There have been some interesting Wheaton-related blog posts lately that are definitely worth checking out. A few weeks ago, the excellent Greater Greater Washington blog recently featured an entry from a Wheaton resident reviewing the new Leesborugh townhouse development. It got a pretty good review, and it's inspired me to wander through there the next time I'm walking from my house to Wheaton Regional Park.
Just Up The Pike also posts a great summary and analysis of the census news recently released showing that Montgomery County is now a majority-minority county for the first time (kind of, as JUTP points out). There was actually alot of press about that news release. For all of us here in Wheaton, this level of diversity is something that we see every day. Personally, I'm proud that our county has reached this level of diversity while still having a top notch public school system and a generally high standard of living for its residents.
Another Wheaton mention worth sharing is a recent post by Rollin Stanley, who is the director of the MoCo Planning Department. He provides a good overview of recent development happening in Wheaton, but also starts a discussion about how Viers Mill Rd through Wheaton can be improved. I'll tell you one thing that won't be improving the Viers Mill Rd 'experience'...B.F. Saul's development plans for the triangle area between Georgia and Viers Mill! More on that another day...
There are also some new restaurants coming to Wheaton. According to the Washington City Paper and Eatin in Wheaton, Ren's Ramen will be moving into one of the storefronts in the strip where Ruan Thai is located. Apparently they're aiming for an early spring opening, but based on how things seem to go with restaurants opening in MoCo, I guess we'll have to see. I'm just hoping that they open while the weather is still cool and cravings for awesome noodle soup are high! EIW and the Gazette also mention a new organic burger joint that is coming to Westfield Mall, Elevation Burger. The burger at the Royal Mile has been my top favorite for a while now (medium well with swiss cheese and mushrooms), but I'll be looking forward to trying out the burgers at Elevation. This is in addition to the Panera that is also planning an opening at the mall. Even though I'm not crazy about the Costco going in at Westfield (especially not crazy about the $4m they got from MoCo), I'm not going to pretend that I won't enjoy the extra businesses that seem to be opening at the mall because of it.
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Hi WheatonCalling,
ReplyDeletethe new restaurants will liven up Wheaton Plaza and be a plus for us local residents and visitors.
I'm deeply concerned though about Costco's plan to shoehorn a gas station into the parking lot next to its store. The Mall's zoning currently does not allow that and the Montgomery County Council stopped Costco's first attempt for a rezoning.
Costco has now started round 2 and documents they've filed show the enormous scale of what they're proposing:
* sales are estimated at 12 million gallons a year (I don't know what an average fill up is but at 12 gallons per fill up that would be 1 million fill ups a year.)
* there will be 16 pumps dispensing gas 15 hours a day
* the station will have to be serviced by 3 to 4 tanker trucks a day due to the high volume expected (33,000 gallons a day)
* there will be around 210 fill ups per hour in peak evening hours
So I'm guessing Panera won't have outside tables!
Hearings on the station should be starting around September, I'm hoping you and other bloggers will be able to keep the community informed.
By the way the burgers at the Royal Mile are one of my wife's favorites, she goes for well done with the Irish cheddar. The Royal Mile is a real Wheaton gem, I'll be there tonight to have a Loose Cannon and enjoy the music.