Franklin Knolls – Mid Century Modern Silver Spring Neighborhood
April 22nd, 2013 Categories: Uncategorized
Franklin Knolls is a subdivison of single family homes in Silver Spring, Md. Homes in Franklin Knolls were built in the mid to late 1950’s throuh the mid 1960’s. The majority of homes are the large, family sized split levels, ramblers and split foyers (bi-levels) that were very popular styles during the early 1960’s. The lots sizes are larger than the average homes built in Silver Spring.
Franklin Knolls has it’s own Swim Club and Pool situated on 2 and 1/2 Acres nestled at the back edge border of the neighborhood in Northwest Branch Park. Eastern Middle School is an impressive Building seen from University Blvd at the entrance to the Franklin Knolls Subdivision.
The Franklin Knolls Community is entered off of University Blvd bordered by the Capitol Beltway (495) and Northwest Branch Park. Located at a Beltway exit makes commuting and traveling anywhere in the DC Metro area pretty easy from this 
neighborhood.
Nearby:
Woodsmoor Shopping Center
Shops and The Four Corners Pub at Four Corners
Four Corners Safeway
Montgomery Blair High School
Northwest Branch Park
Sligo Creek Park
Long Branch Park
Public Schools serving Franklin Knollls
Elementary - Montgomery Knolls – Pre K to 2nd Grade
Elementary - Pincrest Elementary – 3rd to 5th Grade
Middle School - Eastern Middle School – 6th to 8th Grade
High School – Montgomery Blair High School – 9th to 12 Grade
Down County High School Consortium – Choice Process Schools: Blair HS, Northwood HS, Einstein HS, Kennedy HS or Wheaton HS
Home Sales Prices and Real Estate Market Report for 2012
Franklin Knolls has 470 Single Family Homes
14 Homes Sold in Franklin Knolls in 2012
Average List Price in 2012 – $349,471
Average Sold Price in 2012 – $343,434
Low Sales Price – $205,000 for a 3 Bedroom 1 and 1/2 Bath 2 Level Rambler built in 1951 and in need of total rehabilitation.
High Sales Price – $497,000 for a 3 Bedroom 3 Full Bath 4 Level Split Level built in 1963 on a Rare 1.80 Acre Lot.
Average Days on Market in 2012 for a House in Franklin Knolls was 51 Days
Search all Homes for Sale in Franklin Knolls Silver Spring MD 20901
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March Madness Invented by Silver Spring Resident – Lefty Driesell
March 15th, 2013 Categories: Famous Silver Spring People
Unless you are a big NCAA enthusiast or a University of Maryland “Terrapins ” fan, you may have never heard of Lefty Driesell. He was the University of Maryland’s Legendary Basketball Coach from 1969 to 1986. At Maryland, Driesell began the now nationwide tradition of Midnight Madness.
Built in 1968, this very cool, big contemporary split level was the home of Charles “Lefty” Driesell until he sold it and moved in 1988.
This unique custom built home is on a short, no-thru street in the subdivision known as Valleybrook. The home is set on a densely wooded 1/2 acre within walking distance to Springbrook High School.
The bright main level of the house has vaulted ceilings and extra windows everywhere. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths on the upper level; plus an extra bedroom and full bathroom in the lower level. The backyard is level and private, it has (of course) a half court basketball court. The house overlooks Northwest Branch Park.
More on highlights of Lefty’s career and my all time favorite quote from him:
“The Harder you work, the Luckier you get” . . . Lefty Driesell
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Northwood Park Real Estate and Home Sales – Silver Spring
February 26th, 2013 Categories: Silver Spring Neighborhoods
Northwood Park is the Oldest Subdivision in the North Four Corners area of Silver Spring. Northwood Park sits at the corner of Colesville Road (Route 29) and University Blvd. The oldest homes in Northwood Park were built in the mid 1930’s by Garden Homes Inc. The heavily wooded area has one of the largest and most popular Neighborhood Parks - North Four Corners Local Park. Northwood Park is part of the North Four Corners Citizens Association.
The houses are all unique, filled with the quaint charm, character and architectural details of a bygone era. One house was a home that was built to be exhibited in the 1939 World’s Fair in the “Town of Tommorow”. This home was recently featured at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. Several other houses were used as model “showcase homes” by the Washington Gas Light Company in the 1930’s.
Northwood Park is a communter’s dream! With a location just seconds to an entrance to the Capitol Beltway (495), one can be anywhere in the Washington DC and Baltimore Metro Areas with relative ease.
The heavily wooded, hilly neighborhood has streets with names ending in wood, such as Northwood Avenue, Southwood, Tmberwood, Pinewood and Edgewood.
