for the signs. A god, an idol, has arisen among the former parking stalls of Lord & Taylor. Its head a golden sphere, its arms outstretched in a martyr's T-pose. Yet the arms are uplifted, reassuring us that in some other dimension all is well at White Flint Mall. The Singapore Firecracker Chicken and Mongolian Beef at P.F. Chang's are still better than whatever you're eating tonight in Montgomery County, the glass elevators still go all the way up to The Loft, Carrie is screening four months after its release on the March 7, 1977 grand opening night of The Movies, the mallwalking Soviet ambassador still has all the right toppings on his foot-long hot dog, and it still takes a good hour to thoroughly peruse the magazine racks at Borders.

But back in this dimension, redevelopment plans remain as moribund as Montgomery County itself. The Late Stage Capitalism Express is arriving at the White Flint, er, "North Bethesda" station. "All aboarrrrrrrrd! Next stop: The Dark Side of White Flint."

"This is a very special part of America. The highest part." - H.V. Waldrove of the Netherlands, after touring White Flint Mall in 1978

Rockville apartment burglarized

Rockville City police responded to a report of break-in at an apartment near Rockville Town Center Sunday morning, August 20, 2023. The burglary was reported at an apartment unit in the 300 block of North Van Buren Street. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry into the apartment.

Want to buy Montgomery County's first Wawa store? It'll cost you $8 million

The first Wawa store in Montgomery County hasn't even opened yet, and it's already for sale. Now under construction at 405 S. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg, the store could be yours for $7,957,000. Does that include unlimited Gobbler sandwiches? That question would probably rank a distant second to the one on most Wawa fans' minds for the last several years, namely, when is the Gaithersburg Wawa opening? The online sale listing gives us the best clue yet, as it notes that Wawa's lease will commence in November 2023.

Wawa's Gaithersburg NNN ground lease has a primary term of 20 years, with 10% rent increases every 5 years, and six 5-year renewal options, indicating the chain is here in Montgomery County for the long haul. That rent will go to you, if you are the lucky buyer with $8 million burning a hole in your pocket. 

The sale listing goes on to describe the Gaithersburg Wawa's prime location on busy MD 355 across from Gaithersburg High School, and the rarity of a Wawa store in the area. "Currently under construction, this location will be Gaithersburg’s first Wawa store and will serve as Wawa’s long awaited first store along the I-270 corridor outside of Washington, D.C. There are currently no Wawa locations northwest of D.C. along the interstate until the I-270/I-70 interchange in Frederick, MD over 20 miles away."