Thursday, June 09, 2016
Sidewalk work all over the Woodmont Triangle (Photos)
World of Beer Bethesda applies for liquor license (Photos)
Related: First look inside Rockville World of Beer (RockvilleNights.com May 23, 2016)
Woodmont Ave. lane reopens as construction of The Lauren winds down in Bethesda (Photos)
Related: See The Lauren light up at night for the first time
Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Liberty Socks opens at Westfield Montgomery Mall
Ten percent of all profits of the kiosk go to the East Harlem Tutorial Program. Socks include The Obama, The Reagan, The Jackson and The Lincoln. Now you've got me flashing back to those $3 Obama Socks at CVS, man.
With liquor license in hand, Vük selling more than pizza in Bethesda
Stop by tonight and see what they've got on the beer list so far. As of last night, Yuengling was in stock, but they are just getting started.
4924 St. Elmo Avenue
301-652-8000
Traffic signal proponents not giving up 3 months after River Road accident that killed 3 (Photos)
Goodwin began the meeting by reflecting on the fact that one of those killed, Thomas Michael Buarque De Macedo, was a senior who should have been crossing the stage at Whitman's graduation ceremony today. He said that with many tragedies, time passes, and people forget, "and we don't want that to happen." Goodwin asked the audience to participate in a moment of silence to remember Thomas, as well as his parents, Michael Buarque De Macedo and Alessandra M. Buarque De Macedo.
Thomas' sister Helena made a "miraculous" physical recovery, Goodwin said, and returned to school after spring break.
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| Walt Whitman HS Principal Alan Goodwin asks for a moment of silence for the victims of February's fatal crash |
What measures the SHA has taken to improve safety there, primarily adding paint, have been "inadequate," Goodwin said.
Redoubling their efforts, Bannockburn recently met with SHA engineer Anyesha Mookherjee on April 11, Bannockburn Civic Association Vice President Richard Boltuck said. Mookherjee's intital review concluded once again that the intersection does not meet the criteria for a traffic signal.
Mookherjee has drawn up some non-signal options, which range from closing the intersection at the median altogether, to various turn restrictions that would be regulated by concrete curb dividers in the middle of the intersection.
Boltuck said many want a traffic signal as a fifth option. There is even what Boltuck describes as the "Cadillac option," which would move the entire intersection east to the location of the crosswalk that connects the two pieces of Pyle Road via River Road. Several residents at the meeting said price should be no object.
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| Map of the area in question courtesy Google Maps |
A petition started by Whitman junior Melody Lee asking for a traffic signal now has over 4000 signatures. But Mookherjee told signal supporters that a standard traffic light would not have prevented the February collision, unless it had a limited green arrow to prevent left turns against westbound traffic.
Boltuck and Goodwin said closing the intersection altogether is not an option. Boltuck said the SHA has determined that 1/3 of Whitman-related auto traffic reaches or leaves the campus via the River-Braeburn intersection. Goodwin said Whittier Boulevard is already congested around the times the school starts and lets out, as well as during evening activites. Moving all Whitman traffic to Whittier would be "an impractical way to go," Goodwin argued.
The other option would be to route the Braeburn traffic to Whittier via Wilson Lane, Boltuck said.
Total closure was also opposed by some Bannockburn residents in attendance, who say they make turns there to get in and out of their neighborhood, as well as to reach the Capital Beltway. Beth Rogers, a 25-year Bannockburn resident, said she relies on the intersection for 95% of her trips in and out of the neighborhood. "It's important to be able to get out of my neighborhood," Rogers said. "I think we need a light." She said the estimated $6 million dollar cost shouldn't stop the community from asking for one. "We have the leverage now," she said.
With no success in getting a light strictly based on traffic engineering standards, several in attendance said they were counting on political influence to supercede engineering criteria. One resident said he had become friends with former County Councilman Steve Silverman years ago, and lobbied him for a dedicated turn signal at River and Whittier. At the time, around eight years ago, he too was rebuffed by the SHA. But shortly after that, he said, crews suddenly arrived at the intersection one day and installed the new signal.
