Award recognizes Montgomery Planning’s role in developing the 2017 plan and its implementation, which led to the transformation of an aging auto-dominated commercial corridor into a vibrant mixed-use, walkable community.
Wheaton, Md.: The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), is proud to announce that the Westbard Sector Plan received Best Master Plan at the Commercial Real Estate Development Association DC|MD (CREDA) Awards of Excellence Gala held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC on October 22, 2026. The award from CREDA’s DC and Maryland chapter recognizes both the vision of the plan and its successful implementation, highlighting the plan as one of the region’s premier examples of how long-range planning can deliver lasting community benefits.
Approved in 2017, the Westbard Sector Plan reimagined an aging, auto-oriented commercial area into a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood featuring new housing options, vibrant public spaces, environmental restoration and a safer, more connected street network. Through precedent research, analysis, creativity, and extensive community engagement, Montgomery Planning collaborated with residents, business owners and county government partners to shape a shared vision that is now becoming reality. The jury praised the plan’s ability to improve traffic flow, reduce car dependency, and reduce imperviousness in this new mixed-use, pedestrian-focused community hub. Montgomery Planning also recognizes the contributions of development partners EYA, Greystar, and Regency Centers, whose investments helped bring key elements of the plan to life.
“This award recognizes the power of planning to turn community aspirations into meaningful results,” said Montgomery Planning Director Jason K. Sartori. “The Westbard Sector Plan demonstrates what is possible when residents, public agencies, and private-sector partners work together toward a common vision. Today, we are seeing the benefits of that collaboration through new housing, thriving public spaces, environmental improvements, and a walkable town center that serves the surrounding community.”
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CREDA is a leading organization representing developers, owners and professionals in the office, mixed-use, multi-family, retail and industrial real estate sectors across DC, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Frederick County. Its annual awards celebrate outstanding real estate achievements throughout the region.
The Westbard Sector Plan responded to more than three decades of limited reinvestment in a once-thriving auto-dominated commercial district. The plan established a vision for transforming more than 23 acres into a walkable mixed-use town center with a range of housing types, neighborhood-serving retail, public gathering spaces and significant environmental improvements including an upgrade to the Willett Branch.
Today, former asphalt parking lots have been replaced with parks, tree-lined streets, a variety of new housing types, commercial development, and new recreational amenities. The success of the redevelopment is reflected in strong retail leasing, high demand for housing, and the continued buildout of a vibrant town center that has transformed a declining 1960s-era shopping center into a thriving walkable community destination.
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Plan vision achieved through implementation
Components of the plan’s recommendations completed or substantially underway include:
- Creation of a new civic town center framed by beautiful buildings and featuring a public plaza with gathering spaces, shaded seating, lawn areas, and space for community events.
- Development of a neighborhood green with play areas, gardens, and open space for recreation.
- Construction of new mixed-use residential and commercial buildings that frame a street network and public spaces and include senior housing with independent living, assisted living, and memory care options.
- Reconfiguration of Westbard Avenue and surrounding connections, which improves safety, reduces traffic conflicts, and supports Montgomery County’s Vision Zero goals.
- Installation of wider sidewalks, dedicated bicycle facilities, and tree-lined streets that encourage walking, biking, and socializing.
- Reestablishment of the Willett Branch culvert as a park and natural green stream valley with trails throughout the entire site, which ultimately links to the Little Falls Stream Valley Park and the Potomac River.
- Replacement of large expanses of impervious surface parking lots with tree-lined streets, landscaped areas, bioretention features, green roofs, and increased tree canopy.
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