Corella Cafe sneak peek in Bethesda/AC Hotel + Avocet Tower update (Video + Photos)

The opening of the new AC Hotel Bethesda and the Corella Café & Lounge has been delayed until August, but today I have a sneak peek inside the future restaurant. You may recognize some of the interior features, such as the wiry hanging sculptures and bar area, from the renderings I posted last December. So far, it is looking exactly like those images, down to the accent lighting along the walls. Let's take a sneak peek inside, and a new walkaround of the public spaces and art installations outside the AC Hotel and the adjoining Avocet Tower, located at 7373 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda.

Google I/O 2022 keynote shows Maryland digital driver's license joining Google Wallet this year

The most useful NFT on your Android phone may soon be your Maryland driver's license. During today's Google I/O 2022 keynote address, Maryland was shown as one of the first states whose digital driver's license will be accepted by Google Wallet later this year. Our state was already one of the first to qualify for Apple's Wallet app, allowing residents to store their Maryland driver's license digitally on their iPhone or Apple Watch. Aside from the practical benefit for drivers, being one of the earliest adopters gave Maryland some bonus international publicity today, as being one of the more tech-advanced states in digital IDs.

Bethesda named the most voter-friendly city in America, Gaithersburg is #18

Amid a national debate over policies that make it easier or harder to vote, Bethesda is in the enviable position of just having been declared the most voter-friendly city in America. A study by the website Insurify found that voting is easier in Bethesda than any other city in America due to its United States Postal Service availability (number of post offices, USPS services per capita, and number of mailboxes), its historical voter turnout, and the quality of the infrastructure for voting absentee or by mail.

Gaithersburg was the other city in Montgomery County to make the list, at #18. Columbia was the only other Maryland town to appear on the list. Bethesda was the only city on the list to earn an A+ grade from the study's authors.

Primis Bank closing downtown Bethesda branch

Primis Bank will permanently close its downtown Bethesda branch at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 12:00 PM. The McLean-based company says all deposits and loans from this branch will be transferred to the Rockville branch at 11200 Rockville Pike. I noticed that a number of the bank's Virginia branches are scheduled to close the same day. Primis was formerly Sonabank (Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc.) until it rebranded last year.

Fire on the roof of The Whitney apartments in Bethesda (Video + Photos)

Earlier this evening around 6:00 PM, there was a fire on the roof of The Whitney apartments at 7707 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. According to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer, workers at the building using "heat applications" accidentally lit insulation around a fan duct on the roof on fire. The workers attempted to use fire extinguishers, and firefighters were able to finish the job in short order. National Institutes of Health Fire Department, Fort Detrick Fire Department, and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad were among the responding departments; no injuries were reported.

Strong-arm robbery in Friendship Heights

The increasingly-mean streets of Friendship Heights found another victim yesterday afternoon. Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery in the 5400 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 2:28 PM Monday, according to crime data. Yet another brazen daytime robbery, in Chevy Chase, no less.

The Claiborne project moving forward, but needs a new site plan approval after time expires

The Claiborne, an oft-delayed luxury condominium development in the works since 2016 at 4820 Auburn Avenue in downtown Bethesda, is once again moving forward as I reported yesterday. There are two new details to report this morning, however. First, the project's site plan approval from three years ago has expired, because the developer did not pull the building permit from Montgomery County within the required time limit under the Bethesda Overlay Zone guidelines. So the developer must now resubmit, and receive a new approval of, the site plan before it can proceed with construction.

4820 Auburn, LLC intends to file the same site plan that was approved before, and barring an objection by a new member of the Montgomery County Planning Board or other unforeseen event, that approval should be a formality at this point. If approved as expected, then, the site plan will once again include up to 84 condo units, of which 15% will be affordable MPDUs, and up to 5000 square feet of retail space. Building height will remain at 110' at the north side, stepping down to 90' at the southern end.

"The Leaf Illusion" mural proposed
for the south side of the building

One new change is the proposed mural for the south side of the building. It now features a concept for artist interpretation, which the applicant calls "The Leaf Illusion." The heat-wrapped vinyl mural would be 30'x50' in size, and feature two children sitting on a fern branch. A fern is a native plant to Bethesda, and the public art piece therefore "ties Claiborne back into the surrounding community," design company Swatchroom says. The surreal image also reflects "The Claiborne's themes: fresh, wellness, energy," the firm suggests.