Nearby
Within walking distance:
Woodmoor Shopping Center
Four Corners Safeway
New – Red Maple Restaurant
Newly Re-Opened – Four Corners Pub (Beloved by locals for many many years)
Montgomery Blair High School
4 Corners Neighborhood Park
Northwest Branch Park
Sligo Creek Park
Within Minutes by Car:
Forest Glen METRO Station
Wheaton and Silver Spring METRO Stations
Burnt Mills Shopping Center
Downtown Silver Spring
University of Maryland
Downtown Washington DC and Bethesda
Holy Cross Hospital
White OaK Shopping Center
Martin Luther King Jr Park and Pool
Wheaton Regional Park with Brookside Gardens and the Wheaton Riding Stable
Public Schools serving the Northwood Park Neighborhood:
Elementary - Forest Knolls Elementary – K – 5th
Middle School - Silver Spring International – 6th – 8th Grades
High School - Northwood High School or Downcounty High School Consortium (Choice of Wheaton High, Einstien, Montgomery Blair or Kennedy High Schools)
Northwood Park Real Estate Market Report
There are 324 Homes in Northwood Park Subdivision
Number of Homes Sold in 2012 – 16
Property Prices for 2012
Average List (Asking) Price – $378,429 Average Sold Price – $372,184
Highest Sold Price – $540,000
Lowest Sold Price – $225,000
Average Days on the Market – 48
In the early 1950’s and into the early 1960’s, many more homes were built in several in new subdivisions carved out of the North Four Corners area, next to Northwood Park. These Subdivisions are: Northwood Knolls, Northwood Park View and Northwood Village.
Homes for Sale in the Northwood area of Silver Spring, Maryland 20901
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Condo Prices in Downtown Silver Spring
February 15th, 2013 Categories: Silver Spring Condos
48 Newer Condominiums (Condos aged 7 years or less) were Sold in Downtown Silver Spring, 
MD in 2012. Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information Services for Realtors.
19 – 1 Bedroom Condos were SOLD - The average List (Asking) Price for a One Bedroom was $249,470 and the Average SOLD Price was $245,733. The average time a one bedroom took to sell (get a contract) was 76 Days
Lowest 1 Bedroom Sale 2012 – $158,500 (an MPDU unit in the Cresent)
Highest 1 Bedroom Sale – $340,000 (a Unit in the Silverton)
25 – 2 Bedroom Condos were SOLD – The average List (Asking) Price for a two Bedroom was $337,056 and the Average SOLD Price was $331,030. The average time on the market for a Two Bedroom was 46 Days
Lowest 2 Bedroom Sale in 2012 – $240,000 (Unit in the Aurora)
Highest 2 Bedroom Sale – $440,000 (Unit in the Silverton)
4 – 3 Bedroom Condos were SOLD – The Average List Price for a three Bedroom Unit was $498,500 and the Average SOLD Price was – $499,000 The average Days on the Market for a 3 Bedroom Unit was78 Days
Lowest 3 Bedroom Sale – $385,000 ( 3 Bedroom 2 Bath unit in Eastern Village)
Highest 3 Bedroom – $785,000 (3 Bedroom 3 Bath Penthouse in the MICA)
Most of the newer condominiums in Downtown Silver Spring have ammentities that include granite counters, stainless steel appliances and large closets. All of the condos in Downtown Silver Spring are Pet Friendly!
Prices are going up. Because of low inventory, the Silver Srping condo market is starting to favor the seller.
Search for all Newer Condos for Sale in Downtown Silver Spring, MD 20910
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Visit Velati’s for Valentines Day Candy
February 14th, 2013 Categories: Silver Spring Businesses
Want something special for Valentines Day? Candy from Velati’s is special and different. Not your typical Russell Stover or Whitman’s box of Candy. The candy is make fresh right before your eyes in the little shop on the corner of Wayne and Georgia Avenues. This is famous homemade candy with a celebrated history, from a real old fashioned candy store in Downtown Silver Spring – Velati’s
Velati’s specializes in caramels. My recommendation for Valentines Day, Go for the Chocolate Covered Caramels, they are out of this world!
8408 B Georgia Avenue
Downtown (Corner of Georgia and Wayne Ave)
Walking Distance from Silver Spring Metro
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 578-8612
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The Paczki Have Arrived! – Get Them at Woodmoor Bakery 4 Corners
February 11th, 2013 Categories: Silver Spring Businesses
The tradition is that the Tuesday before Lent is a time to indulge or Fatten up before tightening belts and giving up things for Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday. It is the Fat Tuesday associated with Mardi Gras and it is the Shrove Tuesday associated with Pancake Suppers or Pancake Day.
