Armed robbery attempt in White Oak

Three men used a gun in an attempt to rob a victim of his shoes at Stonehedge Local Park at 12121 Old Columbia Pike early this morning. They then fled on foot toward Bronzegate Boulevard, according to an officer who responded to the 911 call the victim placed at a nearby IHOP around 1:15 AM. 

According to scanner reports, the three suspects were described as black males - one wearing a white "wife beater"-style shirt, and black jeans with a gun in the waistband; one with dreadlocks wearing a grey striped shirt; and the third wearing a black t-shirt.

Grand opening weekend August 15-16 at Unleashed by Petco in Silver Spring

Unleashed by Petco is open in the historic former U.S. Post Office in downtown Silver Spring. But they'll be hosting a Grand Opening event next weekend, on August 15 and 16.

The celebration will begin at 9:00 AM on August 15 with a VIP ribbon-cutting at the store. They will also honor service dogs, and a local animal shelter. You'll get a free "goodie bag" with any purchase, while supplies last. Self-serve dog washes will be available for $5, instead of the usual $10 charge.

Unleashed by Petco

8412 Georgia Avenue

House fire in Hammond Hill (Photos)

Montgomery County firefighters responded to a fire in the 3300 block of Pendleton Drive in Silver Spring yesterday afternoon. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer said an air conditioner contractor had been "sweating" the pipes earlier in the day at the home. Fortunately, the fire was contained in the walls, and there was only moderate damage, Piringer said. No injuries were reported.

The home is in the Hammond Hill neighborhood, just off Veirs Mill Road.

Photos by Pete Piringer

Transformation underway at Ellsworth Place in downtown Silver Spring (Photos)

Charles Dickens might have called it "A Tale of Three Malls." Owners of Westfield Montgomery Mall, White Flint Mall and City Place Mall all had established retail centers, and were deciding the futures of their properties. Despite having a fully-leased mall minus the then-recently-departed Borders Books, and hugely popular dining tenants in The Cheesecake Factory, Dave and Buster's and P.F. Chang's, White Flint's owners decided to pull the plug. They would gamble the potential loss of their solid customer base, for possibly higher profits as a White Flint "town center", loaded with thousands of apartments and condominiums.

Westfield Montgomery and City Place Mall's new owner, Petrie Richardson Ventures, took a remarkably different approach. Instead of demolishing their properties, they launched an effort to hugely reinvest in their malls, and revitalize them. The transformation of Westfield Montgomery is now complete, and the upscale reworking includes a 16-screen luxury ArcLight Cinemas and several high-end restaurants. Now it's City Place Mall's turn.

Ellsworth Place is the new name of City Place Mall, and the renovation and reinvention are now underway. Ellsworth Place has good bones in its solid, classic American indoor mall design. But the renderings of the new vision for the property show the addition of a new urban energy, not unlike that in the revitalized neighborhood around the Verizon Center in the District.

And like Westfield Montgomery Mall, Ellsworth Place is the beneficiary of some hasty decision making by White Flint Mall's ownership. Westfield scored many of White Flint's top tenants, including The Cheesecake Factory. Ellsworth Place has pulled off a major coup itself, in luring the beloved Dave and Buster's to the mall.

Dave and Buster's not only gives Ellsworth Place a huge draw, but downtown Silver Spring, as well. Other than a handful of bowling alleys, and a promised Pinstripes at Federal Realty's Pike and Rose, Ellsworth Place will now have the only other "active" dining and entertainment destination in Dave and Buster's, which is of particular appeal to millennials. The ability to attend a concert by a current chart-topping artist at The Fillmore, or a blockbuster movie across the street at the Majestic theater, and then have Dave and Buster's as the next stop for the evening, simply can't be matched by downtown Bethesda for that target audience.

Yes, you are that close to
the Majestic theater

The recent addition of Not Your Average Joe's also gives Ellsworth Place one of the top chain restaurant brands in downtown Silver Spring as another draw. Other tenants who have reached preliminary lease-out agreements with Ellsworth Place include Forever 21 Red, Payless and Foot Locker. Forever 21 was one of the retailers on the online wish lists of many existing patrons of City Place Mall, coincidentally.

When one examines the tenants who will be anchoring the reopened mall this fall - including rock-solid retail brands like Burlington Coat Factory, TJ Maxx, Ross, and Michael's, one wonders if this was what the failed Rockville Mall could have been with better management. The idea of an indoor mall as part of a revitalized downtown was the unrealized vision there, during Rockville's failed "urban renewal" project in the 1960s and 70s.

McGinty's, like Ellsworth Place,
is open during the mall's renovation

Importantly, Ellsworth Place is still open during the renovation. The always popular McGinty's is still serving loyal customers. And some tenants, like Hair Cuttery, have moved to new spots in the mall.

So here's an opportunity to witness construction and demolition work that aren't leading to the end of a "dead mall", as we've seen in the photos and videos coming out of White Flint Mall recently. Rather, we're witnessing a rebirth in the transformation underway at Ellsworth Place:

Future home of Ross

This skylight is one of several
nice architectural details
at the property

Views from the skywalk
between Ellsworth Place
and convenient public
parking garage parking
on Ellsworth Drive

 

Spirit Halloween store coming to downtown Silver Spring (Photos)

The premiere Halloween pop-up chain is coming to downtown Silver Spring this fall. Spirit Halloween, which carries everything from costumes to accessories to elaborate props for haunted houses and Halloween parties, will move into a former office supply store at the corner of Georgia and Wayne Avenues.

If you've been to a Spirit Halloween store, you know that just touring the store can be a Halloween event in itself, with all of the animated ghouls on display.

Spirit Halloween will open in September. Only 88 days until Halloween!

Unleashed by Petco opens in former Silver Spring Post Office (Photos)

The historic Silver Spring U.S. Post Office is getting a new leash on life. Unleashed by Petco has opened in the building.

What is Unleashed by Petco? A scaled-down store that aims to offer a more neighborhood-oriented set of products and services. So don't expect the full-service grooming of a larger Petco, for example. The focus of the store is on dogs and cats.

Essentially, it is competing with the smaller, mom-and-pop pet stores you would usually find in neighborhood strip malls, as opposed to the big box pet emporiums off the highway in the exurbs. So expect it to jockey with Club Wags, Big Bad Woof and Paw Stop for the booming number of downtown residents who own dogs and cats. Like many local independent pet shops, Unleashed promises to stock locally-made products on its shelves.

For readers who are history buffs, the post office was built by the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1937. The building is now owned by Douglas Development.

Unleashed by Petco

8412 Georgia Avenue

Nestle Toll House Cafe to open Thursday in Wheaton (Photos)

Nestlé Toll House cookies? Say no more! But there will be more, when Nestlé Toll House Cafe opens this Thursday, August 6, at Westfield Wheaton Plaza. The chain, more formally known as Nestlé Toll House Cafe by Chip, will celebrate its 15 year anniversary the day before.

The menu includes those world famous Toll House cookies, of course. But there are also flatbreads, crepes, wraps and quesadillas. Of course, you're probably more interested in the sweeter side of the menu, which features ice cream, milkshakes, an "upright" banana split, bar cookies, brownies, and the Double Trouble - which is what your diet is in after Thursday.

You will also be able to order custom cookie cakes. And the cafe wants to give Starbucks a run for its money, with decadent coffee beverages. If you simply must opt for something healthy, they will have frozen yogurt and smoothies.