Author: MCS Staff

Silver Spring

Progress at 8787 Georgia Ave, Site of Upcoming MOM’s Organic Market

By MCS Staff

Back in September 2020, we reported on MOM’s Organic Market signing a lease with Bozzuto Development Co. and Stonebridge to take over the previous Montgomery Planning headquarters in Silver Spring. Since then construction has been ongoing at the new development, with plenty of progress as the new development moves closer towards its Fall 2023 expected delivery date (additional photos and video below).

MOM’s Organic Market will be located on the ground floor of 8787 Georgia Ave. as part of the planned redevelopment of the Montgomery County government facility. Per a 2020 Biz Journals article, “MOM’s will anchor the redevelopment of a government facility in Silver Spring into a mix of retail and residential space that’s been in the works for nearly six years.” As of now, there is no word on any additional retail tenants.

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Gaithersburg

Happening Today: Lakeforest Redevelopment Plan Joint Public Hearing

By MCS Staff

The City of Gaithersburg Joint Planning Commission/Mayor and City Council Hearing on the Lakeforest redevelopment plan is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

WRS Inc., the company redeveloping the mall, held an informational meeting on October 20 at the mall and additional meetings in the area since providing information on its plan. WRS purchased the core, ponds, and forest conservation of the mall back in 2019 and added the four anchor sites earlier this year, spending a total of $75 million to acquire Lakeforest Mall. In October they announced that they have worked with the City of Gaithersburg since March and plan to submit their zoning application and sketch plan in the next couple weeks. The target date for demolition of the mall and the start of new construction is currently 2024, with a more specific date to come after the approval of sketch plans. The sketch plan requires at least 35% “green space” and WRS stated that initial sketches are currently at a little more than 35%. Green space is defined as trees, grass, walking/biking areas, etc.

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Beyond MoCo

Rocket Lab’s Electron Launch to Be Visible on East Coast (Weather Permitting)

By MCS Staff

Update Jan. 22, 2022 — Due to poor weather conditions in the Wallops area, Rocket Lab’s first U.S. launch of the Electron rocket is now targeted for Tuesday, Jan. 24.  Weather for Tuesday is 90% favorable for the 6-8 p.m. EST launch window.

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will support the launch of Rocket Lab USA’s first Electron rocket from Virginia at 6 p.m. EST, Monday, Jan. 23. The 59-foot-tall Electron rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The mission, named “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” will deploy radio frequency monitoring satellites for HawkEye 360.

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Silver Spring

North Entrance Officially Reopens at Silver Spring Metro Station With Two New Escalators; South Side Escalator Construction to Begin Soon

By MCS Staff

As part of customer improvements at the Silver Spring Station, Metro is replacing the five entrance escalators at the Silver Spring Station with brand-new escalators that are more durable and reliable. Work started at the north entrance between East-West Highway and Second Ave on Tuesday, Sept 6, and after just over four months of construction, reopened on Monday morning, January 16th.

Metrorail service was not impacted and customers were able to access the station via the escalator and elevator at the south entrance closest to the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center. Now that construction on the north side escalators has been completed and the entrance has reopened,  work will begin to replace the three south entrance escalators. The entrance will remain open and the new escalators will be installed one at a time. Construction is expected to take approximately 11 months to complete.

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Gaithersburg

TaKorean to Take Over Recently Closed Nalley Fresh Location in Kentlands

By MCS Staff

TaKorean will be opening its first location outside of D.C. in Gaithersburg’s Kentlands neighborhood, taking over the recently-closed Nalley Fresh location at 261 Kentlands Blvd. The restaurant offers Korean style tacos and bowls. No opening timeframe is available, as Nalley Fresh still needs to be cleaned out in order for TaKorean construction to begin.

The line-style restaurant was operating five locations at once, a few years back, but now there are just two TaKorean locations open in Washington, D.C. According to RestaurantDive, TaKorean is currently looking to open one restaurant at a time with future franchisees, and wants to ensure success at its initial franchise locations to create a strong base for a burgeoning franchise program. The company is open to multi-unit deals, but isn’t seeking them out. TaKorean is currently casting a wide net for potential markets, and once it sees brand recognition and franchisee interest in a particular market, it expects to build up that area, Lenard said. TaKorean is flexible on potential restaurant sizes, depending on a market’s real estate conditions.

