Monterey Apartments sold, rebranded as Arrive North Bethesda

The Monterey Apartments at 5901 Montrose Road in North Bethesda has a new owner, and a new name. Property owner Monterey North Bethesda Investors, LLC sold the building to another shell company, CPS Monterey, LLC, for $133,800,000, according to Maryland real estate records. The latter shell company appears to be an entity operated by Trinity Property Consultants of Irvine, California. TPC manages apartment properties across the country that all share the Arrive brand, including one in Silver Spring, and this property is now rebranded as "Arrive North Bethesda."

Construction underway at Simon Pearce at Bethesda Row (Photos)

The interior fit-out of Simon Pearce is now underway on Bethesda Lane. A glassware and home decor retailer, Simon Pearce has an existing location in Alexandria. There are some local connections at the company beyond its Garrett County manufacturing facility. While Pearce himself hails from Ireland, Simon Pearce VP of Retail Jen Smith attended high school in Bethesda, as did one of the glassblowers at the firm.

Bethesda construction update: Solaire 7607 Old Georgetown Road (Photos)

The excavation continues at the site of the future Solaire 7607 Old Georgetown Road apartment tower in downtown Bethesda. To indicate how much deeper the hole is, there were two ladder platform levels leading up to the street level in my March 17 update; now there are three ladder levels to scale.  Developed by Washington Property Company, the Solaire will house 198 units and 1500 square feet of retail, and is scheduled for delivery in late 2023.

fye toy concept Alex Baby & Toys "opening soon" at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

The new-concept toy store fye is opening at Westfield Montgomery Mall now has a name: Alex Baby & Toys. Only two locations are currently scheduled to open nationally this year, with the other being at Holyoke Mall in Massachusetts. Here at Montgomery Mall, Alex Baby & Toys will be on Level 1 in the Old Navy wing. The store is currently hiring for all positions, and I'm told it will be "opening soon."

More lighted signage at Tacombi, as clock ticks down on March opening in Bethesda (Photos)

Additional lighted signage was installed outside Tacombi at 4749 Bethesda Avenue this past weekend. It features a cheerful, welcoming pineapple character, who doesn't look the least bit worried that the restaurant's target of a March opening is two days from being missed. What is in all those boxes that are stacked up in there? Pineapple Guy isn't talking. Can they beat the deadline? Stay tuned!

Montgomery County transit use, return to offices remains far below pre-pandemic numbers, new data show

Park use and grocery/pharmacy shopping

now less than during pandemic

New Google Mobility data show life in Montgomery County has yet to resume pre-pandemic patterns over the first three months of 2022, and some activity categories have even declined below their pandemic numbers. Transit use in the county has been even worse this year than it was last fall, dropping from 43% below early 2020 ridership numbers to 48% below in early 2022. Workers are heading back to the office only 1% more so far this year than they were last fall, with residents working on-location 30% less than during the same period before the pandemic in 2020.

Wheaton Claridge Local Park

County residents in 2022 so far are still staying home 10% more than they did in early 2020. In a troubling change, residents have actually reduced their time in parks and in grocery and drug stores. Google data during the pandemic months of 2020 and 2021 had showed residents were actually spending more time in parks, grocery stores and drug stores than they were before the pandemic. Now even those categories have gone negative.

Buses lined up at
Rockville Metro station

Residents spent 5% less time in parks between January 21 and March 4, 2022 than they did over the same period in 2020. They spent 6% less time in grocery and drug stores so far this year than they did in early 2020, which is odd considering that Covid-19 cases were way up when the year started, and shelves were bare for several weeks at grocery stores. And they've spent a whopping 30% less time in other types of retail stores and in recreation activities this year than they did in January - March 2020.

County residents spent less time
shopping at CVS Pharmacy so far
this year than they did over the same
period in 2020

The data collected by Google is limited to those users who have opted in to allowing the tech giant to track their phone's location. It measures both the frequency of visits, and the amount of time those users stay in the places categorized in the results, such as grocery stores, transit stations and parks.

The Scoop to replace Baskin Robbins at Cabin John Shopping Center

The closure of Baskin Robbins at 7909 Tuckerman Lane won't mean the end of ice cream treats at the Cabin John Shopping Center. A source tells me a new ice cream shop, The Scoop, has leased the space and will open there later this year. Baskin Robbins closed last month at the center.

Kenwood cherry blossoms 2022 photo gallery

It's time for my annual photo gallery of the Kenwood cherry blossoms. Despite the unseasonably-cold spring, blustery winds and occasional hard freeze, the trees in this exclusive Chevy Chase community have once again provided a closer-to-home show for many who wish to avoid the long trip down to the Tidal Basin in the District. 

Franchot, Moore tout new endorsements in Maryland governor's race

Democrats Peter Franchot and Wes Moore have announced several new endorsements in the crowded primary field of the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial race. Takoma Park resident and Maryland Comptroller Franchot has been endorsed by hospitality unions UNITE HERE Local 23 and Local 7. Among Franchot's efforts as comptroller was a successful push with Governor Larry Hogan (R) to extend the summer vacations of Maryland public school students, a boon for hotels and other businesses in travel destinations like Ocean City. Individual school systems later regained the right to set their own school opening dates each fall through action by the Democrat-controlled state legislature, rendering Hogan's executive order moot.

Wes Moore

Takoma Park native Moore's latest endorsements are from former Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Royce Hanson and Montgomery County Delegate Eric Luedtke (D - District 14). Hanson is recognized as the architect of the County's Agricultural Reserve policy, which has preserved farmland in a designated zone of the county from development. Moore is a combat veteran, former White House Fellow, bestselling author, and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Photo via WesMoore.com

First look: New public plaza at Bethesda Place (Photos)

Here is a look at the new plaza at the Bethesda Place development at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue and 7701 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Stringed lights overhead will provide some atmosphere after dark; furniture, public art, plantings, and additional landscaping elements are still to come. There are also other renovations still being completed around the property, such as new stairways and a new Woodmont Avenue entrance to the vacant Safeway retail space. The property owners decided to completely overhaul the plaza after the waterproofing below it failed, and two years later, we are seeing the initial results.

Such updates are an example of proactive property owners making the improvements needed to remain competitive with new office and residential buildings coming onto the market in downtown Bethesda. We saw this just last week, with the Chevy Chase Land Co.'s plans to make major updates to its 2 Bethesda Metro Center office tower. Bethesda Place has both apartments and office space, as well as retail and restaurant tenants. Let's take a look back at the process that brought the project this far, which began one year ago after a pandemic delay, in chronological order: