The Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday gave tentative approval to a new Johns Hopkins office building in the Great Seneca Science Corridor, adding to recent moves to massively expand commercial and residential space allowed under the new master plan.
The approved preliminary plan for the 169,071-square-foot research and development space would bring to 1.1 million square feet the total amount of office space and 9,998 square feet of retail space approved for a 41-acre Hopkins Montgomery County Medical Center property in the Shady Grove area of Rockville. There already are three office buildings on the site, totaling 210,000 square feet, and a fourth is under construction to house the federal National Cancer Institute.
The proposed Hopkins building would sit in the southwest corner of Key West Avenue and Medical Center Drive, which is surrounded by a mix of other research and development space, medical and office buildings. The project would make room for the planned Corridor Cities Transitway, which includes a stop just south of the Shady Grove Adventist Hospital property.
The county planning staff report underscored the building ambitions of Hopkins and other developers in the Life Sciences Center in the Great Seneca corridor, which also includes the Hopkins-owned Belward Campus, a 108-acre former farm property. The report noted that “if the proposed plan is approved there will be approximately 1,730,771 square feet of approved but unbuilt development between the Belward Campus and the JHU Montgomery County Medical Center properties. This equates to approximately 54 percent of the total 3.2 million square feet of pipeline development (approved but unbuilt) in the [Life Sciences Center]."
As approved by the County Council last year, the Great Seneca master plan would allow a total of 17.5 million square feet of commercial space, 9,000 residential units and about 52,500 jobs. The development would proceed in stages tied to funding for the Corridor Cities Transitway, which would create a rapid bus or light rail system connecting the Shady Grove Metrorail station to Clarksburg.
Board OKs Mallory Square plan
The Montgomery County Planning Board also has approved a sketch plan for Mallory Square, a 650-unit multifamily complex that is the first residential project to move forward under the Great Seneca Science Corridor plan.
Under the board's approval on Nov. 3, Woodfield Investments of Arlington, Va., would knock down the Bureau of National Affairs office building at 9435 Key West Ave. in Rockville and replace it with two residential buildings totalling 837,000 square feet. Although that would allow as much as 115,000 square feet of retail space — matching the size of the existing office building — plans call for "three or four retail bays to ensure that at least 10 basic services" are provided.
"This is a significant economic development project," said Scott Wallace, a lawyer with Linowes and Blocher representing Woodfield. "There are a lot of benefits to this project, including providing housing to employers who are looking for it in the area."
He said the two-phase project would create 400 construction jobs for each building.
The project would occupy about 12.8 acres to the west of the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Key West Avenue. As approved, the complex could rise from four stories to as high as 70 feet for residential space or 90 feet for architectural elements, which would have to be compatible with surrounding development under a future site plan. The current zoning allows a 100-foot height limit.
"The sketch plan could look a lot different," planning coordinator Joshua Sloan said. "I don't see any reason to set the height lower at this stage, but if their massing is different from this, we will have to revisit these findings."
Despite the project’s size, he said the density is relatively low given newly passed zoning rules that encourage sustainable residential development near jobs and transit. The proposal also includes 92 moderately priced dwellings, seven more than required.
Federal Capital Partners pays $15.2M for apartments
Federal Capital Partners announced its $15.2 million all-cash acquisition of River Pointe, a 170-unit apartment complex in Fort Washington.
The garden apartment complex, at 8310-8434 Indian Head Highway, is just south of the Capital Beltway, in close proximity to Joint Base Andrews and the growing National Harbor development area. Gates Hudson & Associates has been retained to manage the property.
"River Pointe is 98 percent occupied today and has a history of being a highly stable property that has wide appeal to residents in this region,” Federal Capital managing partner Alex Marshall said in a news release.
Alan Davis, Dave Nachison and Brenden Flood with Holliday Fenoglio Fowler brokered the deal.
AT&T, biotech sign Frederick leases
St. John Properties of Baltimore reported two new leases totaling almost 20,000 square feet of research and development and office space in the 488,000-square-foot Riverside Technology Park in Frederick.
AT&T Government Solutions Division of Oakton, Va., is leasing 12,840 square feet and Tox Path Specialists signed for 4,500 square feet. Both plan to be operating there by the first quarter of 2012.
AT&T plans to shift about 50 employees there. Tox Path Specialists, a bioscience company that focuses on pathology studies, expects to shift about 20 employees there from the Technology Innovation Center in Hagerstown, according to St. John. Tox Path moved to be closer to National Cancer Institute’s new 330,000-square-foot facility.
“These latest two leases are part of the growing leasing activity we are experiencing within our Frederick portfolio, and key fundamentals remain in place for additional absorption in the foreseeable future,” said Matt Holbrook, regional partner for St. John Properties, said in a statement.
