MCS Staff, Author at The MoCo Show

Westfield Continues Deleveraging Process in U.S., Currently Owns Montgomery and Wheaton Malls in MoCo

Published May 29, 2023 at 9:35AM

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has maintained its deleveraging progress with US and European asset sales with the announcement of the sale of Westfield Brandon Shopping Center (located in Brandon, Florida) in the US for $220 million and “V” office building in France for €95 million, bringing total sale proceeds to €4.7 billion. It was reported in 2021 that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) planned to sell all of it’s US holdings in 2022. Last year, then-Chief Executive Jean-Marie Tritant told investors that Unibail wants to shed most of its U.S. properties by the end of 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which pushed things back about a year. Montgomery Mall and Wheaton Mall (Westfield Montgomery and Westfield Wheaton), both located in Montgomery County, are owned by URW.

URW operates over 75 shopping centers in 12 countries, including over 40 which carry the Westfield brand. These centers attract over 900 million visits annually. Fabrice Mouchel, Chief Financial Officer of URW, said: “URW continues to achieve deleveraging progress, even in a more challenging financing environment. With these two transactions, we have now generated €4.7 Bn in disposal proceeds since 2021 and consistently improving credit metrics. The Group’s robust operational performance and strong liquidity position will allow us to complete our deleveraging programme, including a radical reduction of our US financial exposure, in a timely and disciplined manner.”

Maryland

Montgomery County Dominates Niche’s 2023 ‘Best Places to Live in Maryland’ List

By MCS Staff

Published May 29, 2023 at 8:42AM

Niche recently released its 2023 list of the ‘Best Places to Live in Maryland’ and 18 of the top 25 are right here in Montgomery County. Niche.com is an American company headquartered in Pittsburgh that runs a ranking and review site. The company is an online resource providing information on K–12 schools, colleges, cities, neighborhoods, and companies across the United States. The ‘Best Places to Live’ ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the overall livability of an area. This grade takes into account several key factors of a location, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities in an attempt to measure the overall quality of an area. Montgomery County is home to all five places in the top 5 and 17 of the top 25. 706 places are listed overall. Below you’ll see places in Montgomery County that have made Niche’s top 25:

25. Cabin John

Business

MedStar Health Named to Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and Women 2023

By MCS Staff

Published May 28, 2023 at 6:54PM

MedStar Health, which is headquartered in nearby Columbia and has multiple urgent care facilities in Montgomery Countyas well as a hospital in Olney, has been named one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and Greatest Workplaces for Women 2023 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group. The recognition is part of a larger effort to identify the nation’s best workplaces for not only promoting diversity and empowering women, but also supporting veterans, job starters, LGBTQ associates, and more.

To determine the Greatest Workplaces, Newsweek and Plant-A conducted a large-scale study of U.S. employers based on hundreds of thousands of company reviews, associate interviews, as well as publicly available information. Newsweek says that interviewed associates gave MedStar Health particularly high scores for encouraging diversity in the workplace, respecting female associates, and respecting LGBTQ associates. MedStar Health represents one of the only healthcare organizations in the Maryland and Washington, D.C., region to be awarded the highest possible five-star rating for diversity. MedStar Health received a rating of four stars out of five for its emphasis on supporting women.

Bethesda

Viamericas Relocates From MoCo to Miami

By MCS Staff

Published May 28, 2023 at 6:27PM

Viamericas Corporation, a licensed, international remittance company, recently relocated its corporate headquarters from Bethesda, Maryland to Coral Gables, Florida. Viamericas was located at 4641 Montgomery Avenue in Bethesda prior to its announced departure earlier this month and selected the Miami region because it is a major transportation hub connecting the Americas, making it an ideal location for a company specializing in cross-border money transfers. The city also has a large and growing Latin American population, which provides a natural customer base for Viamericas’ services.

Per the press release: Moving its headquarters to Miami also enabled Viamericas to tap into the city’s diverse talent pool, which includes skilled workers with experience in finance, technology and customer service. The company has been able to recruit top talent from both the local area and other parts of the United States, helping to drive its growth and expansion. “Moving our headquarters to Miami has been an excellent decision for Viamericas. We can leverage the city’s many benefits, which positions Viamericas for continued growth and success,” said Joseph Argilagos, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Viamericas. “We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to expand and innovate our offerings to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

Bethesda

Trophy Office Tower in Bethesda Changes Hands

By MCS Staff

Published May 28, 2023 at 6:23PM

JLL Capital Markets announced earlier this month that it has arranged the sale of 4747 Bethesda Ave., a 300,508-square-foot, trophy office building in the heart of downtown Bethesda, Maryland, on behalf of the seller, JBG Smith. Built in 2019, 4747 Bethesda Ave. is an iconic asset that is 98% leased to a diversified tenant roster and serves as the headquarters location for JBG Smith. The LEED Gold and Fitwel-certified building offers new construction and a best-in-class amenity package highlighted by a rooftop lounge, state-of-the-art fitness facility and a penthouse conference room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

The property has a gateway location adjacent to Bethesda Row, which features more than 70 retailers, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Additionally, the property is walkable to mass transit, including the Red and future Purple Lines, which connect tenants to the Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Jim Meisel, Matt Nicholson, and Andrew Weir, Senior Director Dave Baker and Director Kevin Byrd.

