Demolition continues at Bethesda Shell station (Photos)

The house? The house is gone, leaving only rubble behind. Meanwhile, only the small convenience store structure remained Monday at the former Shell station at Old Georgetown Road and Woodmont Avenue.

Both properties are being razed to make way for a small TD Bank building.

Assault on Wisconsin Ave., burglary on Newington Rd. + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on August 22, according to crime data:

Drug arrest. Woodmont Avenue at Norfolk Avenue.

Assault. 7300 block Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. 8100 block Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. 5100 block River Road.

Theft from vehicle. 4800 block Enfield Road (Locust Hill Estates).

Burglary. 5600 block Newington Road at 3:52 PM (Springfield).

Theft. 7100 block Democracy Boulevard.

Death. 1700 block E. Jefferson Street at 10:08 AM (Pike District).

Bethesda Barbecue Company confirmed as restaurant being liquidated/closed in auction

Surely you'll be shocked - shocked - to learn that the secretive online auction of the entire contents of an "upscale Bethesda barbecue restaurant" is indeed Bethesda Barbecue Company at 4917 Elm Street. The restaurant's identity was finally disclosed by the auction site last night, so that potential bidders could know where to go for the auction preview today, from 1:00-3:00 PM.

That auction will take place online beginning at 11:00 AM tomorrow, August 26.

This means that, after having its doors locked for over a month, Bethesda Barbecue Company has clearly closed. The future of the space is unknown for now.

See it to believe it: Bethesda gas station becomes a grassy field (Photos)

The site of Bethesda's famous "last gas" before the Beltway has devolved into a grassy field. In a decision as bizarre as the fate of the Bethesda Shell station across from the Bethesda Metro station, this also-walking-distance-to-Metro property is being redeveloped with a small bank building.

Surely this site had more
potential for joining adjacent
lots for development that
would benefit the community
with retail, restaurants and
Metro-proximate housing

This despite the opportunity to combine properties that include a Montgomery County-owned parking lot, and a significant buffer between the site and the single-family home neighborhood behind it, to create a mixed-use development.

A still from Sunday's episode
of "Fear the Walking Dead"?
Nope, just scary MoCo
planning decisions

For now, it is an unused grass field, as nature reclaims the former service station property and downtown Bethesda's gas stations continue to vanish.

Arson on Tuckerman La., theft at Westbard Giant + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on August 21, according to crime data:

Arson. Tuckerman Lane at Rockville Pike at 8:41 AM.

Theft. 7000 block Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. Giant, 5400 Westbard Avenue.

Theft. 10900 block Bloomingdale Drive.

Assault. 5600 block Nicholson Lane at 10:51 PM (Pike District).

Vehicle burglary. 6100 block Executive Boulevard (Pike District).

Drug arrest. MacArthur Boulevard at Seven Locks Road.

Burglary. 5500 block Alderbrook Court (Pike District).

Drug offense. 4800 block Cordell Avenue at 11:40 PM.

Death. 4600 block N. Park Avenue at 10:44 AM.

Demolition update: Bethesda Shell station and house (Photos)

The Bethesda Shell station at 7628 Old Georgetown Road, and a home next to it, continue to be demolished. They'll make way for a puzzling replacement - a tiny TD Bank building, despite the property being adjacent to a Metro station. The gas pumps and canopy are now gone.

Flaxella Cafe closes in Bethesda (Photos)

Flaxella Café has closed on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. A health-oriented sandwich shop in the ground floor of the Bethesda Medical Building at 8218 Wisconsin Avenue, Flaxella was also known for its substantial vegan offerings and Ethiopian cuisine. Workers in the building, and residents of 8200 Wisconsin, will have to hope another restaurant tenant moves in to replace it as a lunch destination.

Washington Episcopal School senior housing project seeks extension in Bethesda (Photos)

The developer of a controversial, 97' tall senior housing project on the property of the Washington Episcopal School in Bethesda is seeking an extension of the project review period for its project plan, and a site plan amendment. It is asking for a new deadline of December 31 from the Montgomery County Planning Board. The board will take up the matter at its September 3 meeting.