"It's not magic," he told attendees. "If the right strings are pulled, it can happen very quickly."
"Nobody has more legitimacy...than the group of people in this room right now," Boltuck said. "We have the advantage of legitimacy. At the same time, we have the disadvantage of a lack of consensus."
One resident suggested putting all of the options online in a survey, allowing the greater community to indicate which one they prefer, and thereby show what option has majority support. Rather than hold a meeting, he said, that would get wider participation "in a very formal way. Then we'll know what the community is behind."
Boltuck ultimately decided to take a vote among attendees. By a vast majority, the audience voted to support a traffic signal as the solution. In a second 50-4 vote, they expressed their preference to relocate the intersection east to Pyle Road, which many said would eliminate a second concern with students crossing River Road at an unsignalized crosswalk.
Boltuck said the next step would be to contact the SHA and Councilmember Roger Berliner, to inform them of the preferences of those who attended this meeting.
What's your opinion on whether a traffic signal is needed at this intersection?
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| SHA rendering of a closed median at River and Braeburn Parkway |
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
Westwood Wednesday tomorrow, June 8 at Westwood Shopping Center
Games will include cornhole, ring toss, hula hoops, ladder ball and sidewalk chalk. Get free ice cream when you purchase a meal during the event, while supplies last.
Speaking of the shopping center, the video and slide show of the redevelopment meeting held by its owner, Equity One, last week are now online if you were unable to attend.
Westwood Shopping Center
5400 Westbard Avenue
PN Hoffman, StonebridgeCarras win national PPP award for Bethesda Lot 31 project
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| Monty Hoffman (PN Hoffman) and Doug Firstenberg (StonebridgeCarras) at ribbon-cutting for The Darcy/The Flats |
“The NCPPP National Public-Private Partnership Awards recognize those organizations and individuals going above and beyond to advance the concept and implementation of public-private partnerships across the country,” NCPPP President Sandra Sullivan said in a statement. “We are proud to recognize innovators and leaders whose work serves as exemplary partnership models.”
Perhaps the most complex real estate project ever built in Montgomery County, both buildings were delivered last year.
MCPS forecaster says new ES needed for Rock Spring, White Flint 2 school capacity
Bruce Crispell, Director of the Division of Long Range Planning for Montgomery County Public Schools, gave his forecast last night for how many students he expects the Rock Spring and White Flint 2 sector plans to generate. Also at the meeting at Luxmanor Elementary were other MCPS officials to outline the Walter Johnson cluster roundtable discussions, and the new Subdivision Staging Policy currently being reviewed by the County Planning Board.
The night got off to a rough start as technical difficulties prevented the detailed presentation from being projected onto the screen. Speakers had to then go forward with no Powerpoint slides. The presentation is promised to be on the Rock Spring and White Flint 2 pages on the Planning Department website at some point today.
Crispell's prediction for the mid-size alternative for Rock Spring is:
70 ES students
30 MS students
35 HS students
For the maximum 2400-unit build-out of Rock Spring, he forecasts:
135 ES
60 MS
75 HS
All of those go into the Walter Johnson cluster.
For White Flint 2, a small portion of students will go into the Downcounty Consortium Cluster of schools:
Mid-size build-out (524 units):
45 ES
20 MS
25 HS
Max build-out for the DCC (871 units):
75 ES
30 MS
40 HS
In the Walter Johnson cluster for White Flint 2, the mid-size build-out option would generate:
250 ES
105 MS
130 HS
The max build-out of White Flint 2 (4920 new units) would generate this many students in the WJ cluster:
285 ES
120 MS
150 HS
The combined numbers for both clusters from White Flint 2 in mid-size scenario:
320 ES
135 MS
165 HS
Max build-out for both clusters in White Flint 2:
420 ES
180 MS
225 HS
Altogether, Crispell said the numbers are close to the threshold for dedicating an elementary school site, but not a middle school or high school. A resident asked if Crispell used the southwest generation rates, which tend to be higher than the rest of the County. He said those calculations are still in the works.