Renderings courtesy SK+I Architecture/Swatchroom

Pedestrian struck in downtown Bethesda

A pedestrian was struck on Wisconsin Avenue near Chase Avenue shortly before 7:00 PM tonight. The pedestrian was on the ground, being tended to by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel. It appeared they may have been attempting to cross Wisconsin using the crosswalk with pedestrian signal lights. MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer says the pedestrian has been transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Doug Gansler, Wes Moore tout latest endorsements in Maryland governor race

Wes Moore speaks after receiving
the endorsement of Maryland House
Speaker Adrienne Jones in
Catonsville Saturday morning

Two Democratic candidates for Maryland governor have announced prominent endorsements in the crowded primary field. Perhaps the most powerful Democrat in the state, Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, has endorsed Wes Moore in the race. "Wes Moore has the fortitude, lived experience, and motivation to lead us into a new era of equity, opportunity, and achievement for all Marylanders,” Jones said at the Benjamin Banneker Museum in Catonsville on Saturday. “He is the governor Maryland needs to put us on the best path forward.”

“It is an honor to receive the support of Speaker Jones, a stalwart champion for equity and opportunity in Maryland,” Moore said in a statement. “I’ve been proud to work with her on her groundbreaking Black agenda, on the blueprint for Maryland’s future – and I will be so proud to be her partner as we usher in a new era of opportunities.” In a race that many thought Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot would lead through a hefty campaign treasure chest and political influence, Moore has appeared to have the momentum in the final months, racking up endorsements from power players across the state including longtime Congressman Steny Hoyer and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. Franchot, in contrast, has made very little news at all.

(L-R in Baltimore): Rev. Dr. Alvin J. Gwynn,
Maryland Governor candidate Doug Gansler, 
Lt. Governor candidate Candace Hollingsworth

Former Maryland Attorney General and current Montgomery County resident Doug Gansler meanwhile received an endorsement that could boost his turnout in the City of Baltimore, where he has placed much of his effort during his campaign. The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Baltimore has endorsed Gansler and his running mate, former Hyattsville Mayor Candace Hollingsworth, for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Maryland.  “The IMA believes that former Attorney General Doug Gansler and former Mayor Candace Hollingsworth are the best-suited ticket to meet the needs of Black Marylanders across the state,” IMA President Rev. Dr. Alvin J. Gwynn, Sr. said in a statement. “Doug has spent much of his career serving communities of color in Maryland and working to keep the state safe but never at the expense of justice. Candace led revitalization efforts when she served as mayor of Hyattsville. The IMA believes that Doug and Candace are the right team to create not only a safer Baltimore, but a safer Maryland, and we look forward to helping them win this primary in July.”  

“It’s a deep and profound honor for us to receive the IMA’s endorsement,” Gansler said. “Not only because of what IMA represents historically for Baltimore, but also because of the pastors that represent the citizens of Baltimore. We’re excited to work with the pastors of IMA and the communities on the ground to help Baltimore realize its promise as a safe and vibrant city.” The significance and weight of the IMA endorsement is seen in two other politicians who have received it in the past, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings (D), and current Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D).

Maryland governor hopeful Dan Cox meets with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Fresh off a major victory in the Ohio U.S. Senate primary, former President Donald Trump is redoubling his efforts to play a similar kingmaker role in the Maryland Republican primary this July. Trump held a private meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida last week with his endorsed candidate in the Maryland gubernatorial race, Dan Cox. A Republican state representative in the Maryland House of Delegates, Cox was heartily endorsed by Trump last year. In a statement, Trump urged Maryland Republican voters to turn out for Cox. "I want you to help him," Trump said. "He's going to win big."

The impact of Trump's endorsement in a state like Maryland won't be known until after those voters head to the polls on July 19. While Trump was almost single-handedly responsible for the win of J.D. Vance in the Ohio U.S. Senate primary, the Buckeye state is a solid Republican redoubt in 2022. Trump remains popular among large numbers of Republicans in Maryland, but victory there requires a larger percentage of independent and moderate Democratic votes than in Ohio. Current Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has sailed to victory twice, the second time - in part - due to his trashing of Trump loudly and repeatedly in the national media.

