County committee approves transfer of Silver Spring’s Garage 2 to United Therapeutics

A joint session of Montgomery County's Transportation and Environment and Government Operations Committee voted unanimously July 29 to declare no further need for County Public Parking Garage 2 at 1200 Spring Street in Silver Spring and to approve its disposition to United Therapeutics Corporation.

The move is governed by a General Development Agreement the county and United Therapeutics signed in December 2023. Under the agreement, United Therapeutics will provide a new seven‑story replacement garage on a site near Georgia Avenue valued in staff presentations at roughly $15.3 million in land plus about $20.6 million in garage improvements. The county will also receive a fiber hub and a relocated Parking, Licensing and Consumer Protection (PLD) service facility as part of the exchange.

Benjamin Morgan, the county presenter, said the Garage 2 parcel is about 150,000 square feet and currently supports a six‑story structure with about 1,300 parking spaces built in the 1970s. He told the committee that a November 2023 Jones Lang LaSalle appraisal put the underlying land value at about $28.5 million and the built properties at roughly $16 million, for a combined county asset value of about $44.5 million on the site. Morgan said the package the county will receive in return is valued at about $62.5 million, including the replacement garage, fiber hub and PLD facility.

County staff issued a corrective packet the morning of the meeting clarifying that United Therapeutics is expected to invest at least $50,000,000 in the new campus over the 15 years following the transfer, a staff member said during the session.

The replacement garage — described in the presentation as a seven‑story facility with approximately 675 spaces — would include 12 electric‑vehicle chargers, bicycle parking and up to 3,000 square feet of ground‑floor retail; renderings shown to the committee include facade treatments intended to improve streetscape appearance. Morgan said the county’s own counts showed average peak occupancy in Garage 2 of about 465 spaces in the fiscal year that ended June 30, which informed the department’s decision to provide a smaller, rightsized replacement rather than retain the full 1,300 spaces.

A county transportation official told the committee the existing Garage 2 will remain open until the new facility — referred to in materials as Garage 22 — is operational, so the county expects no gap in public parking availability during the transition. Morgan also said the project will be reviewed through the mandatory referral process at the planning department and that no zoning changes are expected to be required for the proposed garage.

Council President Friedson praised the agreement, saying the county was “getting an insanely good deal” and framing the transaction as an example of how public‑private partnerships can support local economic development and public infrastructure. Councilmember Balcom thanked staff and United Therapeutics and said the deal would make it easier to do business in Montgomery County.

The chair called the vote, which the committee recorded as unanimous in favor of declaring no further need and approving the disposition to United Therapeutics. The committee adjourned after the vote.