But he said these numbers should replace any previous forecasts. "These are pretty much hot off the press to me," Crispell said of his predictions last night. He added that he is including the WMAL site in his long range forecast, a separate one from the above data.
Crispell also outlined the process by which MCPS addresses the need for more capacity. First they examine if they can add on to an existing school in the plan area. If not, look at a boundary change to a school adjacent to the plan area. If that can't be done, they determine if they can add on to a building adjacent to the plan area. The last resort is to designate a school site for a new building.
"We are at the point where we need a new elementary school site," Crispell said last night. Walter Johnson High School is currently over 2400 students, he said, and MCPS is considering options including using the former Woodward campus as a high school again.
Crispell said there are "tons of [housing] units being planned in this area of the County," but added that in his opinion, "there's no way" there is enough demand for the number of units currently proposed.
Debbie Szyfer, senior planner in Crispell's division, said that a new elementary school could be fast-tracked in time to open in 2022. She said Walter Johnson HS is "the most critical right now. The middle schools we're taking good care of," with additions.
Unfortunately, the promised results of the WJ roundtable were not actually available last night. The roundtable report is instead expected to be posted online in the next 9 days, Szyfer said. That report will cover the approaches to the problems discussed by members of the roundtable from the WJ cluster, but will not make recommendations.
Actual recommendations will be made by new MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith after July 1, Szyfer said. Among the approaches discussed by the roundtable were reopening old schools, repurposing Woodward, and acquiring office park land. Other ideas that had little support included split sessions and online learning.
The roundtable schedule will be as follows:
June 8 "or later": Roundtable report posted online
October 13: Smith's recommendations will be released to the public
November 3: Board of Education will hold a worksession on the recommendations
Szyfer said the period between October 13 and November 3 will be a critical one for those in the community to make their voices heard. Whether you like the recommendations or hate them, it is very important that you let the BOE know either way, Szyfer advised.
November 10, 14: Public hearings on the recommendations (only 30-40 people can testify)
The BOE will make a final decision after those hearings.
Several members of the roundtable were in attendance at last night's meeting. One of them commended Crispell and Szyfer for doing something that hasn't been done before by MCPS. She said they took "the list of development within our cluster...and tried to do a 30 year analysis of what this would look like for our cluster." "We were pushed," Crispell said. He said that 30-year forecast showed a need for a high school with a capacity of 3500, a middle school of 2750 students, and 5500 seats at the elementary school level. Crispell noted that those numbers include the WMAL site, but not the latest Rock Spring and WF2 projections he released last night.
Crispell received a round of applause. Somewhat taken aback by a positive response from parents, he said, "Thank you. I don't usually get applauded for forecasts."
One resident expressed concern that middle school needs might end up not being addressed in the sector plans. "Those projections support another middle school," she said. "If we don't designate a site in one of these master plans, we'll never get it."
The president of the Luxmanor Civic Association challenged officials to be more transparent and communicate more closely with the community than they have in past White Flint discussions. Those past processes "truly haven't been transparent," she said. "We've had to hire police to patrol our streets because of what's been going on right now." She asked if the community could have more meetings and more open discussions as this process goes forward.
Both sector plans are slated to go the Planning Board this fall, and following board worksessions late in the year, to the County Council for approval in 2017, said Andrea Gilles, the lead planner for the Rock Spring plan.
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| Use this map legend for the maps below |
Monday, June 06, 2016
Summer concerts at Bethesda Gateway Building
There are several great restaurants within walking distance from which you can carry out a lunch, including Panera Bread which is right at the concert location. The new Pi Pizzeria is on the next block, as well.
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| Click photo to enlarge schedule |
Food Wine & Co. contents being auctioned off in Bethesda
Up for grabs are a Bakers Pride FC-516 Il Forno Classico brick lined gas deck oven, and a Bakers Pride DS-805 Super deck single deck gas pizza oven (the latter with a cracked stone, the listing notes), each worth around $30,000 new.
