Yesterday, we took a tour of the latest Phase 1 demolition at White Flint Mall from the outside.
Now, join me on an escalator to nowhere, as we glide through the sleek, now bleak, corridors of a modern mall forced to wind down at the height of its success.
You will notice there are few, if any, human beings wandering about these once-bustling floors.
Check out the black matte door and wall segment, that look like a prop from a low-budget movie. "Do not. Go in there." as Ace Ventura once said.
Celebrate National Donut Day Friday at Dunkin' Donuts on Bethesda Avenue, with a FREE donut!
Just order any beverage, and your donut is free.
Welcome to the fifth installment of The Dark Side of White Flint, a frank and candid study of the less-"wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful" side of urbanizing the suburbs.
To check out the first 4 photo galleries of the demolition of White Flint Mall, click here.
One has to wonder why a "smart" growth organization gave White Flint an award as a smart growth community. With the exception of one JBG tower I actually think is quite nice, the main drag through White Flint looks the same as it did 20 years ago.
Except that a pleasantly futuristic, upscale suburban mall is rapidly being reduced to piles of rubble.
Maybe it was the Gordon Gekko #FirstWorldProblems Award.
Just because you can do a thing, doesn't necessarily mean you should do a thing. Especially just for the cause of the unholy dollar.
Councilmember Roger Berliner, how would you describe the "new" White Flint?
"More muscular," Berliner said on one of many vanity programs funded by taxpayers on Montgomery County Channel 6.
From the pictures below, White Flint certainly looks muscular. Downright Schwarzenegger-esque... the way he looked after reading the box office totals for his last movie.
Muscular?
Take these photos, add text from the pro-development White Flint propaganda, and you have a wonderful, coffee table volume entitled, Charles Atlas Shrugged.
Seriously, though, you can click to enlarge these photos to examine every ghastly detail. Note the supports holding up the last surviving parts of the mall from collapse. The dream is about as real as the "White Flint MARC Station" is at this point. (Remember that one?)
Welcome to the Dark Side, and stay tuned for more.
If you notice smoke in the sky over Old Town Bethesda tonight, it may be coming from the pool party atop the Doubletree Bethesda hotel.
Tonight's event is called The Cigar Affair, and runs from 5:00 to 10:00 PM. Beyond cigars, there will be a tapas menu, single malt Scotch, and several bourbons.
But wait, there's more.
At 7:30, spokesmodels from Dreaming Tree Winery will host a wine tasting, and a cigar expert will be on hand throughout the evening.
There will also be light jazz in the background.
There's no cost to enter the party, but you must be 21 or older.
Verizon utility work has closed the right lane of northbound MD 355 in downtown Bethesda near Bethesda Avenue and Willow Lane.
The work began just a little while ago.
Let me turn your sandwich into a meal at Jetties Bethesda. Just order a Summer Sandwich, and show them this coupon below on your phone (or print it out, if you prefer). You'll get chips and a drink for free!
Get your smoothie for half-price at Boloco on Elm Street at Bethesda Row!
Just order between 3:00-6:00 PM Monday through Friday, and go to the cashier.
I recommend the Jimmy Carter, with peanut butter and banana.
Total destruction is the only phrase to describe the interior of the defunct Relic nightclub on Fairmont Avenue. Debris piles abound after crews demolished what was left of the bar/restaurant space.
The space is currently for lease, but there have been no takers in 11 months.
Relic closed last summer after Montgomery County tore up its liquor license. Supposedly, there were too many Relic-related incidents requiring police action.
The club was shuttered, and then the entire building was foreclosed on. It was auctioned off August 9.
Nothing happened for months. There was some hope when DC mega-developer Douglas Development took over. Douglas has ties to popular chain tenants like Shake Shack.
Alas, Douglas departed, and another large firm, Papadopoulos Properties, took charge.
I checked, and the space is still on the market for lease.
Why?
Because that block of Fairmont is a bad location for a restaurant at the moment. While crime is negligible, the block is deserted at night. Few venture beyond BlackFinn and Bold Bite towards Old Georgetown Road. The crowds from Relic are gone, as are the many restaurants in the green retail center across Fairmont, now slated to be razed for a JBG 17-story building. Fresh Grill and Dansez Dansez! vacated a separate Fairmont building after it was shuttered, allegedly due to damage from the Bainbridge excavation.
