Montgomery Planning staff will present recommendations for the plan during an online meeting October 23 and an in-person meeting October 25

The Montgomery County Planning Department will host an online-only community meeting for the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science on Monday, October 23 at 7 p.m. and an in-person community meeting on Wednesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. At both meetings, Montgomery Planning staff will provide an overview of the plan including its organization and preliminary recommendations for the built, social, natural, and economic environment, as well as recommendations for implementing the plan. The department’s plan team will also take in public feedback on the plan and its preliminary recommendations at the meetings.


Dunkin’ has been making a big push lately in Montgomery County, with new locations at the Layhill Center (14328 Layhill Rd) in Silver Spring and in the Goshen Crossing Shopping Center in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village, where it has taken over the former Capital One Bank building at 20000 Goshen Rd.  Last December, we let you know that Dunkin’ is continuing its massive expansion across the country and within MoCo, and there are currently four locations in the works:

Dunkin’ will be taking over 1,500 SF in the back half of the building that was previously home to Capital One Bank building at 9761 Traville Gateway Drive in Rockville. The location will also have a drive-thru. 1,700 SF on the front side of the building is still available to lease and has also received a facelift since its days as a bank. Crews have been working on both the interior and exterior of the space, with a projected opening timeframe of late 2023/early 2024.


Stone Mill Elementary School has been selected a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The winners were announced on Sept. 19.

Per the MCPS press release: Stone Mill is the 43rd MCPS school to be named a National Blue Ribbon winner. The school was among 313 public and 40 private schools being recognized this year. It is one of six schools in Maryland to win the honor. The others are: Church Hill Elementary School and Matapeake Elementary School in Queen Anne’s County, Northeast Elementary School in Allegany County, Oakdale High School in Frederick County and Smithsburg Middle School in Washington County.


This year represents the 40th anniversary of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Congratulations to the more than 9,000 awardees recognized since 1983. Six schools in Maryland (one in Montgomery County) have been recognized in 2023– they are listed below.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools (NBRS) Program is one of the U.S. Department of Education’s longest-running recognition programs. NBRS recognizes outstanding public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall high academic achievement or success in closing the achievement gap among diverse groups of students.  Since its inception, the goals of the program are to shine a spotlight on the best schools in the United States and to share best practices of outstanding schools across the country.


After 9 years in the Travilah Square Shopping Center, Title Boxing has made the decision to move around the corner to the Traville Village shopping center. Title Boxing will be taking over the space that was home to Anytime Fitness (9725 Traville Gateway) until December 2022, next to the Traville Barber Shop.

The goal is to make it happen by the end of the year, but with only a few days of closure from the time the current location in Travilah Square closes to the time the upcoming location opens. Title Boxing owner John Sahakian tells us he is excited for the parking situation in the new space, as there will be ample parking for all guests. We’ll provide an update as things progress with the move.


Updated to include letter sent home to the Travila ES community

Travilah Elementary School, located at 13801 Dufief Mill Rd. in North Potomac, was in a brief lockdown this afternoon following a domestic incident between two people that are not associated with the school community.


Last December, we let you know that Dunkin’ is continuing its massive expansion across the country and within MoCo, with an upcoming location coming to the Traville Village Center in Rockville. Crews have been working on both the interior and exterior of the space, with a projected opening timeframe of late 2023/early 2024.

Earlier this year learned that Dunkin’ will be taking over 1,500 SF in the back half of the building that was previously home to Capital One Bank building at 9761 Traville Gateway Drive (rendering available below). The location will also have a drive-thru. 1,700 SF on the front side of the building is still available to lease and has also received a facelift since its days as a bank (photo below).


If you’ve been in the area, you’ve likely noticed a big construction site on Great Seneca Highway and Key West Avenue between Gaithersburg and Rockville at the former site of the Public Safety Training Academy (PSTA). For about a year, crews have worked to demolish the PSTA buildings and work towards a new community that will include 630 dwelling units (pictures of the construction site can be seen below).

The remaining PSTA facilities were demolished and crews began working on the construction of four (4) multi-family buildings, townhouses, and multi-family two-over-two multi-family units for a total of 630 dwelling units for a standard method project density of 0.46 FAR and 30% Moderately Priced Dwelling Units. So far, actual construction of the buildings has not yet started, but is slated to start soon. The Applicant, The Elms at PSTA, proposed to build the residential units, infrastructure, and amenities in the project over nine (9) phases.


Two fifth grade students serving as safety patrols at Stone Mill Elementary School in North Potomac have been recognized by AAA Mid-Atlantic for their efforts to help a classmate who fell from a second story banister during dismissal earlier this year.

The students, Matina Naum and Alex Rossoshek, were at their safety patrol posts by a stairwell in the school. During dismissal, a fellow student fell from a banister to the cement floor two stories below. The girls remained calm, cleared the stairwell, navigated students away and got immediate adult help. Despite their emotions and their friendship with the boy, they were able to answer many questions from emergency personnel.


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