Beyond MoCo

The new Wawa at 9100 Riggs Rd in Adelphi, MD is scheduled to open on November 10. The location, which features a 5,619 square foot food and beverage store and a gas station,  will be located on the Southwest corner of Adelphi Rd and Riggs Rd, just across Adelphi Rd from the existing 7-Eleven and Popeyes. Wawa also opened a location at 2200 Pulaski Highway in Edgewood, MD last month.

As for MoCo’s first Wawa, construction on the Gaithersburg location is ongoing (photos below). The convenience store/gas station will be taking over the site of the old Becraft Antiques location on 355, across from Gaithersburg High School at 405 S Frederick Ave.  We first let you know the news of Wawa’s first planned MoCo location in May of 2019.  Since then, the first MoCo Royal Farms was announced, constructed, and opened in Gaithersburg and the first MoCo Sheetz location was announced.


Business

Aprio, LLP, a nationally recognized business advisory and CPA firm headquartered in Atlanta, announced yesterday that Rockville-based Aronson, LLC will merge with the rapidly growing firm. The strategic combination grows Aprio’s team to more than 1,400 team members internationally. Aronson’s 350 team members, including 42 partners, will join Aprio effective January 1, 2023. Aronson is currently located in Rockville Metro Plaza I at 11 Rockville Pike Suite 600. The combination of the two Top 100 firms marks both Aprio’s largest transaction to date and adds a physical Aprio office in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The merged companies will keep the April name and Aronson team members will serve key leadership roles in the combined firm:

Per the Aprio press release: Building upon nearly five times organic and inorganic growth over the last decade, and with the addition of Aronson’s capabilities, Aprio serves major markets across nine industry segments. The firm will expand Aronson’s strengths in Government Contracting, Nonprofit, and Construction to Aprio’s existing markets and will likewise offer the full breadth of its services, including Cybersecurity, Staffing, Data & Analytics and Wealth Management and Private Client services, to Aronson’s client base. Aprio will draw on its deep experience in Real Estate, Technology, Manufacturing, and more to provide significant opportunity for business owners and entrepreneurs in the Washington, D.C. market.


Business

United Therapeutics (UT) recently purchased a building at 8905 Fairview Road for $11.85 million, according to the Washington Business Journal via Montgomery County property records. The transaction, which closed earlier this month on Oct. 5, also includes a parking lot across the street. Seeking Employment, Equality and Community for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (SEEC) previously owned the building, purchasing it in 2001 for $2.85 Million. Prior to the sale, this past spring, SEEC signed a lease that will take it just a few blocks away to 23,000SF building at 1300 Spring Street. The company confirmed the purchase in an email to the Washington Business Journal and said it has “no specific plans” for the site at this point.

The 33,930 SF building is very close to United Therapeutics’ 415,000 SF headquarters, which is located at 1040 Spring St. The Eye Surgery Center LLC is a current tenant in the building. UT has also recently made other purchases in the area, including 8808 Cameron Street ($2.6 Million) and the former dual hotel building at 8728 Colesville Road ($50.9 Million). Per its SEC filings, UT reported $928.8 million in revenue for first half of this year ($466.9 million in the second quarter) and $355.9 million in net income in the first half of 2022, an increase from the $200.9 million net income in the first half of 2021.


Beyond MoCo

With the U.S. Men’s National Team having qualified for the FIFA World Cup this year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best Cities for Soccer Fans. WalletHub also released its FIFA World Cup By The Numbers infographic with fun stats about the competition, available below.

Back in September, the D.C. Council approved an emergency measure that will “allow bars, restaurants, and breweries/distilleries who register for the privilege to remain open 24 hours a day during the upcoming November/December soccer World Cup, with alcoholic beverage service allowed from 6am to 4am.” Per the measure, alcohol cannot be served between 4am and 6am. The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd running of the FIFA World Cup competition, the quadrennial international men’s football championship contested by the senior national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022.


Event

Beautiful venue; great art, gifts and hand-crafted items; refreshments; and meet the award-winning painters, photographers, mixed media artists, ceramicists, fiber artists, and more – some 40 artists in all. It’s an extraordinary array of framed wall works, 3-d media including sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, and fiber pieces, and unframed prints.

