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I think the headline in today’s Gazette “Residents embrace new hotel project in Silver Spring” might be a bit of a generalization, but I think it’s a job well done. Dr. Glee and his peeps were at the ESSCA meeting on Monday (review live tweets from the meeting here), and it’s a sound project with lots of community input. And by input, I mean people from the community working with the developer, owner, and architect to come up with a good, solid plan. This could be a good model going forward for future development.

Formerly the Moda Vista, the project, now dubbed Silver Spring Park and set at the southeast corner of Fenton and Silver Spring, will include 58 residential units in a 45′ structure, office space, ground floor retail, and a hotel (Fairfield Inn by Marriott) that maxes out the 60′ height set by the zoning amendments adopted in 2008 by the Montgomery County Council.

Of course, we’ll lose a couple of older homes on the block, and people are decrying both that and the general change in the neighborhood (echoed by one ESSCA non-member: “Inch by inch, house by house, these people are eroding, taking away our neighborhood.” Whatever.), but it looks like the plan will go forward and break ground in spring 2011.

Capital City Cheesecake coming to Takoma Park
I saw one of these Capital City Cheesecake vans driving down Georgia the other day and immediately got hungry. The next day, I got this press release:

Currently operating out of Colonel Brook’s Tavern and online, Capital City Cheesecake is moving into the old Savory space on Carroll Avenue. Anticipated opening date is on or around end of Spring/early Summer. Open kitchen, classes, children’s parties, weekend brunch, vegan and gluten-free options, Capital City Cheesecake has a bit of deliciousness for everyone!

Of *course* they would have vegan and gluten-free options. It’s Takoma Park. I hope they do better than Savory did. I never went there, mainly because I can’t pass up a trip to Mark’s Kitchen whenever I go to Takoma Park.

Your Silver Spring Photo of the Day

I can’t wait for Hook & Ladder to open.

On a different note: Did anyone go to the Fillmore meeting last night? Reports? I was unable to attend.

Two important things to note about the meeting next week: (1) Jackie’s will be providing food. and (2) ESSCA’s “Historical Research Committee” will be presenting their findings and discussing the “possible designation of East Silver Spring as a Historic District.” I’ve already made my feelings known about the whole historic designation of East Silver Spring. There is no vote scheduled to continue down this path, but who knows what will happen at the monthly Vaudeville Show. Show up and enjoy the infighting.

Also, Dr. Ulysses R. Glee, the owner of the land at the southeast corner of Silver Spring & Fenton (where our venerable Fenton Street Market holds courts during the season), will also be speaking about plans for the property there.

As always, live tweets of the meeting will go down via @essca.

The Fillmore Rears its Head
A pre-submission meeting for the project plan will be held on Tuesday, February 23, at the 1st floor atrium of the Lee Building at 8601 Colesville Road. After someone actually invoked the Fillmore at the last ESSCA meeting when we were talking about the First Baptist Church Development, these should get more and more interesting.

On a different note, as much as I am pro-music venue, I feel like a deal with the devil might have been made in terms of approval on future Lee Development Group projects for the adjoining land. More on that to come.

Blog versus Listserv
There have been requests on the ESSCA listserv for a place to take some some of the email discussions off-line to a more proper forum. Specifically, they want a blog set up and managed. I can’t help but wonder: If I took them up on it would they actually agree? I could have a field day with this one.

I already have some plans for another community site, and I’m trying to maintain more regular posts here, so I’m not sure I could even add that to the workload. Ideally, I’d be old and cranky and (semi-)retired in order to have enough time for that. But at that point I could buy some white pants, pull them up to my chest, and run for a post on the ESSCA board.

Gird your loins, folks. If you’re to believe the forecasts, we’re in for 20″ of snow. Make sure you have enough milk, bread, and toilet paper IMMEDIATELY. Now onto the show…

First Baptist Church Development
Here are a couple of the high-resolution renderings direct from the source:

Renderings courtesy of Torti Gallas and Partners

One shows a view from the opposite corner of Wayne & Fenton (already seen plenty of places). 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.

