Discovery Sells Headquarters, Leaves Network Hub In Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — In keeping with Discovery Communications' January 2018 announcement that it would leave Silver Spring for a new headquarters in New York City, the organization announced Thursday that its nearly 550,000-square-foot, 10-story building in Silver Spring had been sold to Foulger-Pratt and Cerebus Capital Management.

The company, meanwhile, signed a lease on a 60,000 square-foot space with Brookfield Properties’ Silver Spring Metro Plaza in Silver Spring, which will house the new Maryland Hub. The hub will be home to some network and support functions, along with government relations.

Planned improvements to the space in Silver Spring Metro Plaza include new seating areas, lighting, plantings, an on-site fitness center and public program and tenant concierge services.

“Discovery was founded in Maryland and since 1991 has been part of the Montgomery County community, so the decision to move the global headquarters is one that was not made lightly,” said David Leavy, Chief Corporate Operations and Communications Officer. “We are excited to be able to keep a presence in Silver Spring to continue to support and draw from the robust Maryland and DC-area production community that has developed alongside Discovery over the past 35 years.”

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The company plans to move its headquarters to New York City in the second half of 2019 and create a National Operations Headquarters at Scripps' Knoxville campus.

"This was one of the toughest calls we have made in our company's history, and we do not take it lightly. I felt strongly about sharing the news with all of you as quickly as possible once the decision was finalized," President and CEO David Zaslav said.

Discovery’s state-of-the-art media distribution facility will remain in Sterling, Virginia and become a global technology center as announced earlier this year. The Northern Virginia Technology Hub, which originates over 80 global feeds, features modern digital technology, recently upgraded to take full advantage of live playout capabilities, increased nonlinear publishing and, most recently, the company’s industry-leading efforts to move all Discovery U.S. networks origination to the cloud.

Related on Patch:

• Discovery Communications Headquarters To Leave Silver Spring

Getty Images file photo: President and CEO, Discovery, David Zaslav speaks onstage during the Discovery, Inc. – Executive portion of the Discovery Communications Summer TCA Event 2018 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 26, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery, Inc.)