On September 1, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett joined Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, U.S. Representatives Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards, Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen, National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Harold Varmus, Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels, General Services Administration (GSA) officials, representatives from The JBG Companies and other officials to mark the start of construction on a new, $200 million satellite campus at the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center for 2,100 employees of the National Cancer Institute to be built at 9601 Medical Center Drive.
The JBG Companies was selected to develop the complex as twin, seven-story buildings with a parking garage and shops on
9 acres overlooking a large pond. Officials said JBG will register with the U.S. Green Building Council, and will pursue LEED Gold certification. The site will also connect with the future Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT).
“At the heart of the Life Sciences Center is a community which, in our view, is a blend of healthcare, biotech and IT interests that combine to create a vital, future business destination that will employ thousands of excellent minds and imaginations,” said Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. “We are determined, as well, that it grows carefully into a model environmental community that continues to be a desirable destination in which to live.”
“This new facility represents a collective investment in the talents, skills, creativity, and education of our people,” Governor Martin O’Malley said. “In these tough times, it will create much needed jobs for our families during construction, and its sustainable design will help our environment. When it is complete, the vital research and innovation that will happen here will improve our health and biosciences sectors and help us to secure a better, stronger and healthier future for generations to come.”
NCI’s new satellite site will be located on Johns Hopkins’ Montgomery County Campus, which is home to more than 4,000 students, 450 full- and part-time faculty members and 16 biotech companies and research centers.
“This is a blue-chip alliance that we are extremely proud to be a part of,” said Rod Lawrence, managing principal for The JBG Companies. “We pledge to develop a cutting edge, technologically advanced facility that will enhance NCI’s mission and foster a special collaboration of professional, academic and private interests focused on curing cancer.”
Most of the NCI staff members who will work at the Life Sciences Center are presently located in other commercial buildings that do not afford space for future expansion. NCI is headquartered on the Bethesda campus of the National Institutes of Health, and also has operations in Frederick, Md., and several other smaller satellite facilities in Montgomery County.
JBG signed a long-term ground lease with Johns Hopkins, which owns the land, to build the 575,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled to be delivered in early 2013. It was designed by Washington architect HOK. Rockville’s James G. Davis Construction Corporation is the general contractor.