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Westbard Square [MP]
Bethesda, MD

Shopping Center to Town Center

MV+A’s master plan for Westbard transforms an existing strip shopping center, currently facing onto an internal surface parking lot with no visual connection to the main road and pedestrian sidewalks, into a welcoming, mixed-use community. The proposed buildings will transform the pedestrian experience along Westbard Avenue with wide sidewalks and almost continuous retail frontage.

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    • Project: Westbard Square
    • Location: 5400 Westbard Ave, Bethesda, MD 20816
    • Client: Regency Centers
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Westbard Square | Master Plan

Westbard, a long-established community in southern Montgomery County, has seen little change over the past 30 years despite its proximity to Bethesda, Friendship Heights, and Washington, D.C. The 2016 Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission [M-NCPPC] Westbard Sector Plan updates a 1982 plan, which sought to phase out heavy industrial uses, improve streetscapes, and expand green space—much of which never realized. This renewed plan takes a holistic approach to revitalization, addressing aging infrastructure, evolving housing and retail needs, traffic concerns, and environmental challenges while coalescing a cohesive district design approach to promote walkability and a village-like sensibility. By integrating smart growth strategies and community feedback, the plan provides a framework for Westbard’s transformation over the next 20 years.

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Phase I

Any project of this scope, scale, and logistical complexity requires an effective first phase start-up to ensure and capitalize upon momentum.  The principle challenge for Westbard Square Phase I was building the new mixed-use retail building, including a new 60K+ SF Giant Food store, while the existing Giant Food store and other retailers remained fully operational. In the end, Phase I was a major success; the project was completed on time, on budget, and is already fully leased. In addition to the new Giant Food anchor, the new commercial building replaces the former Westwood retail and then some with 30K SF of inline retail space—reoriented to Westbard Avenue to the east and activating a central public space to the north. Additionally, 30K SF of commercial office space has been added to the local market reinforcing live-work-play objectives of the M-NCPPC sector plan.

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Phase II

Following up on the success of Phase I the next phase of the Westbard Square project will bring 200+ new residential units to the neighborhood along with an additional 22K SF of inline retail fronting the civic green and further activating the Westbard Avenue streetscape. The project, led by renowned multifamily developer Greystar, is well positioned to provide the transformative potential envisioned by the Westbard Sector Plan coalescing this new neighborhood and spurring subsequent development initiatives across the district.

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Following Through On a Vision

From it’s inception nearly a decade ago, Westbard Square has proven a remarkable journey for our team at MV+A. We take great pride and stock in the opportunity to transform such a notably underutilized site into a dynamic new community within the broader context of a truly ambitious sector plan. We’re grateful for our visionary clients, our amazing project team, and the many critical stakeholders who are making Westbard a meaningful destination on the greater regional map!

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