StonebridgeCarras, Donohoe Plan Life Science Center in Bethesda
The 175,000-square foot building at 8280 Wisconsin Ave. will be focused on the life sciences sector.
BETHESDA, MD–StonebridgeCarras and The Donohoe Cos. are moving forward with plans to begin construction in the third quarter of 2019 for their project at 8280 Wisconsin Ave. They also unveiled their plans for the 175,000-square foot building, which is expected to deliver in the summer of 2012: namely to create a commercial center for life sciences.
The companies are working for approvals with Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission with the hope of securing them by this Fall.
StonebridgeCarras and Donohoe describe their vision for the project, Bethesda Bio, as the meeting of two trends: 1) companies locating their operations near mass transportation and in vibrant urban areas and 2) life sciences companies seeking to be close to institutions driving research and advancement.
Bethesda is an untapped market for the life sciences industry as there are two world-class institutions at the northern edge of the submarket’s CBD — the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed National Medical Center, said Douglas M. Firstenberg of StonebridgeCarras.
StonebridgeCarras and Donohoe have retained as architect and engineer for the project Ewing Cole of Philadelphia. Among its credentials, the firm has worked with United Therapeutics in Silver Spring, MD. They have also retained Matt Brady and Robert Scheer of The Scheer Partners to lease the project.
The Washington region’s commercial lab market is 10.7 million square feet of which approximately 8 million, or 75% of the region’s market, is located in Montgomery County’s I-270 corridor.