Raising the roof at Kaldi's in Silver Spring (Photos)

Kaldi's Social House at 918 Silver Spring Avenue will be closed through the end of the month for renovations. Yesterday, contractor Mejia Iron Works was on location with a crane. They are raising the height of the roof by 4' as part of the remodeling.

Max Cafeteria & Grill closes in Wheaton

Sad news from the Wheaton Triangle. Max Cafeteria & Grill has closed at 11200 Grandview Avenue. The interior has been cleared out. Max opened in September 2017.

Wheaton Plaza to be put up for sale next year

International mall operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) plans to sell most of the malls it owns in the United States in 2022, the company announced last week. The news immediately puts the future of Montgomery Mall and Wheaton Plaza into serious question; URW owns both malls.

The news might have been a complete shock had it come prior to Westfield's acquisition by Unibail-Rodamco in 2018. After all, Westfield sunk well over $90 million into additions and renovations of Montgomery Mall alone this past decade. If Westfield was still the sole principal owner, this would not be happening.

Clearly, URW is not committed to bricks-and-mortar and indoor malls, and is seeking a Sears-Kmart-style payday via selling off the real estate. Here in Montgomery County, that real estate is worth a fortune.

However, despite a Wheaton sector plan filled with developer giveaways, there has been little to no demand in the private sector for mixed-use development in the same area of Wheaton where Wheaton Plaza is located. Since the new plan was passed by the Montgomery County Council roughly a decade ago, only two smaller, private sector apartment developments with no retail or dining have been constructed. A Montgomery County government project, a taxpayer-subsidized government office building at the Wheaton Metro station, is the only other significant project to be realized in the last decade.

It will be interesting to see who the potential buyers of Wheaton Plaza will be, and what they plan to do with the property. Montgomery Mall's site has greater demand. But there is serious question as to the quality of the redevelopment of both sites. 

Will they become two more cookie-cutter multifamily housing developments like recent housing projects at Rockledge and Tower Oaks, or vibrant communities with high-profile retail and restaurant tenants like Pike & Rose and Virginia's Mosaic District? Will the new owners take the cautious approach Westfield had planned by building on parking lots around the malls first, or a high-risk dice roll like the one that backfired on Lerner, when it pulled the plug on its popular White Flint Mall only to wind up with an empty field and no income?

Montgomery County Council bucks state advice to lift covid restrictions on business

While most of Maryland reopened for business without restrictions yesterday, the Montgomery County Council resisted Gov. Larry Hogan's call to end restrictions on business. The Council met as the Board of Health Friday, after debating its authority to rebuff Hogan's statewide lifting of limits on retail and restaurants all week. Councilmembers ultimately chose not to lift capacity limits on indoor dining and shopping, which will remain at 25% capacity (although some large retailers have been able to get a waiver for the 25% cap for months), and only rise to 50% on March 26. The updated guidelines unanimously approved by the Council include the following:

As of yesterday at 5:00 PM:

• removing local restrictions on capacity at child care facilities, which follow state requirements
• increasing outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 50 people
• increasing indoor gatherings to a maximum of 25 people
• eliminating the limit of one person per 200 square feet
• eliminating alcohol limits on food-service facilities; alcohol can be sold after 10 pm
• eliminating the restriction on buffet service for food-service facilities
• increasing the capacity for religious facilities to 50%

The following changes will go into effect on March 26:

• increasing the maximum capacity to 50% for indoor dining, retail shops, fitness centers and other businesses
• permitting arts and entertainment facilities to open at 25% capacity, provided they do not sell or permit food for consumption in the facility

The guidelines for entertainment venues as written do not immediately appear to apply to movie theaters, which serve food. Only "theaters" that don't serve concessions may reopen at 25% as of March 26. Given that concessions are key to profits for cineplexes, it seems unlikely they would forgo sales of food just to reopen.

County Executive Marc Elrich cited the low percentage of Montgomery County residents who have received a coronavirus vaccination as a primary reason to not lift covid restrictions to the degree the state did Friday. "County leaders will continue focusing on what works, listening to our public health experts and acting based on the needs of our community because public health is the key to a sustained and robust recovery for all," Elrich said in a statement yesterday after the Council vote.

Strong-arm carjacking in Takoma Park

City of Takoma Park police responded to a report of a strong-arm carjacking this past Tuesday evening. The carjacking was reported in the 200 block of Ethan Allen Avenue around 8:42 PM. Crime data indicates the victim was also robbed of other property.

Silver Spring construction update: Solaire 8200 Dixon (Video+Photos)

Washington Property Company's latest apartment project is the Solaire 8200 Dixon, rising on the former site of Progress Place. When completed, it will be the tallest building in downtown Silver Spring at 26 stories. It will also include a 15000 square foot food hall at street level. It currently stands about 8 stories over the Ripley District.

Copper Canyon Grill Silver Spring renovations update (Photos)

The renovations of the exterior of Copper Canyon Grill at 928 Ellsworth Drive at Downtown Silver Spring continue. Work has advanced quite a bit since the bare framework seen in my last update. Copper Canyon remains open for business during the renovations.