Depending on how closely you follow development in DC and the surrounding area, you may have heard of the I-270 life sciences corridor: a 37 mile stretch of life sciences companies along I-270 that snakes from Bethesda through Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Clarksburg. The corridor spans two counties (Montgomery and Frederick) and hosts 140 companies and counting that employee over 19,000 people between them.
One reason that buying a property along the corridor is a smart move? There are more massive developments underway that will bring plenty more jobs and plenty more employees in need of housing! Read on for some information about several of the largest planned developments.
Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology
Known as the PIC MC, this complex is home to the Holy Cross Germantown Hospital and the Germantown Innovation Center, a business incubator that boasts 24 startup companies launching in its space. In addition, Rockville based investment firm South Duvall and Germantown based Minkoff Development are partnering on a forty million dollar mixed use facility that will include lab, office, manufacturing, and distribution space and span over five and a half acres! The Pinkney campus falls within a qualified opportunity zone, which offers a nice incentive for developers to choose the complex as the site for future projects.
Clarksburg Comsat Site
This massive 204 acre site (which will be developed by Lantian Development) is slated for mixed use, including residential, retail, hospitality, office, and lab space. At the moment, development plans are on hold as Lantian will complete other projects in Rockville prior to starting on the Clarksburg site. In addition, the project may face further delays after the Maryland Department of Transportation defunded an initiative to build public transit along I-270 in September. A recent transit proposal included a bus route that would have ended at the future Comsat site. All this being said, we all know delays and funding issues are typical with large-scale development. While the Clarksburg site may be a longer term project, it will still bring jobs and people to the area for years to come–two things you want in a location for an investment property!
704 Quince Orchard
The 704 building boasts 80,000 square feet of life science space for combined lab and office use. While 44% of the space has already been leased, there are still six spaces available for companies to rent that range from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet. The building was intended to increase availability of lab space for small companies, and the more lab space the better–there has been greater demand than there is space in recent years. In suburban Maryland, while the office vacancy rate sits at 19%, the vacant lab rate is a mere 5%.
Ready to Invest?
As you now know, lab space is in demand and the I-270 life science corridor continues to grow, bringing employment opportunities and employees who need places to live! If all of this has you contemplating an I-270 investment property (or any investment property!), please give Lise a call at 240-401-5577 for trusted real estate advice.
