ThayerAvenue.com

Wikipedia defines “smart growth” thusly:

Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in the center of a city to avoid urban sprawl; and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a range of housing choices.

I’ll emphasize the terms “center of a city” and “transit-oriented” for our purposes tonight as the East Silver Spring Civic Association discusses the impact of a proposed redevelopment of the First Baptist Church lot on the east side of Fenton between Wayne and Bonifant. Plans would include tearing down the church and adjacent buildings (but watch out! there may be HISTORY there!), building a multi-level (5 or 6 stories?) residential development with ground-floor retail. The church would then presumably build a smaller facility on the east side of the parcel.

As per my earlier emphasis, this would put density in the — wait for it — center of the city with good transit options available. No doubt, plenty of people will be opposed. I, for one, am not. Sure there are traffic issues to be worked out, but when talking about density in the Central Business District (CBD), this is *exactly* the kind of development smart growth reflects.

It’s very nice of them to get community input and reaction, but as the church owns the property, my guess is they can do whatever the hell they want to, as long as the County issues the proper permits.

The ESSCA meeting begins tonight at 7:30 at the Sligo Recreation Center at the corner of Sligo & Piney Branch. Be there, or follow the live tweets courtesy of @essca on Twitter.

News of Joe’s Record Paradise’s pending arrival carried a fair amount of buzz. I was walking around Silver Spring taking some photos the other day and they now have the sign up with paper over the windows. (Attention sign makers: CDs and DVDs are NOT contractions or possessives. Please lose the apostrophes.) The Rockville store closed last Sunday, and their web site says the Georgia Avenue location will be open in February. (Note awesome phone number: 301-JUKEBOX)

I managed to catch a glimpse between the window coverings, and this place is big. Bigger than I had anticipated, at least. The back room (yes, it’s currently pink) looks like it could hold a small band and its associated crowd.

Is their inventory going to fill up this space? Could it be multipurpose? And if so, for what? It’s a small space in front, but the back room is enormous. Curious…

Bagelgate?
According to Washington City Paper, it appears there is some testiness within the extended Goldberg New York Bagels empire. (via @SSSingular)

Finally…
This man was preaching the word and calling for donations for Haiti Disaster Relief. PA system and all. Right here in Silver Spring. Yes, I’ve donated, and I hope the infrastructure down there gets the support it needs to deliver the necessities. And with that, we have the long-awaited link between a mention of Haiti relief and a Silver Spring blog, meaning that *someone* can step away from the keyboard.

Attention people of Earth: Speed bumps are there for a reason. And it’s not to pull a Dukes of Hazzard move.

Half of the 700 block of Thayer was flanked by police vehicles last night when, just after 6:00, someone (according to eyewitnesses) decided to test the limits of the traffic calming devices. Luckily, the driver walked away with minor injuries. Not sure if the other car helped cause the flippage or if it was just a casualty of war, but let this be a lesson: Slow the hell down, people. There are no less than 12 kids living within four houses of this mayhem. Assuming speed did cause this, I have absolutely NO sympathy for the driver.

Thanks to D Stegmeier for the photos.

Happy New Year, everyone. Good to be back from the holiday hiatus. A few things happening around the ‘hood, the most important of which (as far as I’m concerned) is the opening of the new Fenwick Beer & Wine store at the corner of Fenwick and Second Avenue in the little house previously occupied by, among other things, Long & Foster Realtors. There had been some buzz on the listserv about it, so I checked it out this weekend. It’s still in the beginning stages, but they have a pretty good selection already.

Most impressive is their selection of large bottles of beer, something to which I’m particularly attuned. I normally end up going to Gilly’s Craft Berr & Wine in Rockville or piggyback a Costco trip to The Perfect Pour in Columbia. The latter has the best selection in the greater DC/Baltimore area, but it is, after all, in Columbia. And Gilly’s actually has food and three taps to sample in-store. But it’s nice to have something in the Silver Spring CBD that has something akin to it.

Among the items I’m really happy with is their selection of Unibroue beers, as well as a growing selection of brews from the Southern Tier Brewing Company. The also have a broad selection of six packs like Dogfish Head, Brooklyn, Magic Hat and more. As everything is currently stacked up in the store on boxes, I anticipate the inventory and interior decor will grow as the business does.

As for wine, their selection is small but full of things you might not find at a lot of other stores. I tend to go to other outlets for wine, though. Or have it shipped direct to DC and bring it across the state line because the idiots in Maryland still haven’t let go of their regressive direct shipment laws. (I was also told by the director of Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control Board that this is entirely legal, so until they change the direct shipment laws, I encourage you to have at it.)

I spoke to the owner, Suman, and they’re having a grand opening celebration on January 23, with free tastings of Belgian beer from 1:00-3:30om, and wine from 4:00-7:00pm. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by. Would love to see these guys stay around a while.

On a Much Sadder Note…
Our beloved Silver Spring Penguin will cease and desist operations as of this Friday, January 15, 2010. Jen Deseo has been a great asset to the community and I, for one, will miss her greatly. If you’re looking for blame, point it at Penguin photog Ron Pace, who was given a great opportunity up in New York.

Calling all Downtown Silver Spring Twitterers
Don’t forget the DTSS Tweetup – a gathering of local twitterers (tweeps?) – on Friday, January 22 at Mi Rancho. Use hashtag #DTSStweetup for Twitter promos and live tweeting. Margaritas start flowing at 6:00.