By Adam Pagnucco.
Montgomery County government has announced a deal with United Therapeutics to swap land, build a new parking garage and enable the company’s expansion in Downtown Silver Spring.
The basic elements of the deal are:
1. UT will build a new public parking garage at 8615 Georgia Avenue and transfer ownership of it to the county. The site is now a parking lot just north of the Lee Building at the Georgia-Colesville intersection. The new garage will contain 3,000 square feet of retail space. A site adjacent to the garage will be designated for affordable housing development. The company will also provide land and money for a new county fiber hub and relocate the county’s parking operations facility to 9150 Brookville Road.
The site of the new garage and affordable housing development. The Georgia-Colesville intersection is in the bottom right corner and Colesville Road runs to the top of the picture.
2. In return, the county will transfer ownership of the Silver Spring Cameron parking garage at 8700 Cameron Street to UT to enable the company’s expansion. (The garage is next to UT’s existing headquarters.) The company will be required to invest at least $50 million on the site within 15 years of taking ownership.
The county’s press release appears below.
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For Immediate Release: Friday, Dec. 15, 2023
Montgomery County, United Therapeutics Corporation Announce Partnership for Future Growth in Silver Spring
Long-term Vision Includes Public Parking, Housing and Other County Benefits
County Executive Marc Elrich, County Council President Andrew Friedson and County Council Vice President Kate Stewart joined with United Therapeutics Corporation today to announce a partnership for future growth and long-term vision for Downtown Silver Spring. The partnership includes a general development agreement between the County and United Therapeutics that will allow for the company’s future growth in Silver Spring and provide significant benefits to the County. This deal, valued at over $100 million, will eventually expand United Therapeutics’ campus footprint in Downtown Silver Spring by 40 percent.
“The partnership and agreement we are announcing today will provide significant benefits to County residents, usher in an era of economic growth in Silver Spring, and further solidify Montgomery County’s leading biotech, life sciences and research economy,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “United Therapeutics Corporation is revolutionizing healthcare through the development of manufactured organs for transplant. We are committed to the company’s future growth in Silver Spring, and I look forward to working with the County Council through the property disposition process.”
Under the agreement between Montgomery County and United Therapeutics, the first publicly traded biotechnology company organized as a public benefit corporation, United Therapeutics will construct a new public parking garage at 8615 Georgia Avenue, provide land and funding to the County for a state of-the art fiber hub, and relocate Montgomery County’s Department to Transportation’s (MCDOT) parking operations facility to a renovated facility at 9150 Brookville Road. The site of the new parking garage includes a parcel designated for a future affordable housing development in Silver Spring.
If approved by the Montgomery County Council, upon completion of the new garage, ownership of the site will transfer from United Therapeutics to the County. In exchange, the County will transfer ownership of 8700 Cameron Street, the current site of the Spring Cameron Parking garage, to United Therapeutics to allow for the company’s future growth. United Therapeutics will be required to invest at least $50 million in any new facility on the site within fifteen years of ownership transfer.
The property disposition process requires public input and Council approval following a “Declaration of No Further Need” by the County Executive. The disposition process also requires the County to secure full (fair) market value for any County-owned property. More details about disposition process can be found on the County Department of General Services (DGS) Office of Planning and Development’s website.
“Montgomery County’s standing as a global biohealth leader is thanks in no small part to the commitment of United Therapeutics in Silver Spring,” said Council President Andrew Friedson. “We are so proud to partner with purpose-driven, forward-looking organizations that are willing to take risks and invest in Montgomery County while advancing lifesaving innovation.”
The County first sold land in Silver Spring to United Therapeutics in 2002 to facilitate construction of its corporate headquarters at 1040 Spring Street. The County again sold a parcel on Spring Street in 2015 to United Therapeutics to facilitate construction of its environmentally sustainable, LEED certified Unisphere expansion, the world’s largest site net zero commercial office building, delivered in 2018. The site has 230 employees and focuses on biotech, specifically the marketing of therapeutics to treat rare diseases and the research and development of manufactured organs for transplant to help patients with end stage organ diseases. The company has had immense growth, with revenues of nearly $2 billion in 2022 and average annual revenue growth above 20 percent since its first commercial sale in 2002.
“Since our founding almost 30 years ago, we have been honored to be part of the downtown Silver Spring community,” said Thomas Kaufman, Associate Vice President, Corporate Real Estate at United Therapeutics. “Montgomery County has been a key partner in supporting our growth during that time, and this agreement will allow us to continue our growth and support for Silver Spring for years to come.”
“The partnership announced today lays the foundation for the long-term vibrancy of Downtown Silver Spring and benefits our entire County,” stated Council Vice President Kate Stewart. “The growth of United Therapeutics will bring jobs and economic investment to our community, as they advance their lifesaving medicine. We are fortunate to have a trailblazing biotech company that changes lives worldwide and gives back to our community right here in Downtown Silver Spring.”
“Maryland has long been a leader in critical research and development. This agreement will expand our innovation economy while spurring jobs, growth, and investment in Silver Spring. This is great news for the community, the County, and our state,” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Summary of the Agreement:
The proposed agreement between Montgomery County and United Therapeutics Corporation will allow for the company’s future growth at its urban campus in downtown Silver Spring and provide the County with significant public benefits, including:
- Further solidifying Montgomery County’s commitment to growing its bio-health economy by providing United Therapeutics the flexibility for future growth as it continues to advance its mission to develop an unlimited supply of tolerable, transplantable organs at its co-headquarters in Silver Spring.
- Ensuring that United Therapeutics continues to grow from its current 230 full-time employees in downtown Silver Spring and expand its significant contributions to Montgomery County and the State of Maryland’s biohealth economy and ecosystem.
- A new parking garage in the heart of Silver Spring along Georgia Avenue, located just north of Colesville Road at 8615 Georgia Avenue.
- Approximately 3,000 square feet (SF) of new retail space area on the ground floor of the new parking garage along Georgia Avenue.
- Land designated for a future affordable housing development in Downtown Silver Spring.
- A new state-of-the-art, fiber hub for the Montgomery County Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions.
- A new 20,000 SF parking operations service facility for MCDOT in a more centralized location relative to the three main parking lot districts in Silver Spring, Wheaton, and Bethesda. The new site includes an additional 17,000 SF to accommodate future MCDOT needs, and a 5,000 SF renovated and enclosed building for equipment and field vehicle storage.
For more details on the agreement, please visit the DGS Office of Planning and Development website.
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