Business

Gaithersburg-Based Givhero, A Startup Supporting Employee Health/Wellness, Receives $200K Investment

By MCS Staff

Published May 28, 2023 at 6:05PM

TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) investment of $200,000 into Gaithersburg-based Givhero, Inc., a startup company supporting employee health and wellness. This SSBCI investment is from TEDCO’s Social Impact Funds. Givhero’s headquarters are located at 9841 Washingtonian Blvd Suite 200 in Rio Lakefront. “People are connected to causes, deriving meaning, value and motivation when they support a cause they’re connected with,” said Vishal Chintawar (featured photo), founder and CEO of Givhero. “Plus, the workforce is changing and it’s time for employers to change with it by creating new ways to engage with, support, and encourage employees, which is why we created the Givhero platform. Givhero is a simple solution for employers, creating ways to connect and support employees in a way that makes sense to the up-and-coming workforce.”

Givhero, based in Gaithersburg, Md., is a mobile-first solution that lets human resources (HR) teams customize, run and measure well-being programs with a social impact, increasing employee engagement and advance CSR, ESG and DEI objectives. Employers tap into the power of purpose by supporting community causes employees care about and rewarding healthy behaviors with donations to those charities. Givhero can help increase well-being engagement and reduce HR Admin time for value-driven organizations. “Givhero has found a way to support employees while also creating a better community,” said Jean-Luc Park, senior director of Social Impact Funds at TEDCO. “It’s great seeing businesses looking for new ways to connect with their employees. The platform created by Givhero has potential to support and embody a sustainable system that will positively impact businesses as well as the ecosystem.”

Gaithersburg

Milan Laser Hair Removal to Open New Gaithersburg Location This Week

By MCS Staff

Published May 28, 2023 at 5:01PM | Updated May 29, 2023 at 11:08PM

Milan Laser Hair Removal, the nation’s largest laser hair removal center, is opening its new Gaithersburg location at 826 Muddy Branch Rd on Tuesday, May 30th. It will open in the space that was previously home to Weight Watchers in the Muddy Branch Square shopping center. Milan Laser Hair Removal has over 200 locations nationwide.

Per a recent press release: “We owe our success over the last decade to our commitment to standing out from the competition,” said Dr. Shikhar Saxena, co-founder and CEO of Milan Laser Hair Removal. “We have 214 (and counting) locations in 27 states because we guarantee our clients’ results for life at one affordable price.” In addition, Milan Laser has always been a medically focused company. Its team of medical experts utilizes ongoing medical research to evolve and refine its proprietary treatment protocol to ensure all providers offer the safest, most effective treatments in the industry for all skin tones. Additionally, all treatments are performed by highly trained medical professionals who are overseen by physicians.

Education

Students at Gaithersburg Middle School Organize Food Insecurity Day

By MCS Staff

Published May 27, 2023 at 8:30AM

Model United Nations (UN) students at Gaithersburg Middle School organized a Food Insecurity Day to bring awareness to people facing food insecurity in the world, across the country and in Montgomery County community. Gaithersburg offers a Model UN class as an elective. Video below:

Aspen Hill

(POSTPONED) Community Meeting for Future Disc Golf Course at Northwest Branch Recreational Park

By MCS Staff

Published May 26, 2023 at 6:18PM | Updated June 5, 2023 at 4:32PM

Montgomery Parks is postponing the community meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 6, 2023, about plans to develop a disc golf course at Northwest Branch Recreational Park. The meeting is being postponed due to health reasons. A new meeting date will be announced soon. We apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause.

Montgomery Parks will hold a community meeting on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, from 7‒9 p.m. at the National Capital Trolley Museum to share information about a proposed disc golf course at Northwest Branch Recreational Park(Aspen Hill/Silver Spring). Parks staff will provide details about the project including how disc golf will activate this largely undeveloped park and complement the National Capital Trolley Museum.

Events

Regal Germantown is Offering $2 Movie Tickets to Classic Family Movies This Summer

By MCS Staff

Published May 26, 2023 at 4:18PM | Updated June 6, 2023 at 8:05AM

Regal in Germantown (20000 Century Blvd) will offer $2 tickets to movies all summer, every Tuesday and Wednesday for “Regal Summer Movie Express.” During the first show of the day, enjoy $2 tickets as Regal brings great family movies back to the BIG screen. This is the only Montgomery County Regal location that will be participating in the event, which will last for weeks while school is out. The full schedule can be seen below:

Week 1 — June 20 & 21

Crime

Man Found Guilty of Murder and First Degree Assault For Stabbing Two People in Rockville Last September

By MCS Staff

Published May 26, 2023 at 4:01PM

Per the Office of the Montgomery County State’s Attorney: This week, In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable John Maloney, defendant, Scorpio Alexander Stanfield, 32, of unknown address, was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree assault for stabbing attacks on two victims in Rockville.

Both trials were prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorneys Lauren Turner and Gabe Carrera. The stabbings occurred on Saturday, September 3^rd, 2022 on Hungerford Dr. in Rockville. Officers with Rockville City Police and Montgomery County Police arrived at the 700 block of Hungerford Dr. at approximately 9:55p.m. for a report of a stabbing. They located man suffering from a stab wound who provided a description of the suspect. That victim was transported to the hospital and survived.