“Companies such as Tox Path recognize Frederick as an anchor of the I-270 Biotech Corridor with its proximity to Fort Detrick and [the institute]. With its abundance of skilled workers, quality of life, availability of lower cost space, and lack of business personal property tax, Frederick is becoming a very attractive alternative to Montgomery County,” Holbrook said.
‘Glassbreaking’ launches Bethesda project
About a dozen company executives and state officials used sledgehammers to break windows at a downtown Bethesda office building Tuesday, part of a “glassbreaking” ceremony marking the redevelopment of 7550 Wisconsin Ave.
Washington, D.C., developer Akridge and Rockwood Capital, which bought the vacant building from the General Services Administration in the spring, are renovating the 120,000-square-foot building into a class A office space with floor-to-ceiling glass, a fitness facility, a green roof with entertainment space and street-level retail, according to an Akridge statement.
Clark Construction of Bethesda is the general contractor and Shalom Baranes Associates of Washington is the project architect.
"In spite of being a sort of model child in terms of mixed use, Bethesda has not had any new office space deliver in 11 years," said Matt Klein, president of Akridge, in the statement. "With 7550 Wisconsin, we hope to remedy that hiatus and also raise the standard for office development in this market — by targeting [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] gold certification, for example, which will represent a new level of sustainability here."
Ciena moves headquarters to Hanover from Linthicum
Ciena Corp. plans to move its headquarters from Savage to Hanover, according to a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company, which provides computer network services and systems, said it signed a lease with W2007 RDG Realty to take 154,100 square feet, with annual rent to start at $3.8 million. Ciena will occupy 7035 Ridge Road and a building planned for 7031 Ridge Road, beginning as soon as June 1.
The property is next to an Amtrak and MARC station near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
NexCore Group breaks ground on medical office building
NexCore Group of Denver, a national health care real estate developer with offices in Bethesda, announced that it broke ground on an 80,000-square-foot medical office building on the campus of St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore.
NexCore is developing the $24 million building at the full-service teaching hospital as part of its $200 million master plan to enhance and expand its campus. The revitalization will create 550,000 square feet of new facilities and patient-friendly, integrated environments that better serve the hospital’s growing patient base, according to a company statement. Major progress on the revitalization plan has been completed in the past three years, including the campus centerpiece, a new 200,000-square-foot patient tower with 120 private rooms.
The four-story office building will connect to the hospital on multiple levels and will have its own patient-dedicated surface parking. The facility will house independent and hospital-employed physician groups as well as growing hospital programs such as the Cancer Institute and Cardiovascular Institute.
"We are excited about the new medical office building, which is our first on-campus medical office development in over 20 years,” Bonnie Phipps, the hospital's president and CEO, said in a news release. "It will provide our patients and medical staff with a modern, conveniently located ambulatory care center and will also allow our Cancer Institute to expand its capacity by 40 percent."
The new building, at 3407 Wilkens Ave. in southwest Baltimore, is designed by architect RTKL of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The construction manager is Whiting-Turner Contracting of Baltimore
Glen Burnie shopping center fetches $16.6 million
Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT of Cincinnati reported that it paid $16.6 million for Burwood Village Center, a 105,834-square-foot shopping center in Glen Burnie.
The center is anchored by a Food Lion supermarket, which has a lease through October 2022. Other tenants include Dollar General, CVS Pharmacy and Dunkin’ Donuts. The shopping center is 98.3 percent occupied.
It’s the company’s first shopping center in Maryland.
Redevelopment planned at Owings Mills Mall
The 25-year-old, 1 million-square-foot Owings Mills Mall is getting a new half-owner and major overhaul.
Owner General Growth Properties of Chicago formed a joint venture with Kimco Realty of New Hyde Park, N.Y., in which each owns 50 percent of the mall.
"We're exploring a number of options to revive Owings Mills Mall and provide the shoppers of northwest Baltimore County a more viable center that meets their needs,” Shobi Khan, COO with General Growth, said in a statement.
The two-level mall is anchored by Macy's and J.C. Penney department stores. Initial plans include a new format and tenant mix, which could include exterior facing retail, junior boxes, big boxes and department stores, according to the statement.
"Today's announcement that [General Growth] is joining forces with Kimco Realty to transform Owings Mills Mall is great news for Baltimore County, and is a key part of my aggressive strategy to jump-start Owings Mills and bring new jobs and quality services to the region," Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said in the statement.
Kimco owns interests in 41 retail properties in Maryland, included Laurel Plaza, the Villages at Urbana and Long Gate Shopping Center in Elllicott City.
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