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Montgomery County Government

White Oak Science Gateway

WOSG Projects

What is the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan?

The White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan seeks to leverage the many assets located in the White Oak area and establish the foundation upon which the area may evolve into a community that offers more opportunities to learn, live, work and play. The Plan also envisions that the commercial centers will evolve from conventional, auto-dependent suburban shopping retail centers, business parks and light industrial areas into vibrant, mixed-use, transit-served nodes. The White Oak area has been identified for major development initiatives after nearly 20 years of development moratorium.

White Oak As a World Class Bio and Life Science Community

photo of researchers In 2009, the County purchased a 115-acre former compositing facility known as Site 2 from WSSC for the express purpose of creating a “World Class Bio/Life Sciences, Education and Research Community,” and in 2011 the County chose Percontee, Inc., as its development partner in a public-private partnership. This partnership, to redevelop nearly 280 acres of industrial uses into a mixed-use center with a focus on bio/life sciences, will take place over the next 10 to 15 years. While the 280-acre project known as Viva White Oak is poised to transform the WOSG, new development and redevelopment in the area is not limited to this project (see below for additional development). A new master plan was approved in 2014 covering nearly 3,000 acres, allowing mixed uses on other properties historically dominated by a single use. Redevelopment must enhance the entire area’s quality of life, appearance, walkability, and sense of place. This Plan provides a blueprint to connect White Oak’s centers to each other and the broader region through a transit system that includes Bus Rapid Transit as an integral component.