Westgate CRA backs MSD plan to convert Hangar building to biotech manufacturing, with community-space condition

The Westgate/Belvedere Homes Community Redevelopment Agency board on May 11 recommended that county planning staff approve a Development Review Officer application to allow Meso Scale Diagnostics to convert Building A at the Hangar & Airfield Business Park into a manufacturing and processing facility, provided the developer delivers a community space on-site or off-site, the board said.

Joni Brinkman of Urban Design Studio presented the project after being introduced by Elizée Michel, the CRA executive director. Brinkman described the existing Hangar & Airfield Business Park program — 244,865 square feet of collocated uses including high-end vehicle "Hangar" condominium units and separate warehousing — and said the southern portion contains Building A, an 80,750-square-foot structure currently vacant. The contract purchaser, Meso Scale Diagnostics (MSD), proposes to subdivide roughly 4.84 acres and convert the entire Building A to light industrial manufacturing and processing, reducing accessory office space and installing perimeter security fencing to meet contractual requirements with government customers. No exterior building changes are proposed; MSD plans substantial interior build-out.

According to the materials presented to the board, MSD intends to use the space for injection molding, screen printing and part finishing and assembly. The applicant told the board it expects to invest about $20 million in targeted capital improvements and to employ approximately 50 workers once the facility is fully utilized. Staff said MSD’s obligations as a supplier on biodefense-related government programs require strict physical access controls, which is why the previously approved 2,250-square-foot public community space is proposed to be removed from the public program.

CRA staff explained that the proposed Manufacturing and Processing use is inconsistent with the Westgate CRA Redevelopment Area Overlay (WCRAO) vision for the Congress Avenue corridor but is allowed through the site's Multiple Use Planned Development zoning and existing administrative DRO provisions when mutual-agreement criteria apply. Staff recommended the CRA board endorse DRO approval and the final site plan; the board accepted that recommendation but made approval conditional.

Westgate/Belvedere Homes CRA board member Joanne Rufty moved to accept staff’s recommendation and require the developer to provide community space on-site or off-site consistent with the prior owner’s offer; Ruth Haggerty seconded. The board voted unanimously to support the DRO application with that condition (5-0). The board recorded no detailed implementation plan for the alternative community space at the meeting; staff said alternative community benefits will be presented by the applicant.

The board’s recommendation will be transmitted to county planning staff, who have the administrative authority to grant or deny the DRO-level approval and any subsequent building permits. The applicant’s materials indicate a target interior build-out and operational timeline extending to 2029.