What else? A Vulcan fryer, a KitchenAid mixer that looks much like one you'd find on your kitchen counter, walk-in beer cooler, wine refrigerator, and an LG flatscreen TV.
The preview for the auction will be held on Monday, June 13, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the actual auction following the next day at 1:00 PM.
The Lauren lights up in Bethesda (Photos)
One other note of interest. The concept of apartments/condos at ground level with direct street access seen recently at the new Flats at 8300 is at The Lauren, as well. I also notice that there are below-ground "basement" units in the building, that couldn't be seen when the sidewalk was blocked off for construction. Are these guest suites (you can buy a guest suite for visiting friends and family) or are they the MPDUs?
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| Basement unit at The Lauren |
Finally, landscaping is being installed along the streetscape, which is probably also appreciated by the wild rabbits of downtown Bethesda who tend to hang out in this corridor near the Metropolitan. The Lauren is located at 4901 Hampden Lane. 1788 Holdings and Persimmon Capital Partners are the development team.
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| Landscaping in place |
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| Benches don't appear to have anti-homeless-people features found elsewhere in downtown Bethesda |
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| Mirror "L" Lauren logo door handles under wraps |
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| There is the logo again on the floor of the lobby |
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| Photobombed by Dodge Ram pickup truck |
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| Forget "Where's Waldo" - can you find the Lauren logos? |
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| Lobby ceiling fixture |
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| Before the lights came on |
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| Your high-end refrigerator is already in place |
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| Will you be one of the few who can call Bethesda's most-exclusive address home? |
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| The view at street-level |
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| Street level door |
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| Another fridge |
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| South Beach art deco balcony railings |
Sunday, June 05, 2016
Car stolen from Jones Bridge Rd., sex offense on Walsh St. + more - Bethesda crime update
Vehicle burglary. 4600 block Highland Avenue.
Theft. 4900 block Battery Lane.
Theft. 4900 block Battery Lane.
Stolen car. Jones Bridge Road at Brandt Place.
Vehicle burglary. 4400 block Chestnut Street.
Other sexual offense. 4400 block Walsh Street.
Vehicle burglary. 7800 block Custer Road.
Vehicle burglary. 8700 block Garfield Street.
Burglary. 5500 block Wisconsin Avenue.
Theft. 5500 block Johnson Avenue.
Burglary. 9500 block Kingsley Avenue.
Vehicle burglary. 9800 block Tiffany Hill Court.
Theft. 10300 block Strathmore Hall Street.
Public meeting set for Apex Building redevelopment in Bethesda
Carr has previously shown its sketch plan for the project, which will replace the existing Apex Building with a mixed-use development of three buildings, with residential, retail and office space. One of the two sketch plan options contained a potential below-grade space for a cineplex to replace the existing Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10. However, it is dependent upon moving the historic Community Paint and Hardware Building, and the interest of Regal or another chain in signing a lease (assuming the theater space remains in the site plan).
We've got to make sure the replacement theater does remain in the plan, as the loss of a mainstream cineplex would be devastating for restaurants and shops that rely upon the "dinner and a movie" business. An economic development study prepared for Towson, MD showed that a multi-screen movie theater like Regal draws 20,000 additional people to a downtown area on weekends who wouldn't ordinarily show up.
Some will say, "let the market decide." I am confident the market will indeed have great interest in operating a theater; there is no competition for one in downtown Bethesda. The problem will be if the market never gets a chance, should the theater space be axed from the building before the market can weigh in.
Redskins Store closes at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)
This is one of several perplexing closures at the mall recently. Sure, there have been disappointing seasons for the Skins too many years (although I remain a fan no matter how bad the record is any given year). But the team had an exciting season last year, has made some good additions for the upcoming season, and expectations are high. Not to mention that a poll of Native Americans recently sapped all the energy out of the New York-Dallas media conspiracy to strip the team of its name and history.
So, why would the Redskins Store close now? Bizarre. My only complaint was that the store was too small, and therefore couldn't carry the full spectrum of Redskins merchandise that is available.
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