Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Kaiser Permanente buys Vitro site in Aspen Hill

Kaiser Permanente has bought 10.4 acres of land at the former Vitro campus at 13900 Connecticut Avenue in Aspen Hill. The healthcare firm plans to construct a medical center, with a scheduled opening date of 2022. Kaiser's Mid-Atlantic division acquired the land earlier this year, after a proposed Ford dealership project fell through.

Kaiser says the new Aspen Hill medical center will relieve overcrowding at the firm's existing Kensington location just down the road on Connecticut Avenue. If approved by Montgomery County, this would be Kaiser's eighth facility in Montgomery County. It would also solidify a stinging defeat for the Montgomery County cartel, which had tried desperately to secure this site for a developer who would construct a mixed-use "town center" here, and a victory for Aspen Hill residents.

19 comments:

  1. Why is a medical facility better than a mixed use town center?

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    1. Two main reasons: Less traffic, and more net revenue for the County. As we've seen over the last two decades, residential development generates more costs in services than it does in revenue. After tremendous growth, as high as 800% in Clarksburg, the County budget is in the red every year.

      If residential development was a true revenue generator, we would be rolling in cash right now. We're not.

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  2. so what's going to happen to that Ford dealership now in Wheaton. Isn't it getting sold as well for a new development?

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    1. Yes, it's still being sold, but they aren't going to break ground for that new project at Lindsay for several years, so they have extra time to find another location.

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    2. Because Robert says it is.

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  3. Cool. How many jobs? Why do you think the county council is upset about a vacant building being renovated and used? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?

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    1. 4:51: Because their sugar daddies don't get to develop it as a town center now.

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  4. Kaiser Permanente bought that site back in April.

    https://kpproud-midatlantic.kaiserpermanente.org/land-purchased-for-future-medical-center-in-aspen-hill-area/

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    1. 4:54: It literally says that in my article. #scooped

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    2. Your article last Thursday, September 26, about the demolition of the Ambassador motel, mentioned Lindsay Ford, but made no mention of their change in plans.

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    3. 11:44: I sense your frustration that I'm the only journalist covering this area in detail. In fact, in that article, I clearly stated that the Ambassador project groundbreaking had been postponed for several years into the future. Lindsay Ford has made no public announcement about this plan, or their previous plan.

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  5. Great to hear and definitely a victory for Aspen Hill resident...also any updates on the Glenmont Shopping Center redevlopment?

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    1. No immediate updates. There remains a conflict between multiple property owners.

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  6. There is no cartel. If there was Kaiser would not be building at that location. If the ‘cartel’ was real it would have stoped Kaiser. If the so-called cartel had any power you wouldn’t have this blog

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    1. 8:18: The cartel is real. Most of the membership is public knowledge based on campaign contributions, public statements, and my investigative reports.

      The cartel seized control of the County Council in 2002, and most of the County's decline is traced back to that event.

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    2. Saith Dyer:

      "The cartel is real. Most of the membership is public knowledge based on campaign contributions, public statements, and my investigative reports."

      You're to cowardly to actually name names.

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  7. I was hoping ICE would move their headquarters there. It would be a huge improvement to Aspen Hill.

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  8. if the purchase has actually been finalized, what happens if the plan is not approved by the county? (as a member of kp, this is great news, since i live close by the site).

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  9. As a 40 year resident of Aspen hill , Md. I can honestly say that there is a great need for a medical center at the proposed site and that was my suggestion many years ago when the former BAE Systems left because you have over seven merchants in Aspen Hill that possess a license to sell alcohol but nowhere to bus sick patients to a sick community when they need help and can't be trusted to drive machinery to their appointments . Town has needed a rehab for many decades . Good ICE enforcement is under way but they don't ten acres though .

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