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DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
25 cents
Parking lot giving way to apartments, retail in downtown
Hooked on service
County agreed to sell in Bethesda because project will have more moderately priced units n
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
A Northern Virginia developer who is slated to buy from the county a small parking lot in downtown Bethesda plans to build a mixed-use project with an underground parking garage on the site. In exchange, under the public-private partnership announced Jan. 14, the developer will reserve 20 percent of the project’s apartment units for the county’s Moderately Priced Dwelling Units program, rather than the 12.5 percent that would usually be required. The property must still be appraised to determine the fair-market value, and the Department of Transportation must negotiate and sign an official agreement with the developer before the project can proceed, said Esther Bowring, a county spokeswoman. Lot 43, the county-operated parking lot at 8009 Woodmont Ave., has 39 me-
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Taylor Leonard, 12, of Montgomery Village learns how to crochet from Ricki Cohn of North Potomac during Montgomery County’s day of service activities Monday at the county conference center in North Bethesda. About 2,000 people participated in the service activities, held to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A group of textile artists calling themselves Warm Up America! will assemble the crochet squares into an afghan for a local hospital or shelter.
See LOT, Page A-8
Woodmont Avenue segment reopens n
New parking garage also open
BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
The segment of Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda that has been closed for construction for more than two years reopened Tuesday morning. The road has been closed between Bethesda Avenue and Leland Street since September 2012 while a developer builds on
See AVENUE, Page A-8
Leggett proposes $191 million more for school construction Request is part of amendment package to county’s $4.66 billion capital plan n
BY
KATE S. ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER
As Montgomery County lawmakers fight for more school construction
money from the state, County Executive Isiah Leggett is asking the County Council to approve $191.2 million more locally. Every two years, Leggett (D) issues his recommended capital budget for the next six years. In odd-numbered years, he generally recommends amendments to the spending plan. His proposed amendments to the $4.66 billion capital improvements
program for fiscal years 2015-2020 would provide not just more funding for public school construction, but also for affordable housing and road repair, according to a county news release. It also includes money for redevelopment projects in White Flint and Wheaton and $32 million to replace the Shady Grove Bus Depot. School construction continues to be a top priority for the county. Leggett’s
proposal would increase spending for school construction by $191.2 million to speed up the construction of 14 additions, 20 renovations, and one new school and one alternative school, according to the county. Adding $191.2 million would fully fund the $1.75 billion six-year request from the board of education, according to the county. Superintendent Joshua P. Starr
said that, while he had not seen the details, he was “deeply appreciative” of Leggett’s recommendation. “He’s always understood our capital needs and has consistently shown support for it while balancing it with all the other needs in the county,” Starr said Tuesday. School board President Patricia
See SCHOOL, Page A-8
C&O Canal park mulls hiking fees Three kings, but two cakes Proposal would expand number of parking sites that charge users
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Bikers, hikers and others who enjoy the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park and its towpath may have to pay more, under a National Park Service proposal. Currently, the only site along the park’s 184.5-mile length from Cumberland to Washington, D.C., that collects fees is the Great Falls Visitor Center in Potomac. Jon Jarvis, National Park Service director, has authorized park superintendents to begin exploring
Bethesda bakeries specialize in French and Gulf Coast varieties
get a receipt to place on the dashboard, Brandt said. The entrance fee at Great Falls is $5 per vehicle or $3 per person entering on foot or bicycle, with those charges valid for three days. There is no charge for visitors age 15 or younger. The proposed increase would triple the parking fee to $15 and increase the time limit to seven days. For walkers and bicyclists, the cost would rise to $7 and also be valid for seven days. These new rates would be lower for park users west of Seneca Creek near towpath mile 22. Camping fees would increase, too. Drive-in campgrounds now range from $10 to $20 a night per site and would double under the proposal. Hiker-biker campsites
Every year from the Christian festival of Epiphany on Jan. 6 to sometime in February or early March, people around the world eat king cakes in a festive, pre-Lenten tradition. But not all king cakes are created equal, or at least alike. People in the Bethesda area can partake of a couple different styles of king cakes: the French-style cakes sold during January, and the Gulf Coast-style cakes sold leading up to Mardi Gras. Susan Limb, owner of Praline Bakery in Bethesda, makes a round French-style king cake, baked golden brown and dusted with
See FEES, Page A-8
See CAKES, Page A-8
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BY
ELIZABETH WAIBEL STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
A French-style king cake at Praline Bakery in Bethesda.
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an increase of entrance fees and establish a standard for those fees, according to a news release. The idea is to bring the fee structure into compliance with other parks in its category, such as Antietam National Battlefield. “Keep in mind that this is a proposal. If there isn’t public support for this, it won’t happen,” said Kevin Brandt, superintendent of the C&O park. “We encourage people to express their opinions.” Park officials are exploring charging for parking at other entrance sites in Maryland, plus at Fletcher’s Cove in Washington. But whereas Great Falls has a staffed toll booth for paying, other sites could have either a credit card system or one in which users leave a fee in an envelope and deposit it in a box. After paying, the user would
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YOUR FRIEND, OUR FRIEND ... Lumina Studio Theatre brings Dickens’ final novel, “Our Mutual Friend,” to life on stage.
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