Faced With Spending Pressure, GSA Revamps Plans for White Oak's FDA

The federal government is developing major new agency headquarters at White Oak, but to this point has not provided enough money for some basics.

County, Percontee to Create Mixed-Use Life Sciences Center Near FDA

Montgomery County-based company chosen to develop 115 acres of county-owned land.

Little known fact: Scientists like nice restaurants too. And they like to go see movies and shop. With about 10,000 scientists set to converge on East Montgomery County once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completes the consolidation of its White Oak campus, County Executive Isiah Leggett and private companies are readying for their arrival with a mixed-use, life sciences village in FDA’s backyard.  Global Life Sci Development Corporation, a Percontee, Inc. company that owns 185 acres of land near the intersection of Route 29 and Cherry Hill Road, was chosen as the county’s private sector partner. The company will add 115 acres of county-owned land (a former WSSC site) to create a development that supports the business of science …

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Moms Protest FDA For Right to Drink Raw Milk

The mothers were protesting a 1987 regulation.

Capital News Service by: Brandon Cooper A group of Maryland moms served raw milk and cookies in front of the Food and Drug Administration headquarters on Tuesday, urging the agency to drop its longstanding ban on selling unpasteurized milk across state lines. The group of about 15 mothers and other supporters - calling themselves the "Raw Milk Freedom Riders" - purchased raw milk from a Pennsylvania farm and caravanned to Silver Spring to protest the ban. The mothers were protesting a 1987 regulation issued by the FDA that prohibits the transportation of raw milk across state lines in order to sell it. The FDA said the ban is necessary because consuming raw milk can lead to illnesses from foodborne pathogens like listeria, E. coli and …

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Opinion: East County Science Center Should Be a Community Center, Too

The one thing that could truly make East County a better place to work is the one thing it's fought off for years.

For years, local boosters have said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s new campus in White Oak would bring jobs and prosperity to East County as companies flocked to work with the government agency. Yet a new report commissioned by the Planning Department suggests that it'll take a lot more to revitalize the area. Last year, county planners began work on the East County Science Center Master Plan, which will propose creating a new community for research and technology on some 1,300 acres around the FDA campus on New Hampshire Avenue currently occupied by strip malls, office parks and a few apartment complexes. Already, the area has drawn Washington Adventist Hospital, which would move from Takoma Park, and a proposed, county-…

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Central Utility Plant Expansion at FDA is Approved

The General Services Administration submitted a proposal to expand the unit that provides water to the campus.

The Food and Drug Administration's White Oak campus will expand it's Central Utility Plant, according to documents filed by the County General Services Administration to the National Capital Planning Commission on Oct. 28. (See PDF attached.) The Central Utility Plant (or CUP) provides both hot and cold water to the campus. The proposal states that a 50,000-square feet expansion of the CUP was approved as part of an FDA campus master plan in December of 2009. With an additional 1,100 or so employees expected to begin work at the campus, more room for the CUP was needed.   The expansion will take place on the northwest side of the building and will be bordered by trees, according to the recommendation. The Administration's campus maintains …

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Election 2010: 10 Minutes with Councilwoman Nancy Navarro

Navarro (D-Dist 4) spoke to Patch about bringing jobs to East County, preserving public safety resources and how she is working to bridge different ethnic communities together.

In preparation for the Nov. 2 general election, Colesville Patch will spend 10 minutes with 10 candidates. We will publish one interview every day for 10 days, from Saturday, Oct. 23, to Monday, Nov. 1. If a candidate chose not to be interviewed, we will publish a short biography. Tweet reactions to interviews using #Patch101010hashtag.  This weekend, we spoke to the two people who would like to represent East County in the council. Democrat Nancy Navarro is running for re-election to District 4, a seat that she has held since 2009 when she defeated Republican Robin Ficker and Green Party candidate George Gluck in a special election. Previously, Navarro, a Colesville resident, ran for the District 4 seat vacated by late Councilwoman …

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Q&A: Washington Adventist Hospital President Jere Stocks on Move to White Oak

The relocation of Washington Adventist Hospital to White Oak and the continued use of its Takoma Park campus will strengthen the health-care infrastructure of the entire region, hospital president Jere Stocks says.

Without a large-scale health facility, non-profit organizations currently fill a health care gap in East County. When Washington Adventist Hospital moves to White Oak, the public health landscape of the region will change. Patch discusses the impact of the move on East County residents with the hospital's president, Jere Stocks. Colesville Patch: When will the move be finalized, and how soon will health care be available in the new location? Jere Stocks: The hospital has filed an application with the Maryland Health Care Commission to relocate to White Oak. The reviewer from the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) visited our current site and the proposed site in April. We are awaiting the commission's approval and look forward to …

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