Spread among several buildings, the headquarters also offers a fitness center, indoor and outdoor employee lounge areas, and a vast parking lot. The multi-structure complex includes a three-story building of R&D laboratories, and another three-story tower for administrative offices and additional labs.

Qiagen broke ground on the project in March 2000. At that time Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend --who is also a member of the state's Cabinet Council on Business and Economic Development--explained that the company's "presence here in the state exemplifies our position as a leading location throughout the world for biotechnology." And speaking of the complex's completion, Gov. Paris N. Glendening notes that Qiagen's decision to build in Montgomery County "reinforces Maryland's position as a pro-business state, which offers outstanding assets--including a highly skilled workforce--to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry."