National Cancer Institute heads to Shady Grove

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
National Cancer Institute heads to Shady Grove
County planners approve aims to move headquarters from Bethesda
by Patricia M. Murret | Staff Writer
The National Cancer Institute in Bethesda will move its headquarters upcounty to the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in Rockville within the next three years, according to the project developer and a newly approved proposal by Johns Hopkins University.
With the move comes about 2,100 research and support staff jobs from various Montgomery County locations, said Valerie Berton, spokeswoman for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
The project should bring about 200 to 300 short-term construction jobs and add 300 to 900 spin-off jobs in the private sector over the next five to 10 years, she said.
NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, will fill two seven-story buildings on a 41-acre parcel at Key West and Medical Center Drive owned by Johns Hopkins University.
Three buildings with 210,000 square feet of commercial space now stand at the spot. New NCI buildings, a parking garage and surrounding retail space will require about 512,000 square feet, according to plans. Total costs are expected to reach approximately $200 million, said Charles Maier, spokesman for JBG Companies, the project's developer.
"We expect it to be completed by early 2013," said Maier. "If all goes well, we will break ground by the end of this year."
The county's Biosciences Strategy Report, released in December 2009 calls for "an expedited approval process for qualified biosciences projects." County leaders continue to call for "green-taping" biotechnology ventures, speeding them through the county's red tape.
"The County has made it clear in its Biosciences Strategy Report that it wants to encourage biotech development within the County," said Robin Ferrier, communications manager for Johns Hopkins University – Montgomery County, when asked whether county planners had fast-tracked the project. "It is up to the County to set the timeline for the permitting and approval process for individual projects."
The U.S. General Services Administration, which runs NIH, announced its plans to move NCI to JHU-Shady Grove and use JBG Companies last month. The county Planning Board approved Johns Hopkins proposal Thursday. Two approved preliminary amendments do not change details to the plan and are standard parts of the planning process, said Maier.
Next steps: JHU representatives will return to the Planning Board with a detailed site plan that includes landscaping, lighting, building materials and other details, Berton said.
The project is expected to meet gold-level standards of The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, Berton said.