The result?
That block of Fairmont remains dead, dead, dead at night.
First floor retail in the future Bainbridge Bethesda building cannot open soon enough. The JBG project will be joined by a second luxury building at Fairmont and Old Georgetown, currently a defunct BP gas station.
Once this happens, the old Relic space will certainly command a higher lease, as there should be much foot traffic.
Relic remains notable for offering table service, which was later made available at The Parva. BlackFinn has also experimented with VIP table/bottle service on Thursday nights.
Luke's Lobster on Bethesda Lane is now serving cole slaw for summer.
Try this tonight at Bethesda Row.
Burger King's Summer Menu includes a new Carolina BBQ Whopper. Last night, I tried it, and here is my review.
The Carolina BBQ Whopper features a quarter-pound beef patty, thick-cut bacon, tomatoes, red onions, iceberg lettuce, pepper jack cheese, Sweet Southern dressing, and Carolina BBQ sauce, all on a sesame seed bun.
I didn't know there were so many fans of Friendship Heights sports bar Chadwicks in Bethesda.
But several people around town were talking about an apparent name change of that neighborhood institution yesterday.
I went down Wisconsin Avenue to check it out, and, sure enough, there are new signs outside declaring "Chads" to the world.
An employee told me the menu remains the same; only the signs are new.
The name change happened a little while back, I was told, but only now have the signs changed. Interestingly, Chads' Facebook and website still say Chadwicks as of early this morning.
With the name Chads, don't expect Al Gore to stop in for a pint anytime soon.
The Lauren's luxury condos "from the several millions" near Bethesda Row have some less-urban competition just outside the Beltway in Bethesda.
TTR Sotheby's has announced that all pre-construction units in the posh development are sold out.
Before you spill any Grey Poupon in the back seat of your Rolls Royce, rest assured that additional units will be available.
A sales office will eventually open on site. Right now, sales and inquiries are by appointment only.
This development has a historical connection with closer-in neighborhoods, and downtown Bethesda.
Quarry Springs is rising atop a former - surprise! - quarry at 8101 River Road, across from Carderock Springs. This quarry provided the stones used on many facades of homes and businesses throughout Bethesda. One is the former C&P Telephone building across Wisconsin Avenue from the new Post Office. Many single family homes in Bethesda's residential neighborhoods have these stones, as well.
At one time there was constant truck traffic and manual labor at the quarry. Now the work and trucks are related to the massive residential development taking shape there.
Donohoe continues to hold a commanding lead in the race to deliver the first post-recession luxury building in downtown Bethesda. There has been a slight change in the move-in date for early buyers, however: from December to early 2014, now.
The first glass has been installed in That 70s Building (a.k.a. The Gallery at Bethesda).
In the photos below, you'll not only see the glass windowpanes, but also plumbing pipes and ductwork being installed.
Exciting times at the construction site. And, yes, that is the old WHFS broadcast tower atop neighboring Triangle Towers.
Parent company Chipotle is now publicly announcing what you exclusively read here first last week:
ShopHouse is coming to Bethesda Row, to take over the former City Lights of China space on Bethesda Avenue.
ShopHouse is an Asian-menu-themed spinoff of the Chipotle concept.
The company is targeting a late 2013 opening for the new Bethesda location.
This now confirms my exclusive report last week.
MAY 29:
Theft. Westland Middle School.
Theft from vehicle. 4800 block Jamestown Road.
Theft. 7700 block Woodmont Avenue.
Theft. 10400 block Fernwood Road.
Theft from vehicle. 6200 block Rockhurst Road.
MAY 30:
Theft. 6100 block Wilson Lane.
Theft. 6900 block River Road.
Theft. 6800 block Wisconsin Avenue.
Burglary. 9400 block Old Georgetown Road.
Assault. Suburban Hospital.
Theft from vehicle. 6400 block Rock Spring Drive.
MAY 31:
Burglary. 6000 block Benalder Drive.
Theft. 7300 block Wisconsin Avenue.
Theft from vehicle. 5300 block Elsmere Avenue.
Theft. 9000 block Old Georgetown Road.
Theft. 6400 block Rockledge Drive.
