Bethesda-based First Potomac Realty Trust is hoping a new café and pavilion and two new office buildings can reenergize a Rockville office park.
Earlier this month, First Potomac and its affiliates submitted a site plan application to the City of Rockville for the proposed improvements at the 27-acre Redland Corporate Center, home to three existing office buildings at 520, 530 and 540 Gaither Road. The proposal is set to go before the city’s Development Review Committee on April 7.
In October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality moved out of the 540 Gaither Road building to JBG’s renovated 5600 Fishers Lane building, home to other HHS agencies in the Twinbrook section of Rockville.
According to a letter submitted with the site plan application, the owners at Redland Corporate Center think the proposed changes can help them weather the decline of suburban-style office properties.
“Until recently, the Applicant has been able to successfully guide this Property through these difficult economic conditions by attracting or retaining a number of key tenants including BAE Systems Technology, ICF Consulting Group, and Bialek Environments, among others,” the letter says. “The Applicant believes that the Property will be well positioned for continued success if certain changes are made to provide desired amenities for key tenants and additional floor area for future employers.”
The first phase of the three-phase proposal would be the construction of a roughly 3,000-square foot standalone café and pavilion for employees on an existing surface parking lot in the middle of the three existing office buildings.
Site plan application for the Redland Corporate Center, via City of Rockville. (Click to enlarge).
The area would be complemented by new landscaping, a 2,000-foot-long trail around the office park, and outdoor seating in an effort to create an inviting and pedestrian-friendly place.
Phase two of the project would be a new, 11-story and 150,000-square-foot Class A office building with a partially concealed garage parking. Phase three would be another 11-story Class A office building. Both would be built “as market conditions permit,” according to the property’s owners, and on existing surface parking lots.
After the proposal’s review by the city’s Development Review Committee, it will go before the city’s Planning Commission, though that meeting hasn’t been scheduled.
