Montgomery Planning Board advances master plan for White Oak Science Gateway

By Bill Turque

The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a land-use blueprint Thursday that officials hope will eventually transform the long-neglected White Oak section of the eastern part of the county into a “new Silicon Valley” for medical and life sciences research.

The five-member board voted unanimously to send the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan to the County Council and County Executive Isiah Leggett for review. The project’s anchor would be LifeSci Village, a joint venture of the county government and Percontee, a private developer. The company is owned by the Gudelsky family, long active in Montgomery real estate, which has land adjacent to a county property east of Route 29 off Industrial Parkway.

Together, they propose to turn the 300-acre site, once used for sludge composting and as a sand and gravel quarry, into a complex of research facilities, office space, retail and housing. Planners envision a major employment center — catalyzed by the presence of the Food and Drug Administration headquarters next door — that could create up to 10,000 jobs.

Read full article here from The Washington Post