Pretty classy, you say? I agree. But, of course, the historical people say it would be too much of a loss:

“The retention of the two historic Silver Spring Baptist Church structures ‘bookended’ with the planned Silver Spring Library directly across Fenton Street would serve as recognizable and symbolic American icons that uniquely provide a gateway into Fenton Village.  To lose the prominence and visibility of these important buildings to probably another Starbucks would be a sad commentary on the continued apathy shown by this community to preserving and celebrating its heritage.”

First of all, losing these classy structures *is* a loss. But there will be almost no way around it, and I prefer to have the density in the CBD anyway. Bottom line is First Baptist Church no longer wants the church it’s in. It needs a lot of work, and if the work starts, a lot of additional investment has to be spent to bring it up to code and ADA compliance. So there are some options:

• 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.

Take your pick. Option 2 just ain’t gonna happen. Option 3 is a worst-case scenario. Even without those caveats, Option 1 looks pretty damn good.

In other news…
Silver Spring is working with the MDoT’s State Highway Administration to make particular intersections more pedestrian friendly, citing the unfortunate fatalities in November at 16th & Colesville and last month on Georgia between Forest Glen and Dennis. I hope that one of the solutions is jail time for blatant jaywalkers. You know who I’m talking about. The idiots who cross Georgia at Colesville or Ellsworth at Fenton with a blatant disregard for traffic and common civility. I will weep for none of them as they lie bleeding in the street.

Finally: Dog Shit
Yup. I haven’t seen this much single-subject traffic on the listserv since, well, someone throwing Gatorade bottles full of urine over someone else’s fence. Bottom line is some people are afraid of dogs. Others are afraid of stepping in dog shit. Still others think the leash laws should be rewritten one way or another. I’ll compile the best comments in another post soon, as things have gotten kinda heated at times. Also because I know how much the list moderators love it when I publish their “private” conversations only meant for our neighborhood. Priceless, some of them.

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.

The deal between Live Nation, Lee Development Group, and Montgomery County appears to have been finalized. From the press release itself…

County Gets Silver Spring Property Worth $3.5 Million For Free To Open Fillmore Music Hall

Montgomery County and the Lee Development Group today signed a final agreement permitting the construction of a Fillmore Music Hall on the property which formerly housed the J.C. Penney Company in downtown Silver Spring.  After completion of the Music Hall, Lee Development Group will donate the land to the County.

Under the terms of the agreement, Montgomery County receives the $3.5 million property at no cost to create a dynamic new music, entertainment, and community use venue in downtown Silver Spring, a move that will bolster economic development and the music scene for that community and the County as a whole.

The new music hall, to be run under contract by Live Nation, will preserve the historic façade of the old J.C. Penney store site on Colesville Road owned by the Lee Development Group – a site vacant for 18 years — and build a modern, new music and community use venue behind it. The State of Maryland and Montgomery County will contribute $4 million each – for a total $8 million in public investment — toward the cost of building the facility, which will be owned by the County. The Music Hall requires no ongoing public subsidy.

An economic impact analysis done by the County’s Department of Finance shows an annual cost to the State and County on projected bond issues as approximately $355,000 and annual direct and indirect income tothe State and County from sales, income, beverage, fuel, and other taxes, as well as rent, as  approximately $1,067,000. This results in a net annual profit to the public of $712,000.

When the value of Live Nation’s improvements to the County-owned building and Live Nation’s ongoing and structural maintenance work are included – as well as the value of community use and Live Nation community contributions – the net benefit to the public increases by another $951,000 to a total net public benefit annually of about $1,663,000.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Lee Development Group would also provide for free management services for the construction of the facility, a $500,000 value.

The land donation is intended to serve as the required “public use space and public amenity” that is required for County development projects. Almost always such an amenity is provided in conjunction with a development project. In this case, however, the Lee Development Group is providing the amenity up-front – long before they have a development project on the property adjoining the former J.C. Penney site.

