Artis Senior Living of Potomac – Another Successful Wet Utilities Project by W.B. Hopke

Artis Senior Living of Potomac located at 8301 River Road in Bethesda, Maryland is a memory care community for elderly lifelong residents from the Washington, DC area. The 38,670 square foot facility is conveniently located near the metro area where senior residents can be close to family members.

The approach to build multiple smaller neighborhoods within a larger community, connected by a core common area appropriately named Town Center, helps manage resident overstimulation. All amenities are centralized and include a community center, health center, beauty salon and more.

In November 2018, W.B. Hopke was awarded the wet utilities work for Artis Senior Living of Potomac. The bid submitted by Hopke estimator Charlie McClellan helped win the award. As a subcontractor to Scott-Long Construction, the project was substantially complete by May 2021.

Apart from doing the water, sanitary and storm sewer, the project also required Hopke to complete other components including installation of the stormwater management system (SWM): micro bioretention ponds, planter boxes, and a dry swale.

Hopke project manager, Mike Feibert, shared his thoughts about the project. Mike stated, “Looking back, this project was a challenge logistically due in part to the location and many mobilizations over the course of three years. This can be tricky work when you’re trying to coordinate deliveries of materials and equipment and do work that ties in with other trades and contractors. It requires a competent team and careful planning to do complex work, and our superintendent, Brian Starnes, our foremen and crews, all persevered and delivered a great finished product for the customer.”

When asked about working for Hopke, Mike provided the following comment, “Hopke is a small company which means my work has a direct impact on how we perform. I also enjoy the fact that we are a very mobile company. We’re able to quickly respond to conditions in the field and that gives us a lot of flexibility when it comes to manpower and staffing projects,” said Mike.

The scope of Artis Senior Living of Potomac, now 100% complete, included over 330 LF of sanitary main, 2300 LF of storm main with 35 storm structures, 8 bioretention systems, 2 trench drains, and 1000 LF of water main including a fire hydrant and a water meter vault. Part of the unique challenge of this site was the existing topography. The existing building was a large house that sat atop a steep, narrow entrance road off River Road. The logistics of getting to the job site with heavy equipment and material deliveries was a complex challenge for the entire team. Additionally, the water main ran through an easement offsite with a significantly sloped embankment that required careful installation.

W.B. Hopke would like to thank the following staff for their continued dedication to this company and for doing a great job on the Artis Senior Living of Potomac project. Special thanks to our project managers, Debby Johnson and Mike Fiebert, Charlie McClellan in estimating, superintendent, Brian Starnes and to our foremen and crews. We appreciate all you do.

Contact W.B. Hopke about a career in utility installation and site work at 703-971-0404
or info@wbhopke.com.

References

Artis Senior Living of Potomac, https://www.artisseniorliving.com/communities/artis-senior-living-potomac, accessed October 12, 2022

A Place for Mom, https://www.aplaceformom.com/community/artis-senior-living-of-potomac-now-open-1449601, accessed October 12, 2022