Hogan's attacks have the candidate he has endorsed to succeed him, Kelly Schulz, on the receiving end of Trump's own attacks.  The popular Republican governor is exploring a possible presidential run in 2024, and that no doubt has played a role in Trump's engagement in the Maryland race. As Maryland's commerce secretary, Schulz scored major wins in attracting a Hitachi railcar factory, and two new manufacturing facilities for United Safety Technology and Niagara Bottling, to a state that has seen those industrial jobs evaporate in recent decades.  

Schulz did not wage a similar public campaign against Trump while serving in Hogan's administration, but has earned Trump's ire simply for being Hogan's choice, and for carrying out Hogan's policies during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. Cox rose to prominence as a critic of those policies, going so far as to sue Hogan in court.

Schulz' primary political message has been that she is the only candidate who can maintain that Hogan coalition at the polls this November. “If you approve of how we have led Maryland, then Kelly Schulz is your choice for governor,” Hogan declared in his endorsement speech. With two impressive wins in a blue state under Hogan's belt, and high marks from even many Democratic voters, that's a compelling case for sure.

In contrast, Cox has wider goals than the continuation of the Hogan status quo. He has promised to audit the 2020 election, "stop the indoctrination of our kids in schools," end taxpayer funding of abortions, block the federal release of immigrants apprehended at the border into Maryland communities, and double police salaries. That's an agenda diehard Trump supporters in Maryland would strongly support. Establishment Republican operatives looking at a Democratic field that hasn't produced the clear, strong frontrunner many had expected...not so much. Which side of that GOP coin will have the numbers July 19 is anybody's guess at this point.

Cox, for his part, is confident of the positive impact of a Trump endorsement in Maryland. "The most powerful endorsement in America is the one I am blessed to have - President Trump's endorsement," he said in a statement after the Mar-a-Lago meeting. Cox said that Trump called several unnamed Republican leaders on the telephone during their meeting, exhorting them to support the Cox campaign.

Photo released by Dan Cox for Governor campaign

The Claiborne is back on in downtown Bethesda

One of the four epically-delayed development projects from the last decade in downtown Bethesda is making yet another comeback attempt. I've just been informed that The Claiborne, a boutique condo building proposed for 4820 Auburn Avenue way back in 2016, is back on again. The project has taken so long, that the condominium market does not have the steam it had six years ago, if the recent lack of condo project proposals is any indication.

Future site of The Claiborne at 
Auburn and Norfolk Avenues

After plan revisions, and many starts and stops, a half-hearted attempt at demolition of the remaining retail structures on the site briefly began in 2020. Since then, the buildings have remained frozen in time, and the rest of the vacant lot that once belonged to Steamers has continued to be an overgrown eyesore in the Woodmont Triangle. Of other projects to experience major delays in downtown Bethesda, 8001 Woodmont has been completed, the St. Elmo Apartments are in the early phase of construction, and 8008 Wisconsin remains in development hell.

Clark Building renovations update at Bethesda Metro Center (Photos)

The major renovations continue at the Clark Building at 7500 Old Georgetown Road at the Bethesda Metro Center. Lightening of the facade continues to wrap around the high-rise. A major overhaul of the lobby is well underway inside. The $21 million renovation comes after its sale to developer StonebridgeCarras in 2019.

Pocket picked at Friendship Heights restaurant

A pickpocket incident was reported to Montgomery County police at a restaurant in the Friendship Heights area of Chevy Chase on Friday afternoon. Officers responded to the business in the 5400 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 5:23 PM, according to crime data. 

Westwood Center II makes its last stand in demolition (Photos)

There's just one small piece left of the Westwood Center II mini mall at 5110 Ridgefield Road in Bethesda. The structure is being removed to make way for an assisted-living senior housing development, and a realigned Westbard Avenue that will connect directly to River Road.

Pickpocket strikes again at Bethesda Row Giant

A pickpocket has struck again at the Bethesda Row Giant grocery store at 7142 Arlington Road. The victim reported the nimble-fingered theft at 12:50 PM on Thursday, May 5, 2022, according to crime data. Another reminder to watch your wallet, and to not leave purses unattended in shopping carts.