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If all goes to plan, it will still be decades before a "Science City" emerges between Gaithersburg and Rockville, but business and biotech leaders are forging partnerships to harness the sky-high hopes unleashed by the county's blue print for catapulting the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center to the leading edge of scientific research.
The Gaithersburg West master plan, which is still in draft form, calls for an 800-acre live-work urban hub in and around the Life Sciences Center, west of Interstate 270 — quadrupling research and commercial space to 20 million square feet and tripling jobs to 60,000. Business leaders and elected officials have rallied behind that vision, but it has drawn the ire of neighbors in Gaithersburg, North Potomac and Rockville who are frustrated in part by a lack of specifics.
Two groups are coming together to help translate the vision into more concrete proposals. Science City boosters face the early challenge in channeling the energy of the dozens of property owners in the Life Sciences Center. The biggest piece falls to Johns Hopkins University: its 40-acre campus will be in the heart of Science City, while its 108-acre Belward Farm on Darnestown and Muddy Branch Roads could hold more than 4.5 million square feet of research and academic buildings.
Several property owners in the Life Sciences Center had their first full-day workshop, including representatives of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Adventist HealthCare, the J. Craig Venter Institute, BioReliance Corp. and two real estate firms. In the coming weeks, the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce will create a "Gaithersburg West" task force to rally support from the broader business community.
"The vision of a science city in Montgomery County is absolutely doable," said Marilyn Balcombe, chamber president. "…When you look at its proximity to NIH and NIST and being located in the heart of DNA Alley, we've got the right combination of being close to D.C., being close to the labs, having an educated work force, having the quality of life."
Hopkins is looking to capitalize on the county's mix of federal, private and academic institutions to make Science City a magnet for the best and brightest, said David McDonough, senior director of development oversight in Hopkins's real estate division.
With such a "fertile ground" in Shady Grove, the emerging consortium needs agree on a governance structure and come up with "an initial project or two to show how well we can work together," he said — for example, by creating partnerships that would cut the wait on a new drug's return on investment from 20 years to less than five.
On the projected timeline for county approvals, permitting and designs, Hopkins expects construction to start until 2012 and is undeterred by the economic crisis.
Given President Barack Obama's emphasis on education and healthcare, securing a reputable local developer and a top-tier federal tenant could insulate Science City from the funding freezes that plague other sectors of the economy.
"If we were financing homes or car dealerships, we'd have a problem. But when you're looking to financing federal labs or Hopkins institutions … it's a very strong credit," McDonough said. "… We're talking about a timeframe of 20, 30, even 40 years. If the entire economy is in the tank for 40 years, I think we have much bigger problems."
The energy of private enterprise could also be crucial to Science City's infrastructure. County planners and state officials are pushing the notion of public-private partnerships to pay for everything from the Corridor Cities Transitway to parking garages, but specifics have yet to materialize.
The master plan has its first public hearing March 26, on track for County Council review this fall.
That could not come soon enough for investors looking to infuse the lofty visions with capital, said Bruce Robertson, managing director for H.I.G. Ventures, a private equity investment firm with an office in Rockville. H.I.G. has wanted to invest in Montgomery County for years, Robertson said, and Science City would be ideal. Robertson is also on the board of directors of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, which is planning to expand on its 48-acre property.
"I can tell you without any doubt; this would be very attractive," he said.
County planners are hosting a public forum on the Gaithersburg West master plan at 7 p.m. March 18 at the county Planning Board's training facility, 16641 Crabbs Branch Way in Rockville.
The board's first public hearing is at 7 p.m. March 26 at its Silver Spring headquarters, 8787 Georgia Ave. To testify, call 301-495-4600 or visit www.daicsearch.org/planning_
board/testify.asp. E-mail comments to mcp-chairman@mncppc.org.
