Montgomery College announced Wednesday that Germantown-based Minkoff Development Corp. and Rockville-based South Duvall Commercial Real Estate Investments will be partnering to erect a 140,000 square-foot high-tech manufacturing building on its Germantown campus.
Minkoff and South Duvall signed a lease with Germantown-based Hughes Network Systems, and the new building will “house production of Hughes satellite and networking equipment,” according to a press release. The building will be at 19710 Observation Drive, adjacent to the Hughes headquarters complex.
Montgomery College awarded the exclusive development rights and ground lease for the 5.67-acre site to Minkoff and South Duvall following a request for proposals in 2018, according to a press release.
The building is currently in its design phase, with a groundbreaking expected this month, according to the press release. Completion could come in the fall of 2023, according to the college.
Montgomery College’s Germantown campus currently houses the Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology, which includes Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. On Wednesday, Jim Muir III, vice president for corporate real estate at Hughes, said the company looks forward to inviting students from the innovation center “to learn and grow with us.”
Hughes and Montgomery College collaborate on training and educational initiatives, the college said Wednesday.
Montgomery College President Jermaine Williams said he looks forward to the college contributing more to “the pipeline of talented, highly skilled workers” at the Germantown campus.
“We look forward to collaborating with Hughes to ensure that our students gain the skills they need to be competitive in the rapidly evolving workforce,” he said in the press release.
Michael Smith, executive director of the Pinkney complex, said in the press release that students will be able to interact “with technology industry professionals on a regular basis.”
Montgomery College serves nearly 60,000 students across three campuses in Montgomery County. The campuses are in Rockville, Germantown and Silver Spring.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@bethesdda-remix.newspackstaging.com