Rockville Living - Neighborhood by Beall Elementary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kentlands town center is also very barren. Why is the county building more centers???

Kentlands is City of Gaithersburg. Crown is City of Gaithersburg. Rockville is City of Rockville. King Farm is City of Rockville.

OK why are the cities building more centers..Pike and Rose, Twinbrook

What are the actual commercial and residential vacancy rates at Kentlands, Crown, Rockville, and King Farm? (Not -- what do you think are the vacancy rates?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don't like about West End is there are no sidewalks in most areas and you have to walk/bike on the streets. Also, there are hardly any houses with garages so there are many cars on the streets. If you live on one of the streets that runs parallel to 28, you get traffic driving thru during rush hours when it is backed up. There are also businesses, churches, and preschools that there overflow backs into the streets. When it snows, they are tough roads to plow.

Also, the schools are severely overcrowded and there is another elementary school projected to open up in 2018/19. This will affect some Beall neighborhoods and you may have to move schools. This is the same for College Gardens.

The Town Center is okay. We joke it is the worst town center for food. More bars and international dining. Not a lot of healthy options for kids. But the library is great. The City of Rockville has great activities year round and has wonderful services.

The schools are very diverse which is a positive but the middle school is kinda rough. There were a good amount of fights, two pregnancies in 8th grade last year, bullying etc... Not horrible but not a great middle school.

RM is average. The IB program brings the level up a few notches but there is a good amount of lower SES kids and hispanics in the school. They don't seem to have the gang issues that Rockville and Gaithersburg High has been seeing. No major violence besides some fights. Nice new school, starting to get overcrowded. Already looking to add an addition but they are in a tight location.

Rose Hill is a good neighborhood also in walking distance to the town center. We also really like some of the College Gardens neighborhoods. They have sidewalks, more/better playgrounds, walking distance to a few stores/ice cream. Most of the homes have garages. Some places aren't true walking distance to the Town Center though but easy biking distance. Rockville does have great biking paths.

Where are there no sidewalks in West End? I live here and there are sidewalks everywhere, it's one of the things I love about it. Also, walking distance to Woodley Garden park which is wonderful (check it out when you visit, OP), with a shopping center across the street with several little restaurants, Italian ice/custard, local vet, dry cleaners...wonderful in the summer to walk to the park with the kids and then stop in for pizza, custard, coffee, etc. Also walking distance to two pools (one city and one private), and easy access to I-270 and the conveniences on the other side of 270 (Falls Groce shopping center, Rio Washingtonian, etc). So much at your fingertips or within 10 minute drive here.

Did you not read the whole post? She is asking about Beall neighborhoods and you are posting about Woodley Gardens. I posted about that in my last paragraph as another place to look. But there are many roads in the Beall neighborhood closer to the Town Center and Beall ES that don't have sidewalks at all, or only sidewalks on one side.

Yes, I read your whole post. And no, I was not talking about Woodley Gardens the neighborhood, I was talking about Woodley Gardens the PARK. I myself live in West End, walkable to Beall. My children attend Beall. So everything I referred to in my post above (including sidewalks) is in reference to Beall neighborhoods. Yes, it is true that some streets may only have a sidewalk on one side of the road, but I find those to be in the vast minority.

[Anonymous]

Rockville Town Center is terrible for retail. Just put in normal stores!! How about a Panera, a Chipotle, a diner type place, a Game-Stop, a Little Gym, a Gymboree store, move JoS A Bank there, - something! No one is going to Rockville Town Center to shop at Ten Thousand Villages or whatever else they have there. That means the restaurants suffer in bad/cold weather. They need a draw. SuperFresh bailed out and that was crushing! Dawson's Market is way too expensive to actually food shop and the drug stores are not really walking distance. And the fact they planted that apartment building with no retail leading up and just a plan brick walls did nohting to gap the movies area to the Town Center which is what it desperately needed. They could have put a decent anchor store there to mesh the walkability of the area and they blew it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Town Center is terrible for retail. Just put in normal stores!! How about a Panera, a Chipotle, a diner type place, a Game-Stop, a Little Gym, a Gymboree store, move JoS A Bank there, - something! No one is going to Rockville Town Center to shop at Ten Thousand Villages or whatever else they have there. That means the restaurants suffer in bad/cold weather. They need a draw. SuperFresh bailed out and that was crushing! Dawson's Market is way too expensive to actually food shop and the drug stores are not really walking distance. And the fact they planted that apartment building with no retail leading up and just a plan brick walls did nohting to gap the movies area to the Town Center which is what it desperately needed. They could have put a decent anchor store there to mesh the walkability of the area and they blew it.

Please not Chipotle. Gross. I'm bummed Noodles and Co. left. But I agree about Gymboree, and Little Gym, or the like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Town Center is terrible for retail. Just put in normal stores!! How about a Panera, a Chipotle, a diner type place, a Game-Stop, a Little Gym, a Gymboree store, move JoS A Bank there, - something! No one is going to Rockville Town Center to shop at Ten Thousand Villages or whatever else they have there. That means the restaurants suffer in bad/cold weather. They need a draw. SuperFresh bailed out and that was crushing! Dawson's Market is way too expensive to actually food shop and the drug stores are not really walking distance. And the fact they planted that apartment building with no retail leading up and just a plan brick walls did nohting to gap the movies area to the Town Center which is what it desperately needed. They could have put a decent anchor store there to mesh the walkability of the area and they blew it.

Who would do this? There is nothing to stop these stores from locating there right now. But Rockville Town Center can't force them to locate there.

[Anonymous]

I agree there has been a lot of restaurant and store turnover.
But Rockville also has hometown holidays (fun) and other festivals/art shows in the town center. The nice thing about Rockvile is that you really can run into friends and neighbors and classmates in the Giant, in the Library, etc. Rockville may be the third biggest city in Maryland, I think, but it really does have a hometown feel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree there has been a lot of restaurant and store turnover.
But Rockville also has hometown holidays (fun) and other festivals/art shows in the town center. The nice thing about Rockvile is that you really can run into friends and neighbors and classmates in the Giant, in the Library, etc. Rockville may be the third biggest city in Maryland, I think, but it really does have a hometown feel.

That Giant on 355 is as dirty as it gets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever, PP. I'll stay over on River Road, and you can enjoy the "Town Center".

I do! We like going to Town Center, especially in the summer with all the family friendly activities. I love seeing the diversity. So much more diverse than where we moved from out West.

As for restaurants, I like the tapas place; Sushi damo is good (though pricey). Haven't tried the Italian place yet, but it's on my radar. They are opening Mellow Mushroom. I do wish they had better retail shops, though. But, it's a nice place for families to gather. I even see young adults/teens there on the green, just hanging out. We like going to the Festivals there, too. Wish we lived within walking distance.

+1. I have preschool and elementary aged kids, and we love the fountains in the summer. Kids splash awhile, then we go and eat some lunch (sad that Noodles and Company recently closed, but hoping something like it will replace it). Sometimes we even schedule the fun around getting a haircut (there's a kids haircut place there, which they like). Haircut, lunch, splash in fountain. Or a trip to the library and then to pick up a few items at Dawson's (for those not from here, it's like a locally-owned Whole Foods.) Parking there is pretty painless too, once you learn your way around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it matter which direction CVS faces? With the splash fountains in the summer and the ice rink in the winter, I think they are attracting many families. The clothing stores were never going to make it, agreed. Crown is new but I don't see Kings farms retail area as very successful. Restaurant continually come and go..

That's what restaurants do.

Not the way they do in the Town Center. It has only been open for 7 years.