Jody Kline, the applicant's attorney, says the developer needs more time to complete a traffic signal study at the intersection of River Road and Landy Lane. That proposed traffic signal has been part of the project plan since it was approved by a previous Planning Board in 2008. Kline says the study cannot begin until mid-September. They also need to prepare a Warrant Study, which then must be reviewed and approved by the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Proposed location of a
new traffic signal at
River Road and Landy Lane

The traffic signal itself is controversial, because it would be the fourth light in that single 5200 block of River Road. And three of those four lights would all be clumped between Ridgefield Road and the Capital Crescent Trail bridge. The upside of allowing a more direct pedestrian and bicycle crossing alternative (to walking all the way around and over the trail bridge) has to be weighed against further slowing already-congested rush hour traffic on River Road.

Traffic signal overkill?
In this photo illustration I created,
the gold stars show how close
the 3 traffic signals would be;
a fourth is less than half-a-block
east of Landy Lane at
Little Falls Parkway

New development being planned through the Westbard Sector Plan rewrite places even more pressure on making a wise decision about this traffic light.

More controversial is the height of the building, which will be 8 stories in close proximity to single-family homes in Kenwood. While the developer, Sheridan Development Company, has the benefit of an existing approval for the project, 8 stories conforms to neither the new zoning code, nor to the heights proposed in the draft Westbard Sector Plan.

The WES project will contain 121 senior housing units, for residents 55-and-older. While it will not burden crowded local schools, it will produce an estimated 236 vehicles under the latest FHWA and Census numbers of 1.95 vehicles per household. That number could jump to 276 under the February 2015 study by Experian Automotive, which collects and analyzes automotive data.

Transit is poor in the River Road/Westbard area, with no direct access to downtown Bethesda.

Planning staff is recommending approval of the extension.

There are several other Bethesda items on the agenda for September 3:

The Lauren ultra-luxury condo project is seeking a Site Plan Amendment to relocate a bench, alter landscaping plans, and relocate a transformer on the site. That bench was determined to be a "pedestrian hazard" in its original location by the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services.

Staff is recommending approval of this request, as well.

Finally, the extension Douglas Development is seeking for its 8008 Wisconsin project is on the agenda. According to Douglas' attorney, Emily Vaias, the applicant needs more time to complete a noise study, and would like to simultaneously file the site plan and preliminary project plan findings.

Once again, staff is recommending approval of this request.

Top rendering via Sheridan Development Company
/Montgomery County Planning Department

Photo: Robert Dyer

Disorderly day in Bethesda, assault in Pike District + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on August 20, according to crime data:

Liquor arrest. 4400 block West Virginia Avenue.

Theft. Medical Center Metro station.

Drug arrest. Connecticut Avenue at Manor Road (Chevy Chase Lake).

Assault. 5100 block Nicholson Lane at 5:04 PM (Pike District).

Disorderly conduct. Cordell Avenue at Norfolk Avenue at 10:29 AM.

Disorderly conduct. Elm Street at Wisconsin Avenue at 11:00 PM.

Disorderly conduct. Bethesda Avenue at Wisconsin Avenue at 8:56 PM.

Theft from vehicle. Westmoreland Circle at Massachusetts Avenue at 8:43 AM.

New curb on Fairmont Ave. aims to improve pedestrian connectivity in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle (Photos)

A new curb bump-out on Fairmont Avenue is part of a larger plan to improve connectivity for pedestrians traversing the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood in downtown Bethesda.

The bump-out extends from the current sidewalk alongside the Bainbridge Bethesda luxury apartments, and will make an easier pedestrian connection to the walkway to the public parking garage across Fairmont Avenue when construction of the 7770 Norfolk condo project is completed.

