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| A residential-style roofline on another Kensington Senior Living development |
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.
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| 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
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