Posted on September 8, 2025
Renovations have begun at the 7,000 sq. ft. facility!
By Jackie Stevens
Chief Operating Officer at Penn-Mar Human Services
After three years of planning, designing, and acquiring permits, we are excited to share that general contractor Kinsley Construction broke ground on the new home of Penn-Mar West. The 7,000 sq. ft. building Penn-Mar purchased in Washington Heights is designed to supplement our community-based support programs in Maryland.
Staff and programming are scheduled to move into the facility in early 2026, transitioning from the temporary rental space they have been occupying since the sale of the former Change Inc. headquarters following its merger with Penn-Mar in 2019.
Will Cambley, Penn-Mar’s Director of Capital Projects and Physical Assets, and I have been collaborating with York-based Warehaus Architects and Engineers — the same firm that designed our incredible 32,000 sq. ft. Far Hills facility — to create a space plan for the building that responds to the needs and desires of our team members, families, and the people we support.
The impetus behind the new building design was to bring our team back together with the people they support to promote stronger connections and facilitate effective support for people with disabilities. The space will allow us to balance meaningful community-based programming with an environment where people can learn, recharge, and connect as needed.
The firm has come up with an interesting layout that includes a fair amount of open space. The two-story building sits on a slope which allows for accessibility on both floors. Our Penn-Mar West team will reside in small offices in one area, and our program supports will be located on the main entry level.
A conference room designed to be a learning space will accompany two large open spaces with epoxy floors that will easily accommodate art projects and a multitude of activities.
The Smart Kitchen space in the new building will be similar in design to the one in Far Hills, with the added advantage of exposing the people we support and our team to the latest Assistive Technology (AT) like cabinets with pull-down shelves, stoves with sensors, and infrared features that allow a person to cook their food quickly and safely without using extreme heat.
This kitchen will also serve as a test center for new AT we can incorporate into our community homes as we continue to make progress on our current and new house transition projects. In the past six months alone, we have purchased two new homes in Maryland and are in the process of building another. The intent is to better support people to age in place and expand our residential offerings to our Carroll County community.
These activities and the new Washington Heights building renovation are just the latest examples of Penn-Mar’s commitment to developing an organization-wide tech plan that will expand our Assistive Tech supports and empower people to live as independently as possible.
Our new Penn-Mar West facility, team members, and programming each contribute to the broadening and customization of our service offering.
Being community-based and getting to explore different places is an amazing opportunity for people with disabilities. Our goal as an organization is to give the people we support access to local businesses, activities, and other places in the community so that they can use these resources to reach their goals and live their best lives.
However, not everyone we support with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can physically manage being out and about 7-8 hours a day. Those who can are thriving! But it is imperative that families have other options available — especially in a situation where family members work all day — that can offer consistent hours of support for their loved one. These options can include a combination of customized employment opportunities and facility-based programs, which will now have a new home in Washington Heights.
Washington Heights will be an active “hub” where the people we support can gather to make plans for the day with their Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), socialize with their friends, or participate in educational and leisure activities to help them pursue their best life every day.
We are excited about the possibilities this new space will bring and will be sharing updates as the project progresses.