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WMATA

Metro Appealing WMSC Directives that Sideline More than 50 Certified Rail Operators, Stall Railcar Return Plan, and Disrupt Customer Service

By MCS Staff

Metro has filed formal petitions for reconsideration of Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) directives that remove certified operators from service and stalls the previously agreed upon 7000-series Return to Service plan.

Train service on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines will be reduced for customers, from every 15 minutes to every 25 minutes, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 17, through most of the week. The move is required to comply with directives received at 4:30 p.m., Friday evening of the holiday weekend from the WMSC. No Red and Green line service impacts are expected. “Safety is an absolute core value of Metro; however, we are exasperated with directives that are not based on risk analysis or facts,” said Chair Paul C. Smedberg. “The Board has tremendous confidence in the job our General Manager and his team of operations and safety professionals are doing, as evidenced by significant improvements we have seen in safe and reliable rail service.”

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Arts

Iconic Elbe’s Building to Get a New Mural

By MCS Staff

Per the Wheaton Arts Parade: Thanks to a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council’s “Public Art Across Maryland” program, Wheaton Arts Parade (WAP) has started planning Wheaton’s next mural. The site for the mural is the west wall of Elbe’s Beer & Wine store on University Blvd near the intersection with Grandview Ave.

Elbe’s has been family owned since 1951 when it was established as a neighborhood grocery by Willie and Miriam Bobrow. The beer and wine store is now managed by their sons Andy and Jeff. WAP will convene a public meeting on Tuesday, January 17 at 4pm to present the project to the community and solicit ideas for possible themes for the mural.

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Arts

MoCo’s First Full-Time Comedy Club to Launch January 20 In Gaithersburg; 50% of Proceeds Go to Local Charities

By MCS Staff

On January 20 ‘Give a Hoot’ comedy club, the first ever full-time comedy club in Montgomery County, will launch at La Mexicana in Gaithersburg with a twofold mission: to show patrons a great time, and to give back to the local community. According to the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, ‘Give a Hoot’ will give 50% of its proceeds to local charities. In addition to comedy shows, the club will also feature murder mystery and hypnotist acts.

Per the press release: The brainchild of co-founders Irwin Weinstein and Ken Watter, local comics who have collectively produced and performed in over 1,000 shows, Give A Hoot comedy club aims to fill an entertainment niche in the region – offering access to some of the East Coast’s most beloved comics on a predictable and accessible basis.

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Maryland

Maryland Ranked the 5th Worst State to Drive In, According to Report

By MCS Staff

With traffic congestion costing U.S. drivers an average of 51 hours and $869 during 2022, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst States to Drive in. Maryland ranked as the 5th worst state to drive in.

To determine the most driver-friendly states in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.

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Gaithersburg

Nalley Fresh Has Closed After 7+ Years in the Kentlands Neighborhood

By MCS Staff

Nalley Fresh has closed its Kentlands restaurant in Gaithersburg after just over 7 years in business at the location (261 Kentlands Blvd). Signage was taken down today, as seen in the featured photo by Michaela Belkin, and some contents of the restaurant were being cleared. We were told by those clearing the restaurant that this location has closed permanently. Nalley Fresh has nine additional locations across Maryland, but no others in Montgomery County.

About Nalley Fresh: After 20 years in the culinary business, Greg Nalley has finally become what he calls an overnight success. Although his path has been anything but direct, Nalley currently oversees an expanding empire in the Baltimore area. His eighth Nalley Fresh restaurant just opened its doors in Columbia and strong demand for the unique salads, bowls and wraps that the burgeoning chain offers has inspired plans for further expansion. But it is unlikely that any of it would have happened if the life-changing news Nalley received in 2001 had not inspired him to take the leap and pursue his longtime dream of running his own restaurant. “When I got that big dose of cancer, it brought a lot of things to light, a lot of things I was scared to do, like open my own place. I was fearful of that,” Nalley said.

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Takoma Park

(located) Police Seek Public’s Assistance In Locating Missing Teenager

By MCS Staff

Update: Kimora Saunders has been found safe and unharmed.

Takoma Park Police is seeking the public’s assistance in location a missing 17-year-old, Kimora Saunders, who has been missing since Sunday, January 8th, 2023. She was last seen at 2pm on the 7600 block of Maple Avenue in Takoma Park. She is 5’4, 160lbs, with red braids, and was last seen wearing white with gray Nike shoes. If you have any information that can help locate this person, please call 301-270-1100 or text tip411 and reference case #230002260

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