“The County’s vision is to bring a dynamic, first-class music, entertainment, and community use venue that will offer a wide range of musical choices to Silver Spring at the former J.C. Penney site,” said County Executive Ike Leggett. “That’s why the County approached the Lee Development Group with this innovative approach, asking them to donate this key property at the gateway to Silver Spring.

“We want to bring Silver Spring revitalization across Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue. We want more customers for Silver Spring businesses and restaurants. This location will create a dynamic center of music and entertainment with the American Film Institute and the restored Silver Theater directly across the street.”

“This is one more giant step toward delivering that vision,” said Department of Economic Development director Steve Silverman. “Now more than ever, we need to take Silver Spring revitalization to the next level.”

“This complex and groundbreaking agreement is finally signed. Now we look forward to working with the County Planning Department to move this project forward,” said Bruce H. Lee, President of Lee Development Group.

More information on the project is available at www.livemusicss.com.

Just when I thought I’d be able to ressurect this image… BOOM goes the dynamite! Fantastic.

Next on the list? Booking some of the most esoteric bands money can buy. First one should be something awesome like Gogol Bordello. You know, to really get the naysayers in the neighborhood up in arms.

Next? (Thanks, M.D.)

I walked by the Fractured Prune this afternoon, and the door was actually open. I walked in and asked the status, and they’re waiting on one more inspection. It could happen this afternoon, in which case they’ll open up this afternoon. If not, they should be open tomorrow.

Hooray for donuts!

Sure, it’s only July, but we’ll need plenty of time to find costumes this year. How nice of the Halloween Adventure Costume Super Store to open up so early. Well, not open, per se, but starting their setup. It’s like seeing Christmas decorations in Target in September (which *does* happen from time to time).

In other news, there’s been a lot of East Silver Spring listserv chatter about the new Fenton Street Market going in on the parking lot at Fenton & Silver Spring Avenue. Right now it’s only slated to be open September 12 and October 3 as a sort of trial run to gauge viability. If it works, it could be a (semi)permanent fixture, until someone else comes in and pays more dough, of course. The property is owned by Fenton Group LLC, who also owns the two houses next to it. That entire area will (eventually) be the footprint for the Moda Vista Silver Spring Park development. (A good write up from our very own Ned Flanders Jerry McCoy on the subject)

The question is: Will people schlep all the way down there from the Farmers’ Market? I have a feeling the answer will be no, but I hope I’m wrong. Perhaps if some of the neighborhood boneheads would quit moaning about underground garages (it *can* be done right) and building height (increase it, for crying out loud) in the Fenton Plaza development, we could get the thing built and get more foot traffic down there.

And thank you, County Council, for another good decision: Getting rid of the footbridge.

That is all.

Well, it appears to be official now: The old Marimekko store is going to be ArtSpring: The Pyramid Atlantic Community Store. Great for them. Jose Dominguez is doing some fantastic stuff, and in a time where arts budgets are being cut around the country. We certainly need more of this.

The Fractured Constructed Prune
I took this through a “peephole” in the window coverings. Looks like there’s still a way to go, yet. I’ve had some people ask me about the name of the place, and where it comes from. So without making people go elsewhere, here’s a brief summary from their web site:

Back in the late 1800’s a woman named Prunella Shriek had owned much of the land in that area [Ocean City]. Tom [Parshall, who purchased Josh's 46th Street Market and founded the donut shop] didn’t think too much about it until one day he was browsing through the Baltimore Library and came across a book titled “Ocean City Love”. As he looked through it, he was thrilled to see Prunella Shriek’s name with a paragraph devoted to her.

Even though she was in her seventies, she was the only woman who competed with men in traditionally men’s sports such as ice skating races & skiing competitions. She was an excellent tennis player, and was county ping-pong champion circa 1895. Being older and somewhat brittle, she often returned from some of the more vigorous competitions in a wheel chair or on crutches. Thus the townspeople began lovingly to refer to her as “Fractured Prunella.”

And there you have it.

