ThayerAvenue.com

Tonight’s ESSCA meeting (7:30pm at Sligo Recreation Center) should be one of those rare gems where everybody bitches and moans about things and then votes. Part of me expects to see a large scale when I walk in with a duck on one side and a replica scale model of the First Baptist Church development (or the developer himself) on the other.

Renderings courtesy of Torti Gallas and Partners

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the above renderings depict the proposed development for the First Baptist Church lot at Fenton and Wayne. One shows a view from the corner opposite the lot (at Washington Sports Club). The other shows the view from a point south of Bonifant near Easley & Fenton. You can see this is the 6-story section (due to the gradation of Fenton) that allows for parking garage access and loading dock door.

The primary rub: traffic. When I wrote about this over a year ago, there seemed to be three options as to how this would go down:

• Option 1: Continue with this development.
• Option 2: First Baptist Church finds someone with millions to spare – and give – to the church to do all the remodeling necessary.
• Option 3: First Baptist Church abandons the entire space, sells the land to whoever will buy it, and the churches still inevitably get torn down for some other type of development.

During the ESSCA meeting last year, our venerable civic association made some recommendations for improvements to the site plan, and it appears some of those have been entertained, but mitigating the inevitable traffic issues is still proving problematic. Tonight, though, brings an entirely new (and mostly futile) option into the mix, via the Silver Spring Historical Society:

The Silver Spring Historical Society will present  tomorrow evening another perspective on the project plan for the S.S. Baptist Church complex in which our organization proposes partial preservation of the corner 1956 church.

Partial preservation was successfully accomplished with the 1945 Canada Dry Bottling Plant on East-West Highway, now the Silverton Condominiums.  There, the Art Deco vestibule with cantilevered staircase, soda-pop bubble terrazzo floor, Canada Dry illuminated sign, and two elevations of the structure  were incorporated into new construction.

I admit that saving the façade of the Canada Dry building was a great move and it’s really helped the character of the building. The problem here is this: I don’t see how they can support a mixed-use residential/commercial building with the (even partial) exterior of the church. Perhaps reincorporating some of the pieces into the final project could work, but the site plan is way too different.

The developers are presenting their plans at the ESSCA meeting tonight, and then ESSCA will vote on whether to support a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) to transfer part of the bulk of the project from the Bonifant side to the Wayne side. Also according to the listserv, “a small committee of residents living close to the affected area will also make a recommendation.” You know – because ESSCA can’t create enough of a circus by itself.

We all know how this is going to end up: ESSCA will vote against it. Some want to try to maintain the status quo (which isn’t gonna happen) and others (like me) believe density in urban, transit-oriented communities is a good thing. Traffic, on the other hand, may tip the scales in favor of the duck.

If I can motivate myself to sit through this excruciating meeting, you’ll be able to follow live tweets via @essca.

A while back I extolled the virtues of a local underground dining establishment here in Silver Spring. After a full schedule of test runs, they’re open and ready for business. “Dining Under the Table” is a simple concept: One table, two cooks, 6 guests. These are popping up more and more with their rise in popularity and press.

According the their web site, they’ll continue to “highlight dishes inspired by the Mediterranean region, with ingredients sourced from sustainable farms and from local vendors.”

Host an Event at Sidebar

Jackie’s venerable Sidebar has started hosting events, mainly for non-profit groups, where Sidebar will donate a nice portion of the proceeds from food and drink to whatever cause you’re supporting. Stop by and talk to Gordon or Jackie, or contact them through their web site.

So long, TBD folks

Yesterday saw huge cuts in TBD staff in preparation of a wholesale reorganization of the outfit. Sadly, this affected some of my favorite local news tweeps from @TBD, including @elahelzadi, @lisatella, and @bydanielvictor (even though he’s a Phillies fan). I hope they’ll stay on Twitter, but I wish them well wherever they go. Good luck, folks.

…plus c’est la même chose.

