Gas pumps installed at Royal Farms in Montgomery Hills

Gas pumps have been installed at the future Royal Farms in Montgomery Hills. The convenience store and mega gas station continues to take shape at 9475 Georgia Avenue, very close to the Capital Beltway interchange. Not much progress has been made on the convenience store building, by contrast. The regional chain has not given a target opening date for this location yet, but I do not see any job listings for it on their website as of this writing, so we'd be lucky if this store opens by late 2025 based on the current state of construction.

You could live in this Silver Spring firehouse!

Have you always wanted to live in a firehouse without the danger of actually risking your life as a firefighter? This Silver Spring property is for you! Located at the historic National Park Seminary, Firehouse-1 at 2701 Hume Drive #200 was actually a working firehouse at NPS in the early 1900s. Now it is a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom condo with everything from a Bertazzoni gas range to an electric car charger, topped off by a rooftop patio. Yet, it still retains many of the visual cues of a retro firehouse. The asking price is $729,000, according to the online listing. 

Residences at Forest Glen apartments now accepting applications

The Residences at Forest Glen, a new rental apartment development at 2106 Belvedere Boulevard at Georgia Avenue in Forest Glen, is now accepting applications. Developed by Montgomery Housing Partnership, the building contains 189 affordable units. This means there are income restrictions, so you might make too much, or too little, to live here. The architect was Grimm+Parker. It's a standard stack-and-pack affair. 

Transportation access is excellent: There is a bus stop right out front, it is very close to the Forest Glen Metro station, and it is seconds away from a Capital Beltway interchange on Georgia Avenue by car. However, there isn't much else within a comfortable walking distance of the building in terms of restaurants, shopping, or entertainment. Montgomery Hills is the closest commercial area, and it's quite a stroll to get there on foot. Forest Glen is a great suburban area to live in, but you'll definitely want to have a car for practical purposes, as the urbanization dream - rabid multifamily housing and bus lane push notwithstanding - hasn't quite been realized here yet.

WMATA replacing Metrobus signs in Silver Spring (Photos)

Washington, D.C. regional transit authority WMATA is now in the process of replacing Metrobus signs throughout Montgomery County, including the ones you see here in Bethesda and Silver Spring. The new signs sport the new route designations for Metrobus lines. Every Metrobus route in Montgomery County will now be an "M" route, instead of T, Q, or J, for example. The M stands for...Montgomery County.

Fairfax County routes will start with an "F." Prince George's County gets "P." Arlington and Alexandria have to share "A." D.C. routes will be "D" for downtown, or "C" for crosstown. Express routes will start with an "X."

It seems the famously-impoverished WMATA that is always extending its hat for Oliver Twist's proverbial "more" is suddenly flush with cash it doesn't know what to do with. That has spurred it to go in search of a solution in search of a problem. Nobody was confused about the existing route numbers; they're going to be really confused by the new route numbers. 

Two sets of new bus stop signs will be manufactured - one temporary, and one permanent after June 29, the day of the official switchover. The cost of replacing all of the signage is massive, and is being drawn from WMATA's Better Bus Network budget. A "better" use of our tax money is to refund the amount being spent on the name changes to the taxpayers of the D.C. region.

Turns out, WMATA is "really, really rich"

New grocery store to open in Montgomery Hills

A new grocery store is coming soon to the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring. It will be located in the 3,700-square-foot storefront at 9309 Georgia Avenue. The former beauty supply and wig shop building was sold in July 2022. Grocery shoppers in Montgomery Hills and Forest Glen will be the winners, as more competition means lower grocery prices.

Trump Metro farecard sells out in Montgomery County

Democrats may hold every elected office in Montgomery County, but a collectible Inauguration of Donald Trump Metro farecard sold like hotcakes at its subway stations last week. By Saturday, the Trump SmarTrip cards had sold out at every station selling them within Montgomery County. WMATA has now announced that the Trump card has sold out at all D.C.-area Metro stations, but the transit agency will make a limited new batch of them available at the Metro Center station on Monday, Inauguration Day - again, while supplies last.

It appears most buyers intend to hold onto their cards as keepsakes, as relatively few are being listed on eBay for resale. At the time of this writing, resale prices on the site are running from $17.50 to $470. Trump grew his voter support significantly in Montgomery County in 2024, over his results in 2020 and 2016.

The President-Elect, Melania Trump, and their son Barron Trump arrived in the D.C. area last night, deplaning in total darkness, apparently for security reasons, before enjoying a fireworks display at Trump's golf club in Northern Virginia. Donald Trump must surely also be enjoying word of his farecard selling out in far-left Montgomery County. Trump places great importance on TV ratings, poll numbers, sales, and other measures of success in each of his ventures.

