Applications are now open for the Make Office Vacancy Extinct (MOVE) Grant Program, a Montgomery County government initiative designed to help businesses expand locally, according to county officials.
The program will provide office rental grants for county businesses looking to increase their existing footprint and eligible businesses that want to move to the county. Restaurant and retail businesses aren’t eligible for the funding, according to the county.
The program, which codifies an existing initiative, aims to eliminate the county’s office vacancy rate by providing a financial incentive to encourage businesses to rent or expand. The county has a 18.1% office vacancy rate, compared to 12.3% in 2019, according to county documents.
“We’ve developed strategies within the county to keep our economy moving forward,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said during a media briefing Wednesday. “The MOVE program intends to attract new businesses to Montgomery County.”
The grant program is the result of a bill that was sponsored by councilmembers Evan Glass (D-At-large), Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6), Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), who are all members of the council’s Economic Development Committee. Co-sponsors included council Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) and councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5).
“This is incredibly important,” Glass said when the council approved the legislation in July. “We all know that telework has changed our landscape, and our office vacancy rate is at a record high.”
The MOVE Grant Program was introduced as a pilot program in March 2014 by then-County Executive Ike Leggett (D). However, it was never codified. The legislation establishes the program under the law as part of the county’s Economic Development Fund. It also increases the maximum financial incentive that a business could receive from the county from $80,000 to $150,000 by increasing the total amount of space eligible for the funding. Under the program, a business can receive $8 per square foot of office space.
Funding for the revamped program comes from the county’s Economic Development Fund. County businesses can now apply for the funding under the revamped program; previously, only businesses looking to move to the county were eligible.
“More square footage equals a bigger grant. Almost all businesses are eligible, except restaurants and retail businesses, as was excluded by the county law,” Gene Smith, manager of the Montgomery County Business Center, said during a media briefing Wednesday. “It is a first-come, first-serve program.”
According to Glass, the Economic Development Committee assessed the county’s real estate portfolio in 2023 and found that it could be improved by getting workers back into the office. The committee decided to build off the success of the existing MOVE program.
“This is one of the programs that has a strong track record,” Fani-González said prior to the council’s July vote. “The committee took the opportunity to analyze it and see how we could expand it.”
Between fiscal year 2014 and the end of 2023, the program disbursed more than $5.2 million to 85 businesses, according to a memo from Elrich’s office. The businesses occupied a total of 703,457 square feet of office space.
Businesses can apply on the county’s website.
