The company will still go ahead with two other buildings totaling 700,000 sf that are part of a revival of the Washington D.C. suburb. "Right now it wasn't the right business decision to keep it on the books," says a spokesman for Discovery. "Staff wasn't scheduled to move in for years." But the company may return and pick up the plan later on, he adds. "I would certainly not rule it out."

Discovery added plans to sign a 15-year lease on the third building only this summer, saying it needed the space for dramatic growth of its business. At the time it said it hadn't decided which of its business units would occupy the building.

Work will start soon on a 500,000-sf, 350-foot-tall tower on Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road that will serve as the company's headquarters. The $150-million project will be the tallest building in Silver Spring, and is scheduled to be completed in 2002. A former Caldor department store near the post office site at 8045 Kenneth St. will be redeveloped for Discovery.com.

Despite the downscaling of the Discovery project, city officials still say that the revitalization of Silver Spring remains on track. The announcement of the Discovery headquarters project persuaded two other developers, the Peterson Cos. and Foulger-Pratt, to proceed early with their own plans for a $321-million town center that includes offices, shops, restaurants and theaters.