This Tuesday February 13th is also Paczki Day, a Polish tradition of making and eating Paczki the day before Lent starts.
The best place to get Paczki in Silver Spring, is at the Woodmoor Bakery/Pastry Shop in the Woodmoor Shopping Center at Four Corners. They make the most divine, decadent Paczki anywhere in the area. They are the filled, rolled in powdered sugar type paczki and they are GOOD.
It is best to get there early – They start making them a few weeks before Paczki Day, so they 
should have them NOW! I got there on Fat Tuesday last year at noon and they only had 5 Paczki Left!
Here’s Hoping the Paczki are plentiful, there is no long line and they don’t run out!
Check out reviews of the Bakery and the Paczki at the Woodmoor Pastry Shop.
Woodmoor Bakery
10127 Colesville Road
Woodmoor Shopping Center
Silver Spring, MD 20901
(301) 593-7667
* The Woodmoor Pastry Shop also makes fantastic King Cakes for Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Celebrations
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Takoma Park, Maryland Home Prices – 2012 Review
February 3rd, 2013 Categories: Takoma Park Real Estate
Takoma Park, or “Granola Park” as some locals call it now, was the first planned suburban community of Washington, DC. Founded in 1883, by Benjamin Franklin Gilbert, Takoma Park was developed along a branch of the B & O railroad. It was originally conceived as a “summer resort” area, as a healthful clean-water alternative to Washington, DC’s malarial swamps. With a population of 18,000 it rests along the upper northeast boundary of D.C. Takoma Park in Montgomery County has it’s own city government, police department, library and is served by Montgomery County Schools
Religion and politics has shaped the Takoma Park community. From the early 1900’s to 1990, Takoma Park was the world headquarters of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Two of the church’s institutions remain today, The Washington Adventist Hospital, and Columbia Union College. Takoma Park is a perfect ”bedroom community” for young professionals. It is a 15 minute commute to the middle of Downtown D.C. by Metro from the Takoma Station on the Red Line.
Takoma Park is a friendly “laid back”, independent, small town with liberal politics. The residents are politically active and have put in place a number of progressive measures such as the declaration of a nuclear-free zone and legal recognition of non-marital partnerships.
The Old Town offers an eclectic, funky mix of small, locally owned specialty shops and small restaurants, cafes and a verypopular FOOD COOP. There is a year round farmers market every Sunday in the center of town. To celebrate July 4th, the town puts on its own parade and its own fireworks display.
In 2012 there were 184 sales of Single Family Detached homes in Takoma Park, Montgomery County, 
Maryland:
LOWEST Sale Price - $95,000 for a 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath, 1 Level Brick Cottage - A Foreclosure Sale in need of total rehab built in 1947 in the Carole Highlands Neighborhood
HIGHEST Sale Price - $1,075,000 for a 6 Bedroom, 5 Bath Victorian origianally built in 1904. A restoration on almost a one acre lot in the heart of the Historic District.
The Average List price for a single family home in Takoma Park in 2012 was $448,875.
The Average SOLD price for a single family home in Takom Park in 2012 was $441,822
In 2012 the Average Days on the Market for a single family home in Takoma Park, MD was 57
Takoma Park remains popular with today’s home buyers and has retained it’s home values – The Average Sales Price was UP 1.9% from 2011 and the days on Market is Down 10 days from 2011.
Search all Homes for Sale Now in Takoma Park, Maryland, 20912
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New Homes to be Built in 4 Corners Silver Spring
January 25th, 2013 Categories: New Construction
Plans for the big vacant lot on the corner of Brunett Avenue and University Blvd in the South 4 Corners Neighborhood of Silver Spring have CHANGED… .AGAIN!
The 3/4 acre lot with house was purchased in 2005 by a Builder. The sprawling old 1940’s era house on the lot was a Dentist’s Office for over 40 years. The house was razed in 2007 to make way for 6 new Luxury Homes.
The homes that were planned were HUGE with huge prices to go with them, in the upper $600,000’s to 800,000’s.
Then came the market downturn of 2008 and plans for these home had to be scraped.
The lot has remained vacant since 2007 and the Builder has been trying to get a zoning exception for a Day Care Center. Plans for a Day Care Center were
opposed by the neighborhood residents. The County, the Residents and the Builder have been going back and forth about this ever since.
Today the Builder has listed the plans for 3 of 5 new homes in the Metropolitan Regional Information System
(MRIS) The homes are listed with the builder/owner who is associated with REMAX.
The homes planned this time are smaller, more modest and less less expensive. These new homes are a much better fit with the homes in the surrounding neighborhood of South Four Corners than the Huge Luxury Homes would have been. The prices for the 3 Homes that are listed range from $499,000 to $539,900. The homes have a lot of what the older homes in this area lack – Way more square footage, Big, new kitchens, Larger closets, 3 full baths, 4 Bedrooms and garages. These prices for new construction, in this area of Silver Spring are in line with todays market.