It seems like the news keeps flowing in da ‘hood nowadays. First of all, many of you might know that Marimekko up and left in the middle of the night from their retail spot at Georgia and Ellsworth. And the Pyramid Atlantic store on Ellsworth closed as well. Luckily, this creates a good opportunity for us.

Rumor has it (on good authority) that the Pyramid Atlantic store will be moving into the old Marimekko space. Because this is a “prime” location, Pyramid will be able to stay there until a new, full-time tenant can be found for that corner lot. No more shifting around to the retail whims of the season. As many of you know, Pyramid has had to give up their space for the Halloween store on a seasonal basis, so now that won’t be an issue.

On an equally interesting note, the Silver Spring Halloween store, operated by Spencer Gifts (surprise), is the second highest grossing store in the country. Yeah, you heard that right. At least that’s what we’ve learned here. The highest-grossing store? Times Square in New York City. Amazing, huh? Still confirming such rumors, but they appear to be true.

About that Easley Street Apartment Building…
The Silver Spring Penguin reported yesterday about many of the changes going on at the Silver Spring Towers, bounded by Easley St., Fenton St., and Thayer Avenue. To be specific, the story is titled “Easley St apartment building to get makeover.” I love the Penguin. Don’t get me wrong. They have the most dynamic, doughnut-loving, intern-friendly newsroom in the area. But it’s time for Thayer Avenue to put the smackdown on the address situation. Sure, there’s a lame, Easley Street street number, but the most important address of Silver Spring Towers is on Thayer Avenue. It says so right there: 815 Thayer Avenue.

If you don’t believe me, ask the riders of the 20 bus to and from Hillandale (and the Silver Spring metro). Where is that aluminum and glass canopy for the bus stop going? Yup - Thayer Avenue. Where did someone get shot a couple of years ago? Easley. ‘Nuff Said.

And now, for the brainstorm
Marimekko is empty. Pyramid Atlantic is moving in. I think that’s great, but eventually, DTSS management has to find a full-time tenant for that prime corner space. There’s certainly been some discussion about prospects, but let’s get serious about courting the righ retailer

• Bar/Restaurant. Then we could all live together forever, right? Frankly, I’d much rather open up the movie theater below the Golden Flame with food and drink, but something hip and trendy where people can be seen from Georgia Avenue might have its perks.
• Gelato. I think this has some teeth. Have you been to the gelato place in Bethesda? I would go out of my way and stand in line for that shit.
• Cupcakes. I have to say, I’m not on board with the trend. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had the right one(s), but the competition with CakeLove would never fly.
• Dunkin Donuts. Great idea, but between Starbucks and (the soon-to-open) Fractured Prune, I’m not sure it would work. Part of me, though, says YES.
• Apple Store. This is my first choice, but because of the pillars in the space, Apple won’t do it. End of story. And it’s probably best for my budget if it’s more difficult to get to an Apple store from my house.

Things that can and can’t work abound. Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Wow. I never knew the effort to name the new civic building would cause such a brouhaha, but the listservs are abuzz with ideas and demands. Several people signed a petition to name the new building after Doug Duncan, which caused a backlash from several groups - among them my very own East Silver Spring Citizen’s Association. At the meeting a couple of weeks ago, the trashing of Duncan’s name was immediately followed by a vote on whether to name the building “Silver Spring Civic Center” or “Silver Spring Civic Building.” How creative.

I thought this would be a fine time to throw it out for further discussion and add my own two cents worth.

• The Armory Center (because nothing gets people in a tizzy more than talking about the destruction of the Silver Spring Armory)
• The Promenade Building (props to Silver Spring, Singular)
• The Turf Building (for obvious reasons)
• Emo Central (the cement and lack of green space is boud to attract skateboards, and people seem to refuse the youth a skate park at the south end of Fenton Village)
• That Place Next to Whole Foods
• The Concrete Jungle
• The Bill Thayer Building (our vote, of course)
• The Historic-in-50-Years Building
• NIMBY Palace
• The Fillmore (because God knows when we’ll get another one of those)
• The Norman Lane Shelter

Your turn.