One planning goal as properties redevelop across downtown Bethesda, is to create better linkages between destinations and parking garages. And to improve the ability to cut-through long city blocks in a pedestrian-friendly environment.

Hooper's Crab Wagon brings live, steamed crabs to Bethesda today

It's hard to have a real Maryland summer without Maryland blue crabs. Don't miss the Hooper's Crab Wagon from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM today (Sunday, August 23, 2015) at Giant at 5400 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. The Crab Wagon is coming from Hooper's Crab House in West Ocean City, MD.

Crabs will be live and steamed on-site. You can buy them by the dozen, half-bushel or full bushel.

Giant is located in the Westwood Shopping Center.

Theft at Bethesda Metro station, liquor arrest at Cabin John Regional Park + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on August 19, according to crime data:

Theft. Bethesda Metro station.

Theft. 7300 block Wisconsin Avenue.

Theft. 5100 block Manning Drive (Edgemoor).

Vehicle burglary. 5400 block Westbard Avenue.

Vehicle burglary. Wisconsin Avenue at Western Avenue.

Theft. 5000 block Newport Avenue.

Theft. 6600 block Wilson Lane.

Vehicle burglary. 9200 block Shelton Street.

Theft. 5400 block Edson Lane.

Theft. Lord & Taylor (White Flint Mall).

Liquor arrest. Cabin John Regional Park.

Bethesda construction update: The Lauren ultra-luxury condos (Photos)

A window mock-up has appeared at the Lauren ultra-luxury condos construction site in Bethesda. You may recall seeing these types of door and window set-ups at other projects around town, such as the similar display for the 7770 Norfolk luxury condos that was at the former AutoDentz property on Woodmont Avenue.

These mockups help contractors and subcontractors assure that the quality and fit of the windows are correct before installation of dozens of them in the building facade itself. It ensures that all of the individual components of a window system fit and work together properly.

In the process, you're also getting a sneak preview of what the windows in the Lauren will look like, in the below photos.

City Perch to host second Farmers Market Dinner in N. Bethesda August 26

City Perch at Pike & Rose will be hosting its second Farmers Market Dinner on Wednesday, August 26, at 7:00 PM. This dinner will be hosted by James Beard Award-winning (and current Food Network guest judge) Chef Sherry Yard. 

Ingredients for the four-course dinner will be procured from local farms, including Heritage Farms, The Chef’s Garden, Elk Run and Crow Vineyards. Advanced reservations are required, and can be made by calling 301-231-2310. 

The cost for the dinner will be $50 per person (or $80 with wine pairing).

City Perch

11830 Grand Park Ave

Car crashes into Bethesda storefront (Photo)

A car crashed into the Underwraps store in the Shoppes of Bethesda shopping center this morning. The driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer.

No other injuries were reported, but a building inspector from the County will check for structural damage.

Photo: Andrew Gifford

Sexual assault in downtown Bethesda, car broken into in Kenwood + more - Bethesda crime update

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on August 18, according to crime data:

Theft from vehicle. Bethesda Metro Station.

Sexual assault. 7300 block Wisconsin Avenue at 1:10 PM.

Burglary. 7000 block Exeter Road at 5:51 PM (Edgemoor).

Vehicle burglary. 5300 block Kenwood Avenue (Kenwood).

Burglary. 4600 block Bayard Boulevard at 11:22 AM (Crestview).

Theft from vehicle. 10300 block Grosvenor Place at 3:10 PM.

Assault. 8000 block River Road at 1:18 PM.

Death. 5000 block Bradley Boulevard at 8:22 PM.

Theft. 6100 block Montrose Road.

Bethesda construction update: Silver restaurant (Photos)

Progress continues on the interior of the future Silver restaurant, located in the ground floor of the Flats at Bethesda Avenue luxury apartments. The sign was removed from the facade, and then reinstalled, for unknown reasons. But it looks great now that it is lit, as well as the lighted trim and accents across the exterior.

A new venture by the owners behind the Silver Diner chain, Silver is scheduled to open in September.