Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Silverspot Cinema will debut in Bethesda as a part of a development set to break ground this summer.
A 12-screen boutique movie theater is planned for the Rock Spring Centre development, set to break ground in Bethesda this summer. The theater is slated to open in spring of 2014, according to a statement released Tuesday by developers DRI and the Peterson Companies. The news was first reported in Bethesda Magazine's Shop Talk blog. Rock Spring Centre, a one million square foot mixed-used development, was approved by the county planners last February. Along with the cinema, plans call for two office towers totaling nearly 550,000 square feet, 210,000 square feet of retail space, a 40,000 square foot health club, a 200-room hotel and 161 residential units. The development is planned for a plot of land on Rock Spring Drive across from Walter…
Monday, April 23, 2012
Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley will leave his post next month for a position in Calgary, Alberta.
When Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley leaves his position next month, he'll head north to Calgary, Alberta, where he will head the city's planning, development and assessment department. Calgary—which, at one million residents, is Canada's third-largest city—recruited Stanley last winter after interviewing him several years ago for another position and after an international search, according to a Montgomery County Planning Department news release. "Stanley did not seek out the position, he said, but considered the offer too good to refuse because it provides the challenge of managing Calgary’s tremendous growth as well as professional opportunities for his wife, also a planner," read the statement. Stanley, who has …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Known nationally for his smart-growth strategies, the planning director will be tough to replace, a county councilwoman said.
Update (April 23, 2012): Rollin Stanley will leave his position as the director of the Montgomery County Planning Department to head the planning, development and assessment department of Calgary, Alberta. Original post (April 19, 2012): Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley announced his resignation Thursday, reported Maryland Juice. Stanley will leave his post in mid-May, The Gazette added. "When asked about the matter, [Montgomery County] Planning Board member Casey Anderson stated simply: 'He got a fantastic offer. A much bigger job,' " Maryland Juice reported. Anderson also provided details on Stanley's new position to Maryland Juice, saying, "It is a major city that has grown rapidly and is expected to continue growing …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Approved amendments extend mixed-use project east to Wisconsin Avenue; add boutique hotel.
The Montgomery County Planning Board Thursday approved changes to Woodmont East, a major development plan approved for the east side of Woodmont Avenue at the intersection of Bethesda Avenue. According to developers JBG, the project would function as a “vibrant, live-work-play environment” that would replicate the character of nearby Bethesda Row. The project would bring office, residential and retail space, community gathering areas, streetside dining, and a boutique hotel to much of the block bounded by Woodmont Avenue, Bethesda Avenue, Elm Street, and Wisconsin Avenue. A plaza near Woodmont Avenue, added to the project following concerns that initial plans affected community open space, “is staying the same,” said Pat Harris, an …
Monday, April 9, 2012
Beginning tomorrow, bid farewell to the parking lots across from Barnes and Noble.
After months of delay, it's finally happening -- parking lots 31 and 31A, at the corner of Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues, will close for about 30 months beginning Tuesday to allow for the construction of a major public parking garage. The project is a public-private partnership between the county and developers StonebridgeCarras and PN Hoffman, who are also planning residential and retail projects on either side of Woodmont, with 250 units and ground-floor retail. The two surface parking lots, with 279 spots, are popular among shoppers, diners, and users of the nearby Capital Crescent Trail. When complete, the garage will feature 940 public parking spaces. The construction project will also mean the 20-month closure of a portion of …
Friday, April 6, 2012
The "Gallery of Bethesda" will bring a 234-unit residential building with ground-floor retail to 4800 Auburn Avenue.
Demolition has begun at 4800 Auburn Avenue ahead of the construction of a 17-story retail and residential tower at the Woodmont Triangle site. Jad Donohoe, vice president of the Donohoe Companies, which is heading up the project, confirmed the beginning of the demolition phase in an email to Patch. Known as the “Gallery of Bethesda,” the building will feature 234 apartments and more than 4,600 square feet of ground-floor retail facing Del Ray and Auburn Avenues. The residential and retail tower is the first phase of a larger plan, known as Woodmont Central, that will bring an additional 16-story residential and retail building to nearby 4850 Rugby Avenue, separated from the Gallery of Bethesda by a quarter-acre plaza. No groundbreaking …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Post offices at Arlington Road and Wisconsin Avenue will close by June, The Gazette reports.
A new Bethesda post office will be located at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue, The Gazette reported this week, citing a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman. The postal service announced last summer it planned to close the downtown Bethesda offices at Arlington Road and Wisconsin Avenue and open a new retail location in downtown Bethesda. The move is part of a nationwide effort by USPS to consolidate or close post offices in the face of declining revenues. USPS will vacate the offices at 7001 Arlington Road and 7400 Wisconsin Avenue by June, according to The Gazette. The new retail location is “as close as we could get” to the current post office at 7400 Wisconsin, Dennis Perry, a real estate specialist for the USPS eastern facilities service office, …
38.978462
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6900 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Rollin Stanley has retracted statements he made describing his detractors as 'rich, white women,' Bethesda Magazine reports.
Bethesda Magazine is reporting that Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley has apologized for controversial statements he made regarding a group of his detractors in a recent Bethesda Magazine article. Patch reported on the controversy March 8. In the article by Eugene L. Meyer, titled the “The Future Is Looking Up” and published in Bethesda Magazine's March-April issue, Stanley called the group "rich, white women" who spread fear about his initiatives. The statements prompted backlash from the community and a call for his resignation. County Planning Board Chair Francoise Carrier condemned the statements and promised "appropriate corrective action." Wednesday, a statement was posted on the planning department's website on …
Friday, March 16, 2012
Rock Creek Hills Local Park is a poor choice for a new Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster middle school, many argue.
Although the site selection committee for the new Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster middle school only just this week released its recommendation, responses calling for a different location are already in circulation. The committee is recommending Montgomery County Public Schools build the new school at Rock Creek Hills Local Park (3701 Saul Rd., Kensington). The committee listed North Chevy Chase Local Park (4105 Jones Bridge Rd.) as the alternate site. But, as the group Save Rock Creek Hills Park has documented on its website, several public figures and groups are speaking up against the new school's recommended location. In a minority report filed by the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School NAACP Parents' Council, the council wrote that it "…
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
A panel of experts met with the Montgomery County Council Tuesday to discuss the needs of the county's aging population.
Montgomery County's population is aging rapidly and traditional means of caring for an elderly population will no longer suffice, according to a panel of experts on aging and senior adult issues. The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday met with the panel for a discussion about the future of Montgomery County's aging population. The panel's thoughts echoed those of economist Stephen Fuller's presentation last fall: the dynamic of the nation's aging population is changing— older adults are working longer and want to remain active members of the community. For many older adults, nursing homes and institutionalized caregiving is on the way out, while a familiar theme of diverse housing based around transportation and accessibility is in. “…
Arlene K. Polangin
9:27 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Great to have more theaters, especially if they show independent and foreign films and not just the Hollywood same old, same old. However, given the description, sounds as if the cost will be high if it's going to have appetizers, desserts, cocktails. Hopefullly, parking be free. more ›