Here is what has lasted since they opened in either 2008 or 2009:

Gordan Biersch
LaTasca
Thai Pavillion
Lenanese Taverna
First Watch
Five Guys

Here is what has left (or at least the ones I can remember, I am sure there are more)

Moe's
Tippy Tacos
Taste of Saigon
Austin Grill
No 82 Steakhouse
Cosi
Noodles and Co
Pho & Rolls
Carbon Peruvian Chicken
Oro Pomadoro
Fractured Prune
Robeck's
Primo Italiano
Greystone Grill
Gifford's Ice Cream
Jerry's Pizza
Stonefish Grill
Bobby's Crabcakes

Bon Chon Chicken and Ev and Mady's will be closed by Spring. And how Berry Cup and Marble Slab Creamery make it, I have no idea. I never see anyone in either of those places, even in the winter. You would think one would offer hot chocolate with toppings bar. But alas, they stay empty. And don't even get me started about the retail stores....

Yikes. As a newcomer to the area, this is disappointing. I really hope that the Town Center doesn't fail and go under, it's such a nice space. Any idea what they are doing with that hideous area right across the street from Town Center (where they recently completed Bank of America)? Are they scheduled to finish that big vacant grass lot any time soon?

[Anonymous]

The tea place there always seems to have a line out the door. I am not sure how the bakery will do though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it matter which direction CVS faces? With the splash fountains in the summer and the ice rink in the winter, I think they are attracting many families. The clothing stores were never going to make it, agreed. Crown is new but I don't see Kings farms retail area as very successful. Restaurant continually come and go..

That's what restaurants do.

Not the way they do in the Town Center. It has only been open for 7 years.

Here is what has lasted since they opened in either 2008 or 2009:

Gordan Biersch
LaTasca
Thai Pavillion
Lenanese Taverna
First Watch
Five Guys

Here is what has left (or at least the ones I can remember, I am sure there are more)

Moe's
Tippy Tacos
Taste of Saigon
Austin Grill
No 82 Steakhouse
Cosi
Noodles and Co
Pho & Rolls
Carbon Peruvian Chicken
Oro Pomadoro
Fractured Prune
Robeck's
Primo Italiano
Greystone Grill
Gifford's Ice Cream
Jerry's Pizza
Stonefish Grill
Bobby's Crabcakes

Bon Chon Chicken and Ev and Mady's will be closed by Spring. And how Berry Cup and Marble Slab Creamery make it, I have no idea. I never see anyone in either of those places, even in the winter. You would think one would offer hot chocolate with toppings bar. But alas, they stay empty. And don't even get me started about the retail stores....

Do you know that Bon Chon is closing, or just speculating? I love their chicken and would find this devastating!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Town Center is terrible for retail. Just put in normal stores!! How about a Panera, a Chipotle, a diner type place, a Game-Stop, a Little Gym, a Gymboree store, move JoS A Bank there, - something! No one is going to Rockville Town Center to shop at Ten Thousand Villages or whatever else they have there. That means the restaurants suffer in bad/cold weather. They need a draw. SuperFresh bailed out and that was crushing! Dawson's Market is way too expensive to actually food shop and the drug stores are not really walking distance. And the fact they planted that apartment building with no retail leading up and just a plan brick walls did nohting to gap the movies area to the Town Center which is what it desperately needed. They could have put a decent anchor store there to mesh the walkability of the area and they blew it.

Who would do this? There is nothing to stop these stores from locating there right now. But Rockville Town Center can't force them to locate there.

The fact the place has too much turnover, no anchor store and high rents. That usually does it. I heard Mellow Mushroom is changing their minds. I will be so sad

[Anonymous]

Rockville Town Center does have an issue with keeping restaurants, but it's still doing SIGNIFICANTLY better than in the "old" days. There does need to be more retail though.

[Anonymous]

We live in the College Gardens neighborhood and like it. Nice neighbors, walk to elem school, playgrounds, Carmen's for ice cream. We recently did a lot of househunting in different neighborhoods. The one thing we noticed was that there are more people out and about in our neighborhood (walking dogs, exercising, etc). We didn't see as much of that in the other neighborhoods. In the end, we decided we like where we are. College Gardens elementary (very close to Beall) has an IB program if that appeals to you. Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

The fact the place has too much turnover, no anchor store and high rents. That usually does it. I heard Mellow Mushroom is changing their minds. I will be so sad

Mellow Mushroom has started construction..not changing their mind. I have heard that 5 Guys maybe out too though!