Major progress at the Bainbridge site recently - here are some new photos from St. Elmo Avenue, and from the other side of the project on Fairmont Avenue. You can also see the crane from the That 70s Building (a.k.a. The Gallery at Bethesda) site in the distance.
Donohoe retains a significant lead in this race at The Gallery.
Notice the beginnings of the planned pedestrian pathway that will allow you to easily get from St. Elmo to Fairmont, without having to walk all the way around the block.
Future Battery Lane luxury condo building Woodmont View will not provide parking for customers of its ground floor restaurant, nor the promised rooftop pool and Jacuzzi (for residents), if their waiver request is granted by the Montgomery County Planning Board.
The 9-story luxury project will house only 46 units, and - by my calculation - 8 MPDUs, at the northwest corner of Battery Lane and Woodmont Avenue. Currently, the site is home to a small structure that includes a dry cleaners. Past tenants included a tattoo parlor.
Developer Duball, LLC argues that there will be plenty of parking in Public Parking Garage 35 on Woodmont Avenue, less than a block away. Duball says the on-site restaurant parking would require a costly valet service, thereby raising condo fees.
It is unclear what the effect of this waiver would be on already-tight on-street parking on Battery Lane. Last year, a group of residents organized to fight a county plan to place parking meters on Battery Lane. With at least three new mixed-use projects on the books nearby, parking pressures should reach new heights in the coming years.
Duball further argues that moving the fitness center and community room closer to the ground floor will "activate" the street. I doubt that, given that such facilities rarely are full around the clock. You really need retail or restaurants to activate an urban sidewalk through the evening.
The request to delete the rooftop pool is interesting. That 70s Building (a.k.a. The Gallery), a short distance away, will have a rooftop pool. Woodmont View will be at a disadvantage, then, with wealthy buyers seeking premium amenities.
Both buildings will allow an easy walk to work for employees of NIH and Walter Reed.
One intriguing note on Woodmont View: If I recall correctly, its original project approval hinged on the requirement that the building's eatery be a "quality restaurant."
We often hear that developers can't be required to include a particular commercial use, much less a class of that use.
But here we have an apparent legal precedent set in Montgomery County. It not only requires a restaurant, but a quality one. Should the Apex Building be torn down, the board could therefore require a "quality" movie theater be located within the new development.
Finally, the design of the building is not bad, in my opinion. It isn't exhilarating, but does have the distinctive roof accents you can see below. Certainly, it's far better than the hospitalesque design of the Trillium-replacement project across Woodmont.
Time to brush up on crane signals again.
A second tower crane now looms over Bethesda Row, at the construction site of The Darcy, The Flats and a 900-space underground public parking garage. It was assembled ahead of schedule by Miller and Long yesterday.
"Lower the boom, and raise the load!"
The closure of Bethesda Avenue at Woodmont Avenue impacted traffic around Bethesda Row Saturday. Here are some scenes during the closure, which facilitated assembly of a second tower crane at the Lot 31 construction site:
Bethesda Avenue reopened east of Woodmont Avenue just before 7:00 tonight. It had been scheduled to be closed until 9:00 for construction of the second tower crane at the Lot 31 construction site at Bethesda Row.
The crane was assembled ahead of schedule, and the road reopened early.
I don't yet know if the road will close again at 4:00 AM tomorrow morning, as had been planned. I'd suggest planning as if it will be, in case there are further inspections or calibrations that have to be performed on the new crane.
Booktopia, a shop offering children's books and a variety of toys and gifts, is the latest small business to close in the Bradley Shopping Center.
Previously, Bruce Variety left (they are now located a few blocks north at 8011 Woodmont Avenue - take Arlington to St. Elmo, and turn onto Woodmont), and Kae Robin Gifts closed.
Mostly Monograms has moved to the Westwood Center II at the corner of River and Ridgefield Roads.
So far, only 1 tenant has replaced a departed one, and that is Bradley Party and Variety.
Incredible! I've completed the trifecta, testing all 3 of McDonald's new Quarter Pounders. Today, I have a video review of the Bacon and Cheese Quarter Pounder for you.
In the video description, you will find links to my reviews of the Habanero Ranch, and Deluxe Quarter Pounders, as well.