I think this time, with the way the Silver Spring real estate market is now, the planned homes will probably be a big success.
Check out the 5 New Listings with site elevations and floor plans included
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Silver Spring Real Estate Prices of 2012
January 17th, 2013 Categories: silver spring real estate
Silver Spring is located along the north east border of Washington D.C., an area that was named for a spring with sparkling bits of mica. The eastern arm of the Metro Red Line serves four metro stops in Silver Spring, the Silver Spring station, Forest Glen station, Wheaton Station and the Glenmont station.
Silver Spring is a huge, sprawling unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland with 7 zip codes that use the name “Silver Spring” as their postal address. If Silver Spring were a real Incorportated city, it would be the second largest city in Maryland, just behind Baltimore! Silver Spring sprawls out from the Washington, DC border at Downtown Silver Spring to the east touching Prince Georges County, Md., to the north touching Howard County, Md and to the west/northwest touching Bethesda, Rockville, Kensington and Rock Creek Park in DC and Maryland.
Each of the 7 zip code areas that make up Silver Spring, has it’s own unique characteristics, identity, flavor and housing types. The zip codes in Silver Spring are: 20901 (4 Corners Area), 20902 (some times called Wheaton), 20903 ( Hillandale and Burnt Mills Areas), 20904 (sometimes called the White Oak or Colesville areas), 20905 (Ashton, Spencerville, Cloverly or Greater Silver Spring areas), 20906 (Aspen Hill, Leisure World) and lastly 20910 (Inside Beltway, Downtown Silver Spring).
2012 Sales in Silver Spring, Maryland (All Zip Codes):
According to our Multiple Listing Service – MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information System)
Condominiums
There were 463 Condos Sold in Silver Spring, Maryland in 2012
Lowest Sales Price for a Condo – $39,900 for a 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Condo Foreclosure ( needed total rehab) in the Heritage Woods Condo Development, Aspen Hill zip 20906.
Highest Sales Price for a Condo – $785,000 for a 3 Bedroom, 3 1/2 Bath (3,990 sq ft) Penthouse – the MICA Building, Dowtown Silver Spring 20910.
Search all Condos for Sale in Silver Spring, Maryland
Town Homes
There were 373 Town Houses Sold in Silver Spring in 2012
Lowest Sales Price for a Town House – $104,000 for a 3 Bedroom 3 Bath Town Home, built in 1968 in the Burnt Mills Townhome Development, 20901
Highest Sold Price for a Town House – $645,000 for a 4 Bedroom 4 1/2 Bath End Unit with 2 car garage Townhome, built 2008 in the Courts of Woodside Development, Downtown Silver Spring, 20910
Search all Town Homes for Sale in Silver Spring, Maryland
Single Family Homes
There werre 1568 Single Family Detatched Homes Sold in Silver Spring in 2012
Lowest Sales Price for a Single Family House – $86,199 for a 2 Bedroom, 1 1/2 Bath Foreclosure House built in 1946, Viers Mill Village Subdivision, 20906
Highest Sales Price for a Single Family House – $1,015,000 for a 4 Bedroom, 3 1/2 Bath, built 1929 on a One Acre Lot in Woodside Park, Downtown Silver Spring, 20910
Search all Single Family Homes for Sale in Silver Spring, Maryland
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Roy Rogers Rides Back into Silver Spring Again!!
December 19th, 2012 Categories: Silver Spring Takoma Park Restaurants
Roy’s Double R Bar Burgers, Real Roast Beef Sandwiches and Strawberry Shortcakes are back in the Silver Spring Area.
Technically, it is not in Silver Spring, but it’s close enough ! ! !
This Roy Rogers is in Burtonsville (just up the pike, at the edge of Silver Spring) It is in a newly redeveloped Shopping Center. This shopping center is located at Old Columbia Pike & Route 29 and just got a face lift. It’s the same place where that wonderful Dutch Country Farmers Market (that has since moved to Laurel) used to be.
I know people that still talk about and lament the loss of the Four Corners Roy Rogers and the one that was in White Oak. Both were replaced by McDonalds at least a decade ago or more.
I guess you don’t realize how much you liked something until it is gone from the area.
This Roy Rogers will be open this Friday, December 21st, 2012 or so they said. I stuck my camera inside the place to get a shot of the interior.
If you’ve been longing for your Roy Rogers favorites you will not have to drive to some obscure location like Solomon’s Island, Westminster or Frederick, Maryland anymore.
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