The campus already has a tenant base that includes the Center for Advanced Study of Language, which makes its home in a 130,000-sf building, the National Foreign Language Center, and the National Weather and Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is planning a 235,000-sf facility. While no firm commitments have been put in place for M Square One, Two and Three, there has been substantial interest among potential occupants.

"We already have tenants with letters of intent for M Square One, which was sufficient enough for financing and to get it under way," Brian Darmody, assistant vice president for Research & Economic Development at the University of Maryland College Park, tells GlobeSt.com. "We're trying to build a community of science, to be an intermediary and create a cluster in the park."

NAI Michael Cos. is overseeing leasing for the facilities. Space in the first four-story, 120,000-sf structure is being marketed for $28 per sf. Construction is on schedule to begin on M Square One this month with a scheduled completion date for late this year.