Westbard Sector Plan Review Process Begins, to Equity One's Delight

BETHESDA, MD—After a years-long purchase cycle and several months of community outreach, Equity One is ready to begin the redevelopment of the Westbard Shopping Center. That process moved forward a bit on Tuesday evening, when Montgomery County held the PlanWestbard kickoff meeting during which the conditions and constraints of plan area were discussed.

The Westbard Sector Plan is one of the oldest plans still in use in Montgomery County having been last updated in 1982. The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission launched the process to update the sector plan in July.

Meanwhile Equity One is ready to go. It began its acquisition of Westwood Complex--a 22-acre property that consists of Westwood Shopping Center and Westwood Center II and has significant opportunities for retail redevelopment and expansion—in October 2012. At the beginning of this year, the deal was finalized.

According to its website Westbard Vision "Right now we are exploring many options. We do believe that we will be able to use our expertise and strong balance sheet to invest in the center and make it a more modern, attractive retail environment that continues to be a convenient neighborhood amenity to the surrounding communities."

The plan approval process, though, could take years and Equity One is not waiting for it to complete. It has been reaching out to the community this year and drawing up possible plans.

One clue comes from an investor presentation Equity One made last year in which it noted that Giant is in a below market lease, paying $2 per square foot. That lease is set to expire in 2019.

In that presentation, in which Equity one said it had acquired to acquire the center for $140 million, it noted that the property has had only one owner and could benefit from capital investment and intensive asset management. It also noted that the main center has a parking ratio of 10 spaces per 1,000 square feet "more than double the typical shopping center."