Friday, October 12, 2012
City of Rockville: The $4,700 fine could increase if conditions are not met.
Federal Realty Investment Trust faces a $4,700 fine from the City of Rockville for removing four trees along North Washington Street. The fine was first reported by The Gazette. Federal Realty, which owns and manages Rockville Town Square, said the trees were blocking the view of the signs and storefront of Dawson’s Market. The long-awaited Town Square grocery store opened Sept. 29. The removal of the trees, three days before the store’s opening, drew the ire of Rockville residents, who took to social media to voice their displeasure. The City of Rockville sent Federal Realty a letter on Oct. 4 giving the management company 30 days to restore the trees or file a site amendment plan or face additional fines “assessed as a separate …
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The long-awaited grocery store opened with a ceremony and preview on Friday night.
Years of waiting for a grocery store in Rockville Town Square culminated in Friday's grand opening of Dawson's Market. Officials of the City of Rockville and Federal Realty Investment Trust, which owns and operates the downtown retail district in Rockville Town Center, joined Dawson's Market owner Rick Hood for a ceremony dedicating the Dawson's Market Pavilion on the Town Square Plaza. Grand opening festivities continue Saturday. Click here for details. Rockville resident Max A. van Balgooy documented Friday's opening festivities on his Max for Rockville blog. Click here to see a gallery of photos. Click here for more coverage of Dawson's Market.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
City spokeswoman: Federal Realty violated Rockville's tree ordinance by removing trees near Dawson's Market before obtaining a permit.
Federal Realty Investment Trust violated Rockville’s tree ordinance when it removed four trees along North Washington Street, a city spokeswoman said Wednesday. The trees were adjacent to a surface parking lot at Rockville Town Square that will serve the new Dawson’s Market grocery, which is scheduled to open on Saturday. A Dawson's Market sign for the store stood partially obstructed by the trees, which screened the parking lot—and behind the lot, the storefront—from North Washington Street. Federal Realty, which owns and operates the retail portion of the city’s downtown retail district, submitted a request to the city on Monday to amend the Town Square Forest Conservation Plan in order to remove the trees, Marylou Berg, a city …
Monday, September 24, 2012
The quarterly finance report and votes on contracts for water dechlorination tablets and auto parts also are on deck.
Public hearings on the city’s ethics ordinance and on city aid to nonprofits, the introduction of changes to the city’s sign ordinance and a discussion of a Rockville Housing Enterprises proposal to purchase Fireside Park Apartments are on the Rockville City Council's agenda for Monday. The Council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11. Ethics ordinance hearing The Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on proposed changes that would bring the city’s ethics ordinance in compliance with a new state law. The proposed changes include: The public record will remain open through Oct. 5. Send testimony to mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov or to Rockville City Hall, Office of the City Clerk, 111 …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Dawson’s Market will celebrate its opening with music, games and more.
The long-awaited opening of a grocery in Rockville Town Square is almost here. Dawson’s Market announced Wednesday that it will open Sept. 29. The opening features two days of festivities: Friday, Sept. 28 6:30 p.m.: Rockville Town Square holds the final “Friday Night Live” concert of the season, featuring Mambo Combo. 7 p.m.: Dedication of the Dawson’s Market Pavilion in Town Square Plaza, featuring Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, Dawson’s Market owner Rick Hood and Robin McBride, vice president and chief operating officer of Federal Realty Investment Trust. 7:45 p.m.: The public gets its first look inside Dawson’s Market with a sneak peek. Click here for more coverage of Dawson’s Market. Saturday, Sept. 29 7 a.m.: Dawson’s Market …
Monday, September 10, 2012
A vote on changes to the city’s fire safety code is also on deck for Monday.
Changes to the city’s sign ordinance, the sale of Fireside Park Apartments and a calendar for work on the city budget are on the agenda as the Rockville City Council returns from its summer recess on Monday. The Council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11. Sign ordinance The Council is scheduled to vote on a series of changes to the city’s sign ordinance that would allow rooftop and off-premise signs. City staff is recommending against the changes, which were requested by Federal Realty Investment Trust. The revisions to the ordinance would allow illuminated signs above rooftops and would set quantity and size limits for off-premises signs. The changes would be limited to Rockville Town …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Mix of restaurants, shops draws families, teens and—business owners hope—customers.
Doris Prather sat outside Oro Pomodoro restaurant in Rockville Town Square on a recent evening, eating pizza with her grandchildren and listening to a band. Prather, a lifelong Rockville resident, said she visits Town Square often, whether for a morning cup of coffee or dinner at one of the 21 restaurants. “I come with my grandkids. They like to play. I sit and people watch,” she said. Rockville Town Square celebrated its fifth anniversary last month. With restaurants, stores, offices, apartments and the county’s flagship Rockville Memorial Library, it was designed to position the city as a great place to live and work. It was built for $360 million as a public-private partnership of the City of Rockville, Montgomery County and Federal …
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Rockville Town Square
200 E Middle Ln, Rockville, MD
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
First zoning revision in 35 years rethinks 1950s-era strip malls.
The long wait is over to see what county planners envision for the future of Montgomery County. The draft of the zoning rewrite project—almost two years in the making—is now available for public review, county planners announced Wednesday. "Since October 2010, planners have been revising sections of the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance as drafts for consideration by county officials, residents and members of an advisory panel," according to a post on the county planning board's blog. "The revisions are part of an ambitious effort to rewrite the Zoning Code to modernize antiquated, redundant zoning regulations and create new tools to help achieve goals in community plans," the post said. The code has not been rewritten since 1977, and is …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Hundreds turn out for speeches, cake and music marking the Town Center development's milestone.
Rockville residents and leaders stepped out into the boiling July heat Tuesday night to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the opening of Rockville Town Square. The 12 acres that has become the center of Rockville was built as a public-private partnership by Federal Realty Investment Trust, Montgomery County and the City of Rockville. Then-Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo and then-County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) were instrumental in overcoming many obstacles to get it built, said County Executive Isiah Leggett (D). Giammo sat on stage with Leggett, Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, state Sen. Jennie Forehand (D-Dist. 17), Federal Realty Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Region Chief Operating Officer Robin McBride and Rockville City Council …
39.085
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33 E Middle Ln, Rockville, MD
Rockville Town Square
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Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Gov. O'Malley heralds the first major piece of the White Flint redevelopment plan.
State and county officials joined Federal Realty Investment Trust executives on Monday as the Rockville-based development company broke ground on the 3.4 million-square-foot Pike & Rose project. Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown joined Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and Montgomery County Council members for the groundbreaking. The mixed-use project will feature 1,500 residential units, 450,000 square feet of retail space, 1.1 million square feet of office space and a 250,000-square-foot hotel. It is located less than a quarter mile from the White Flint Metro station. It is scheduled to open in 2014. The development, on 24 acres at the Mid-Pike Plaza site at Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road, is the first …
Christina Ginsberg
2:11 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The sad thing is that Rockville has built into its zoning ordinance that trees will have a lifespan of about 7 years. That determines the itty bitty size of the trees' planting area. Look at the trees on Middle Lane, expensive fastigiate oaks, which are already dying at less than 7 years. Then look at trees in the older neighborhoods, fifty years old and going strong. When someone like Dawson's … more ›