Montgomery County announced Friday that it has reached agreement with a private developer to create a “life sciences” town center in its economically moribund eastern sector.
It took the county and developer Percontee, owners of adjoining land, more than a year to settle their differences over Viva White Oak, envisioned as a 300-acre hub of medical and science companies, housing and retail businesses adjacent to the Food and Drug Administration campus near Route 29 and New Hampshire Avenue.
County officials and community advocates hope the project will generate jobs and growth for a region of the county that has seen little of either. They see Viva White Oak as the third piece of a potential economic development engine that includes the FDA — which could expand onto the county property — and the new Washington Adventist Hospital that recently broke ground nearby. Supporters say the three ventures could generate as many as 10,000 new jobs as the project is built out over the next 25 year
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Bill Turque over at Washington Post