Among them, you’ll see:


Maryland

In February, MDTA started a civil penalty waiver grace period for tolls paid in full and has ceased referring toll bills to the Central Collection Unit (CCU) and MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) temporarily. While it seems like it has lasted forever, the grace period will end at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2022, and the MDTA will resume referrals of unpaid toll bills and civil penalties to CCU and MDOT MVA on December 1.

If you have unpaid Video Tolls and/or Civil Penalties, the MDTA will waive the Civil Penalties if your toll balance is paid in full between Feb. 24 and 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2022. After the grace period ends, customers will remain responsible for all unpaid tolls and civil penalties and referrals will resume.


MCFRS

Two collisions occurred on the inner and outer loops of I-495 in Silver Spring on Wednesday morning at approximately 6am, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) Public Information Officer, Pete Piringer.

The first occurred on the outer loop of I-495 between the Georgia Avenue and Connecticut Avenue exits. It involved two vehicles and three patients were being evaluated for injuries. The second involved three vehicles and occurred around the same time on in the inner loop of I-495 between the Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road exits. Some lanes are blocked both ways.


MoCo Government

“I am proud of the collaboration on this bill that prioritized the health and welfare of our residents,” said Councilmember Rice. “Our renters should be able to ensure their home is safe from the presence of high radon levels and the increased risk exposure brings to contracting lung cancer. I appreciate the efforts of our Department of the Environment who regularly conduct outreach on the risks of radon and provide information on obtaining and properly utilizing radon test kits. Radon is an environmental issue and protecting all residents, our renters and owners alike, is imperative to protecting community health.”

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind cigarette smoking. It is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is found in soil and rock in all parts of the United States. Radon can enter homes and buildings from the ground, seeping through drains, cracks or other holes in the foundation. The EPA has designated Montgomery County as Zone One meaning that the county is at higher risk of actionable levels of radon. Under Bill 26-22, landlords are required to conduct radon testing of basement units and units in contact with the ground prior to a tenant’s occupancy. If testing indicates a radon level equal to or greater than the EPA recommended action level of four picocuries per liter, landlords must take steps to mitigate the radon risk. Finally, if the level of radon is not mitigated to below the required action level, tenants have the right to terminate their lease without penalty.


Bethesda

Medium Rare at 3500 Connecticut Ave in NW, Washington, DC will be holding a free turkey frying event on Thursday, November 24 from 10am-4pm in an effort to raise money for  Feed the Fridge. The event is first come, first serve, and the restaurant is asking that people only bring turkeys to be fried that weigh less than 10lbs.  Feed the Fridge, which was started by Medium Rare’s Mark Bucher,  places refrigerators in local communities and pays area restaurants to stock them daily with fresh meals.  Medium Rare has a MoCo location at 4904 Fairmont Ave in Bethesda.


Gaithersburg

Mendez Rodriguez is approximately 5-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs 125 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and a mole under his nose. He was last seen wearing a blue/grey sweater and blue jeans. Police and family are concerned for his welfare.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Eduardo Mendez Rodriguez is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line) or the Special Victims Investigations Division at (240) 773-5400. Callers may remain anonymous.


Rockville

Last month we let you know that Dick’s Warehouse Sale is coming to Congressional Plaza in Rockville, taking over the space previously occupied by Saks OFF 5th, which closed in 2019, at 1675 Rockville Pike. According to its Google listing, the store will nw open on Friday, November 11 (after an initial opening date listed as Friday, October 28, and then changed to Friday, November 4th). Dick’s Warehouse Sale is an outlet/warehouse version of Dick’s Sporting Goods that offers merchandise at clearance prices. Dick’s Sporting Goods currently has Montgomery County locations in Gaithersburg (Rio) and Wheaton.

Per Dick’s: “Save Big at DICK’S Sporting Goods Warehouse Sale Store. Our outlet stores have a great assortment of apparel and footwear at discounted prices. Find products from the biggest brands, including Nike, adidas, Under Armour and more. At DICK’S Sporting Goods Warehouse Sale store, we add new markdowns throughout the year, so check back often for the newest savings. For incredible prices and savings you don’t want to miss, keep checking to see if a DICK’S Sporting Goods Warehouse Sale store is opening near you!”