Gov. Hogan, Officials Lead VIVA White Oak Groundbreaking Ceremony

SILVER SPRING, MD — Gov. Larry Hogan joined state and federal officials on Monday for a groundbreaking ceremony at VIVA White Oak, a mixed-use development and medical and life sciences hub in Silver Spring. The Food and Drug Administration headquarters and Washington Adventist Hospital will be adjacent to the community.

The $3.2 billion project is a public-private partnership between Percontee — an affiliate of Global LifeSci Development Corporation, the FDA, and Washington Adventist Hospital.

The 300-acre community, which will accommodate more than 12-million-square-feet for buildings, will include "internationally preeminent biomedical enterprises, a consortium of biomedical universities, a full-service hotel and conference center, restaurants, shops, professional offices, residences, parks, and an elementary school," said Percontee Vice President Jonathan Genn.

“The groundbreaking for VIVA White Oak as part of the overall FDA consolidation plan represents the next big step forward in making our region a hub for innovation in bioscience that will help develop more cures and treatments for diseases that impact every American family. This development will draw new biotech businesses and scientists to Maryland to live and work side-by-side with the FDA. I will continue to push for robust funding for the FDA, the NIH, and other federal assets that make Maryland a world center for discovery, innovation, and the development of new products to improve health care and the quality of life for all Americans,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

Supporters like Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, said it was important to create a mixed-use community like VIVA White Oak.

"VIVA White Oak! VIVA White Oak! Because you recognize for the FDA's future, for White Oak's future, you need to have a vibrant community. And that's what you're doing here," said Sen. Cardin.

"You're going to develop the mixed-use so people can actually live here and work here. Think about what that's going to do to help this region. You'll have the commercial facilities here and, yes, you'll have the space for creative, new entrepreneurs to be able to take the synergy that we have here and develop it into the next generation of technology," Sen. Cardin added.

"We're thrilled at the FDA's footprint here in Montgomery County is going to double in size and that the White Oak campus will grow to nearly 18,000 scientists and administrators, which is just terrific," Gov. Hogan said. "Today we're celebrating that the FDA will be serving as an anchor for this entire project, which includes far more than just the FDA. At $3.2 billion, 12-million-square-foot development here known as VIVA White Oak, which will combine a town center, research and academic facilities, with residential and commercial space, VIVA White Oak is a game-changing, transformative, multi-faceted project with innovation at its very core."

Photos via Alessia Grunberger/Patch

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