I took this photo last month and posted it to Twitter, but I think it deserves its own post here. The escalators, by the way, are still under construction. For those of you who haven’t seen this sign, it currently sits in the ambulance bay of Fire Station 1 (the *actual* fire station – not the restaurant). Thankfully, it’s out where people can see it – not buried in someone’s basement with a lot of other “historical” stuff that no one will see without buying a stupid book.

Also…
Some City Paper bozo decided to badmouth Columbia Heights and Silver Spring by comparing them to each other. People are up in arms in both places, of course, but I really feel like the best solution is to not pay him any attention. Come on, people. Have you not learned anything? We all know it’s one idiot writing incendiary crap. (Pay no attention to the man behind this curtain.) That’s why I’m not linking to it here. No doubt someone else will.

As the MoCo schedule puts it, this hearing will concern a “Resolution to amend the Amended Silver Spring Urban Renewal Plan – Elevated Pedestrian Walkway.”

Yes, boys and girls, the bridge is back. Last night’s Silver Spring Citizen’s Advisory Board meeting dove head first into this issue near and dear to ThayerAvenue.com. From the Patch.com summary of events:

The Advisory Board took an anti-bridge position in March 2009 in a letter to County Executive Leggett and then Council President Phil Andrews, stating “we believe that building a pedestrian bridge runs counter to the goals of economic development for the area…and neglects the primary problem of pedestrian safety and access.”

Let me reiterate: “…runs counter to the goals of economic development for the area…”

I’m not saying that pedestrian safety is less important than economic development, but I still can’t believe, considering the pedestrian traffic currently in the area, that people are going to stay away from the new library if it doesn’t have a bridge. If you’re one of those people, then drive your happy ass to Rockville or Wheaton and be done with it. We do that now, but only because the current Silver Spring library is complete crap.

I went to Calgary once and was amazed at the extensive “+15” walkway system that let us go from one end of the city to the other without having to step a foot outside. But for those of you who don’t know, Calgary is frakking cold. It makes sense. If they didn’t have walkways, people in Calgary would sit inside and drink all winter. To be fair, they probably do that now, but at least they can get out of the house and go pick up more Molsen.

At any rate, this issue won’t be brought down by me ranting in a blog post. Win or lose, I plan on showing up with some signs that display my disdain for the project. Themes in the running right now:

• Buy Books Not Bridges
• I mustache you NOT to build the library bridge (insert Tom Selleck photo)
• GOD HATES BRIDGES
• Can the Bridge. My arms are tired. (from holding up the sign, of course)

Maybe we can get a group of people to interrupt the meeting with incessant whistling of the theme from Bridge on the River Kwai. Any takers?

And one more thing…

I know I’ve been lax in blog posts recently, but I’m hoping to fix that. Between too much stuff to do, a lack of scintillating news in the area, and no motivation to go to ESSCA meetings to heckle, content has been at a minimum. Stay tuned.

Puppy Bowl Marred By Tragic Spinal Injury

SILVER SPRING, MD—Puppy Bowl VII, puppy football’s biggest annual event, came to a complete standstill Sunday when Alvin, a 3-month-old schnauzer mix, suffered a freak spinal injury while chasing down a loose squeaky football.

The injury, which occurred only minutes before the Kitty Halftime Show, followed a routine midfield burst of play. Slow-motion footage from the sideline and water-dish cameras show Alvin romping flat out down the sidelines before taking a risky crossing route to come at the football from an angle, at which point two larger puppies, Amy, a golden retriever, and Big Red, a 13-week-old shepherd mix, laid a massive hit on Alvin, who responded with a shrill yelp that was suddenly and ominously cut off.

“I heard something snap and I knew immediately something was wrong,” said play-by-play announcer Jeff Bordner, who watched as a team of veterinarians attended to Alvin, who lay motionless on Animal Planet Stadium’s turf. “We applauded when he was carried off the field, but it didn’t look good. The replay shows his neck twisting at almost a right angle.”

Sources at Silver Spring Animal Hospital, where Alvin was rushed after the injury, said that the pup has no feeling in his paws, and that even if he lives he will more than likely never frolic on his own again.

Click here for the full story.