Kensington Senior Living opens info office for new Bethesda development

Kensington Senior Living has opened an information office for The Kensington Bethesda assisted living residential building at 5485 Westbard Avenue in the adjacent Kenwood Professional Building, located at 5272 River Road in Bethesda. The development, constructed on the sites of the demolished Westwood Center II mini mall and Citgo gas station, is scheduled to welcome its first residents next summer. 

Delivered with 112 units, the 75' tall building will have an estimated capacity of around 155 residents. There will be several cafes, and an all-day dining program. Living, media and activity rooms will be joined by a library. There will also be a salon and spa, and a fitness/rehab center.

Truist signage installed at River Road bank branch

SunTrust at 5272 River Road in Bethesda is now officially Truist. The result of a merger between SunTrust and BB&T banks, the new branding is still being applied physically at branches nationwide. Yesterday, Truist signage was installed on the front of the bank, in the ground floor of the Kenwood Professional building. Last night, the sign was lit for the first time; this afternoon, workers on scaffolding were attaching anchor tenant signage for Truist near the top of the building (in the above photo, you can see the old SunTrust logo on the west-facing side still up there last night).

SunTrust Bank opens in Kenwood Professional Building

SunTrust Bank has opened in its permanent location in Suite 101 of the Kenwood Professional Building, at 5272 River Road in Bethesda. The branch had been up on the seventh floor since relocating from the Westwood Shopping Center last November, while awaiting completion of construction in this space.

Kenwood Professional Building tenant burglarized in Bethesda

A brazen office burglary in the normally-quiet Kenwood/Westbard area of Bethesda has Montgomery County detectives in search of the suspect, who was caught in the act on video. On January 11, 2020 around 5:30 AM, an intruder allegedly broke into the seventh-floor suite of Corewood Care at 5272 River Road. After taking undisclosed property, the individual left the building.

Detectives warn that an issue with the surveillance camera and room lighting falsely make the suspect's coat appear purple, and hat pink, in some of the images; it is actually brown as shown below. The video showed the invasion after police responded to Corewood employees' report of a burglary the following Monday morning.

Anyone with information regarding this suspect or this burglary is asked to call the 2nd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6710. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case.

SunTrust signage, mobile branch arrive at Kenwood Professional Building

SunTrust Bank's Westwood branch is relocating from the Westwood Shopping Center to the Kenwood Professional Building, as I reported over the summer. Over the weekend, a mobile branch unit arrived, and was parked in the bank's future front driveway. Yesterday, the bank's permanent signage was installed.

Gaylords Lamps & Shades to relocate in Bethesda

Update - 8:43 AM: The move could tentatively occur around October 1

Gaylords Lamps & Shades, which moved to 5272 River Road almost six years ago, is planning to move again. A representative of the business says they hope to move into a vacant space by the Arlington Road CVS Pharmacy.

The current expectation is that the move would take place around October 1, 2019; stay tuned for a final moving date announcement. Gaylords remains open for business until then at their current Kenwood Professional Building location between American Plant and the Westwood Center II shopping mall.

Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic moves to Rock Spring offices

The Atrium at Rock Spring Park

Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic has moved out of the Kenwood Professional Building in Bethesda, as expected.  However, now we know their new address. The anchor office tenant of the 5272 River Road office building has relocated to the Rock Spring office park area further north in Bethesda. Their new home is The Atrium at Rock Spring Park, located at 6555 Rock Spring Drive.

Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic to relocate in Bethesda

Yesterday I reported that the current headquarters space of Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Inc. at 5272 River Road had been listed as available for lease on August 1, 2018, and their logo had been removed from the Kenwood Professional Building facade. A spokesperson for the charitable organization has now confirmed they will be vacating their suite at the end of July. They will be moving to a new Bethesda location near Westfield Montgomery Mall.

Make-A-Wish Foundation Mid-Atlantic headquarters suite goes on the market in Bethesda

I noticed the prominent Make-A-Wish Foundation sign high up on the Kenwood Professional Building at 5272 River Road had been removed from the building. As of this writing, Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Inc. is still a tenant of the building, but their current home - Suite 700 - is now listed as available for lease on August 1, 2018.

Make-A-Wish logo has been ripped off
the building's facade

Either Make-A-Wish is downsizing to a smaller suite, or they must be relocating their headquarters. I have made an inquiry with the organization, and will provide an update as soon as I receive a response regarding their plans. Regardless, their current top-floor 9107 SF space is now available to another potential corporate tenant. The building underwent an extensive renovation of common areas, elevators and exterior paint only a year ago.

Crane dominates a busy evening of work in Westbard area of Bethesda (Photos)

Maryland State Highway Administration road resurfacing along eastbound River Road in Bethesda shut down access to McDonald's for hungry residents last night. Meanwhile, utility workers reduced the block of Ridgefield Road between Westbard Avenue and River Road to 2 lanes. Their trucks were parked on the grass and in the driveway of the vacant Manor Care nursing home. They are installing new signal poles, and hopefully, the higher intensity streetlamps that are so desperately needed for pedestrians crossing River Road at ngiht.

But towering above all of the activity as night fell, was a large crane that seemed to be hoisting things up to the roof of the Kenwood Professional Building. A large door on the side of a rooftop structure was open near where the crane had stopped.

GAYLORD'S LAMPS AND SHADES RECOVERING FROM FLOOD IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Gaylord's Lamps and Shades is trying to get back to business at 5272 River Road in Bethesda, after a flood temporarily washed it out of that ground floor space in the Kenwood Professional Building. They are still restocking lampshades, but have a fair number on display again. In addition, they are doing repairs and recovers. Parking is available in the building garage a short distance up River Road from the front entrance of Gaylord's, to the right of American Plant's driveway.

GAYLORD'S LAMPS AND SHADES TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO FLOOD DAMAGE (PHOTOS)

Gaylord's Lamps and Shades has been forced to close after a flood caused extensive water damage to the shop. It is expected to remain closed for at least 3 weeks at this point. While the extensive inventory had to be removed, call (301) 986-9680 for pick-up of special orders or repairs.

The shop holds a prime retail space in the Kenwood Professional Building at 5272 River Road, having moved from its original spot in downtown Bethesda's Fairmont Plaza condominium building 13 months ago.