In remarks at the golf club, Trump gave shout-outs to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose Amazon HQ2 is located in Northern Virginia. Tenor Christopher Macchio performed the aria "Nessun Dorma," which always generates a buzz on social media when Trump requests it, due to its use in the climactic scene of the political conspiracy film The Sum of All Fears.

Donald Trump inauguration commemorative farecards available at Forest Glen, Glenmont Metro stations

Tech moguls aren't the only ones changing their tune on Donald Trump. Regional transit agency WMATA boldly refused to issue a commemorative farecard for Trump's first inauguration in January 2017. Riders who had purchased a Barack Obama farecard in previous years were surprised to learn no such collector's item would be available for Trump, but the dominance of the Democratic party in the region limited the fallout for WMATA. But, lo and behold, the agency has issued a commemorative SmarTrip farecard for Trump's second inauguration, and it is available at select Metro stations.

The Trump SmarTrip card is now available in Montgomery County at the Shady Grove, Forest Glen, and Glenmont Metro stations. Signage will indicate the machine from which the Trump card can be purchased. The cards are available "while supplies last," WMATA says.

Photo courtesy WMATA

Capitol View Park yard sale scheduled for Sat., June 15

Capitol View Park, a neighborhood located between Kensington and Forest Glen in Montgomery County, will host a community yard sale this coming Saturday, June 15, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. There will be two clusters for the multi-family yard sale: One at the corner of Grant and Dennis Avenues, and the other at the corner of Barker Street and Menlo Avenue. Sunday, June 16 will be the rain date for the event.

Residences at Forest Glen construction update (Photos)

Here's a look at the progress at the construction site of the Residences at Forest Glen development, located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Belevdere Boulevard. This was previously the site of the Forest Glen Apartments, which were demolished to clear the way for the new buildings. The Residences will house 189 apartments, which will be restricted to those making 60% of the area's median income or less; a community room with programming for children and adults; a 6000-square-foot "play-themed" courtyard; a 9,000-square-foot "life style" courtyard with outdoor cooking equipment, meeting and working space, and community gardens; a community lawn; and an educational stormwater management garden. Montgomery Housing Partnership is the developer, and Humphrey Management will handle leasing for the project, which is scheduled for delivery in the spring of 2025.

Forest Glen apartment proposal to be reviewed by Montgomery County Planning Board today

One of the driving forces behind the upzoning of the Forest Glen Metro area is finally coming to the Montgomery County Planning Board this afternoon. Commissioners will review the Preliminary, Site and Forest Conservation plans for the proposed 9801 Georgia Avenue "The Glen" apartment project. The new development would include up to 390 residential units, up to 5000-square-feet of retail space, and an above-ground parking garage. Developer JLB Realty, LLC would provide a half-acre civic green at the south end of the property, which is across the street from the Forest Glen Metro station. It would also include a cross-block pedestrian route between Georgia Avenue and Woodland Drive, undergrounding of utilities, and the addition of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Georgia and Tilton Drive.

Height and density decisions are a tough call at the site, as it is right at a Metro station, but also will be directly adjacent to single-family homes across the street behind it. The developer says it is limiting the height on the Woodland Drive side of the building to 3 stories, while the Georgia Avenue side may be up to 80' tall.

The number of affordable units that will be provided is only 15%, the minimum required by Montgomery County. JLB is asking for permission to cut down a forest area at the north end of the property, which MoCo Planning staff favors allowing, which would remove 8 out of the 9 trees that would otherwise be illegal to cut down. A sewer line would be relocated to some of the forest site, along with new, native plants and trees, a slim strip also serving as the through-block pedestrian connection. 

Residents have objected to the elimination of the forested area - which is located in Forest Glen, after all. Members of the Friends of Sligo Creek informed planners that their assessment of the health of the trees, and of the environmental value of the existing habitat, differs from the negative diagnosis delivered by the developer's tree study. 

Neighbors have also expressed concern about vehicular access from the Woodland Drive side of the property, which could add to existing rush hour traffic congestion near the Georgia-Forest Glen Road intersection, and interfere with pedestrians trying to reach the Metro station or nearby schools in the morning. Many drivers are trying to reach the nearby Capital Beltway interchange that is just south of this location. JLB and County planners argue that the new signalized intersection at Georgia and Tilton will relieve some of the existing and future congestion.

The forest of Forest Glen

Planning staff are recommending approval of all three plans with conditions.