Signage installed at The Kensington Bethesda (Photos)

The first permanent signage has been installed at The Kensington Bethesda, the new assisted living facility at 5485 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda. It is over the future garage entrance. Developed by Kensington Park Senior Living, the facility is scheduled to open in mid-June. It features assisted living, memory care, and couples care residential options. More information and tour scheduling are available at the property website.

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.

Bethesda construction update: The Kensington Bethesda (Photos)

Construction of The Kensington Bethesda, an assisted-living residential development, has made great progress at 5485 Westbard Avenue. Developed by Kensington Senior Living, the facility replaced the Westwood Center II mini-mall and a Citgo gas station. The 75' tall building will have an estimated capacity of around 155 residents, in about 112 units. Under the 105,000-square-foot gross floor area building will be two levels of garage parking, which will be accessed from Westbard Avenue. KSL anticipates a summer 2025 delivery.

Tower crane erected at Kensington Senior Living construction site in Bethesda (Photos)

Forrester Construction of Rockville has erected a tower crane at 5485 Westbard Avenue in Bethesda, as construction on a senior housing, assisted living and memory care facility begins. Developer Kensington Senior Living anticipates completion of the project by summer 2025. The development will rise on the former sites of the Westwood Center II mini-mall and Westbard Citgo gas station, which were demolished over the last two years. It is one piece of the redevelopment of the former "Westwood Complex" portfolio of properties built by Dr. Laszlo Tauber, a prominent neurosurgeon and real estate developer who passed away in 2002. Tower cranes are a rare sight in the Westbard area, so you may want to brush up on your crane signal knowledge before operations get underway.

Developer reveals renderings of Westbard-area senior living project (Photos)

Developer Kensington Senior Living has provided renderings of its proposed assisted living senior housing development in the Westbard area of Bethesda. It would be located on the present sites of the Westwood Center II mini-mall and Westbard Citgo gas station.

The 75' tall building will have an estimated capacity of around 155 residents, in about 112 units. Under the 105,000 SF gross floor area building will be two levels of garage parking, which will be accessed from Westbard Avenue.

There's a lot to like about the design, especially compared to what had originally been proposed by Equity One and Regency Centers in the past. First, they indeed are showing a residential-style roofline, slanted with dormer windows along the top floor. This is a much better fit for the residential area where this is being constructed than the boxy, urban designs proposed for the rest of the Westbard redevelopment. I wasn't overly optimistic, given that even some of KSL's developments have a more-urban roofline, but they definitely delivered a residential-oriented one here.

Second, there is a second-floor outdoor terrace that will overlook Westbard Avenue. The developer says it will be oriented toward the future redeveloped Westwood Shopping Center across the street. Another outdoor deck on the rear of the building, and other outdoor patios on various levels, will be designed to offer a view of the future Willett Branch Stream Valley Park and Greenway. A walking trail is depicted along the greenway behind the building.

The color of the brick shown also decently matches that of the nearby Kenwood Place condo building, and the townhomes diagonally across the street from the site. KSL says they hope to create and foster "an active relationship between Willett Branch and the building." There will be several cafes, and an all-day dining program for residents. Living, media and activity rooms will be joined by a library. There will also be a salon and spa, and a fitness/rehab center.

My question is...can Regency Centers get whoever the architect was on these renderings to spiff up the rest of their project on Westbard Avenue? Just a small change like a roofline can better adapt these new buildings to the residential character of the neighborhood.

A "virtual" public meeting is still scheduled on the project for this Thursday night, April 23, 2020 at 7:00 PM (see my linked article for the information on how to call in).

Senior housing replacing luxury apartments proposal for Westwood Center II site in Westbard redevelopment

A residential-style roofline on another
Kensington Senior Living development

The rumors that one of the proposed apartment buildings in Regency Centers' approved redevelopment plan for the Westbard area of Bethesda would be replaced by senior housing has now been confirmed. Kensington Senior Living, a Reston-based senior community development firm, is the partner for the project. KSL has an existing senior housing development in Montgomery County, Kensington Park in Kensington.

An assisted-living senior housing development is being proposed by KSL for the sites of the Westwood Center II mini-mall at 5110 Ridgefield Road, and the Citgo gas station at 5471 Westbard Avenue. It will include 112 units, structured parking and unspecified amenities. Current zoning for the 2.92 acre site, under the 2016 Westbard sector plan, is CRT-1.5, C-0.5, R-1.5 with a maximum height of 75' - significantly higher than either of the developments pictured here.

KSL was founded 10 years ago, and now operates six senior communities it built in Virginia, Maryland, New York and California. The company says it favors urban settings for its developments. Some of their projects have a more urban-style of architecture, but others like Kensington Park feature a more-suburban design, with rooflines more appropriate for a residential neighborhood like Westbard.

KSL's Kensington Park development

Which style of design will be implemented here, and other details about the project, will be discussed in a virtual online public meeting on Thursday, April 23, 2020 from 7:00-8:00 PM. All residents, business owners, and the general public can join the meeting that evening by calling 1-888-757-0728 and entering passcode 301-517-4804.

The meeting presentation materials will be made available online by the day of the meeting; I will post those or links to them here as soon as they become available.

While we don't yet know what the design of the building will be, the overall plan continues to incrementally improve following the legal efforts of residents in court. Senior housing, particularly assisted living, will eliminate any burden on already-overcrowded local classrooms for these two sites in the plan. It will also restore the option of in-neighborhood assisted living care for nearby residents with aging relatives that was lost when the nursing home across Ridgefield closed several years ago. 

A residential-style slanted roofline would be a nice bonus if KSL can provide one. That has always been a desired look for whatever would be developed there (from a neighborhood standpoint), as it would emphasize the residential character of the area as one enters the new development on Westbard from River Road. It would also fit with the residential townhomes that will be built on the nursing home site across Ridgefield. However, Regency may want an urban design to fit with the more box-like buildings they have proposed for Westbard Avenue.

The change also reflects trends in the local real estate market. Residents who questioned the demand for mixed-use at Westbard over the last six years, when many retail storefronts sit vacant even in downtown Bethesda, have been vindicated. No retail is mentioned for this senior housing project so far, whereas retail was a key feature of the apartment/condo building it replaces in the plan.

Some neighborhood amenities will still be lost in the new project. The Citgo offers full-service, which is valuable for seniors and the disabled in the neighborhood; there is no other full-service gas station in the area to my knowledge (if you know of one, please post it in the comments). Hopefully the remaining Citgo II down Westbard Avenue will add full-service to wisely keep those customers who depend on it. 

There are also several businesses that serve the community that will be lost, including a dry cleaners, a surgery center, two Japanese schools, the popular Yirasai Sushi, and Domino's Pizza. It remains unknown how many, if any, of these businesses from Westwood I and II will wind up in the new retail spaces on Westbard two or three years from now.

But overall, this is a positive development, as these businesses were already slated for demolition under the original plan. Senior housing will have much less negative impact on the neighborhood than the original proposal of luxury apartments.

Photo courtesy Kensington Senior Living