North Flintville Perspectives: One North Bethesda

Snapped this photo of the recently opened One North Bethesda tower, located directly behind the entrance to the White Flint Metro station. ONB is one of the homes of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is part of LCOR's larger North Bethesda Center project. Phase two of the project, including a second residential tower near the intersection of Marinelli and Chapman, is currently under construction.

White Flint Metro platform retiling almost complete

If you're growing weary of walking around metal barricades and along wooden planking while you race to catch your train at Metro's White Flint station, your commute is about to become just a little bit easier. Metro is wrapping up a retiling of the platform of the outdoor station, transitioning from the glazed terra cotta tile to precast concrete pavers.

It is an upgrade Metro announced they would be making to all outdoor stations following successful testing of the concrete tiles at the Takoma station in 2009.

The replacement of the hexagonal tiles, an iconic part of the Metrorail system, is being done both for cost and safety reasons. According to Metro, the terra cotta tiles were not particularly durable at the outdoor stations, with many cracking and falling apart. Additionally, the glazed tiles could become slippery when wet, a problem that is also addressed by the new concrete pavers.

According to a statement made in Metro's press release on this issue from June 2009 from David Couch, Metro’s Managing Director of Engineering and Capital Projects,  “These new tiles also provide a safer and durable walking surface and will significantly reduce the life-cycle repair costs to Metrorail station platforms.”

Foggy North FlintVille

Snapped this photo of a foggy Mid-Pike Plaza this morning on my way to the Metro. The fog gives the shrinking strip mall and even more apocalyptic feel than usual.

Note the barely visible cranes at work in the background on the Pike & Rose development, which is slowly taking over the Mid-Pike lot. Phase One of the project, focusing on the southwest corner of the 24 acre lot, is set to open in 2014, and will include an iPic Theater. When complete, Pike & Rose will feature more than 1 million sf of office space, 430,000 sf of retail, and a whopping 1.7 million sf of residential space.