JBG, GSA celebrate completion of new HHS complex at Twinbrook

Pictured from left are
Rod Lawrence, JBG Partner; Kristi Smith, JBG Senior Vice President;
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett; Greg Trimmer, JBG Principal;
Dr. Mary Wakefield, Acting Deputy Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
Julia Hudson, GSA Regional Administrator for National Capital Region;
Dr. Howard Haft, Deputy Secretary
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene;
and
Tiffany Waddell, Director of Federal Relations
for Maryland Governor Larry Hogan

Developer The JBG Companies and the U.S. General Services Administration held a ribbon-cutting yesterday to celebrate the completion of the new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services complex at 5600 Fishers Lane in Rockville. Previously known as the Parklawn Building, the 1970s building has been transformed into a collaborative workspace with natural light, and is expected to receive LEED Platinum certifcation. The makeover cost $300,000,000.

Centered around an impressive, 14-story glass atrium, the complex's open floor plans and skybridges facilitate ease of movement and cooperation among employees. Gensler was the architecture firm on the project, with James G. Davis Construction serving as the general contractor.

With 6000 employees and now four HHS agencies under one roof, the GSA still has 350,000 square feet available for expansion on the site. The expansion of federal jobs, along with the County's booming biotech sector, have been among the few bright points in an otherwise-moribund Montgomery County economy over the last decade. Since the residential building boom in the Twinbrook area of Rockville continues, being able to locate thousands of decent-to-high wage federal jobs there is a rare shot in the arm for the County's promise of smart growth.

In many other parts of the City and County, employment centers are being now converted to residential housing, putting more commuters on the road to job centers outside the City. Here, there's a chance for employees to walk to work, or take Metro.

"We truly have reason to celebrate today," said County Executive Ike Leggett at the ribbon-cutting. "I, for one, couldn't be more pleased." JBG Principal Greg Trimmer called the revamped complex a "world-class facility," and praised the collaborative effort among all of the agencies and contractors who made it happen.

The new complex is next to another JBG-developed workplace, the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases. JBG has arguably been the major player in the transformation of Twinbrook, with several commercial and residential projects now completed there.