University Plans Science City

Johns Hopkins University has been spearheading the drive to build a new research and development complex just north of Washington,D.C. in Montgomery County,Maryland.The Baltimore-based university says it wants to create an exciting,livable,research-oriented Montgomery County of the future.It hopes the 10 billion dollar project will rival Palo Alto,California or the Research Triangle in North Carolina.The mixed use development would include housing and retail as well as R&D.Local residents fear the project would result in more suburban sprawl,spawning heavy traffic.Supporters point to the residential and retail aspects of the plan,which they say will keep workers on site.
The Montgomery County Council has been narrowing the project's scope somewhat,raising the life sciences quotient from 30 to 40% of the site,which lies west of I-270,and diminishing the maximum square footage from 20 million square feet to 17.5 million.This has lessened the concerns of residents,but they still intend to keep a close eye on the matter.A final vote by the Council will probably be taken in June.
R&D projects are highly sought-after by numerous jurisdictions nationwide.Today more than ever,they need the good tax revenue such activity is believed to generate.The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is an economically successful example of such development in nearby Howard County,Maryland,although it does draw its share of commuters.