Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science

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Overview

The Great Seneca Plan (Plan), a comprehensive amendment to the 2010 Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan (2010 Plan), covers 4,330 acres in the heart of the I-270 Corridor between the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville and the Town of Washington Grove. The Plan area includes several distinct areas with a variety of contexts, conditions, and opportunities, including the Life Sciences Center (LSC), Quince Orchard, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Londonderry and Hoyle’s Addition, Rosemont, Oakmont, Walnut Hill, Washingtonian Light Industrial Park, Washingtonian Residential, and Hi Wood. The Plan focuses predominantly on the Life Sciences Center, a thriving economic hub that is host to a diverse population, as well as growing life sciences, medical, and educational institutions.

The Plan focuses on strengthening the economic competitiveness of the Life Sciences Center through mixed-use development, public realm improvements, equitable access, and implementation strategies. The Plan envisions the Londonderry and Hoyle’s Addition area as a thriving residential neighborhood with local-serving retail, public open spaces, and transit connections, and offers limited recommendations for the Quince Orchard, Rosemont, Oakmont, Walnut Hill, Washingtonian Light Industrial, Washingtonian Residential, and Hi Wood areas.

Recommendations are organized within the themes of the built, social, natural, and economic environments and provide guidance for land use; zoning; urban design; transportation; parks, trails, and public open space; the economy; and the environment.

Upcoming events

Community meeting, March 19

Learn about the Montgomery Planning Department recommendations for the Londonderry area of the Great Seneca Plan. Join the meeting English language meeting on Tuesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. or the Spanish language meeting at 6 p.m. Register here to join the meeting. We’ll send out a zoom link the day of the meeting.

Public hearing, March 14

The Montgomery County Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing on the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science for Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m. in the Second Floor Auditorium of The M-NCPPC’s Wheaton Headquarters (2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD, 20902). The hearing will also be livestreamed on the Planning Board’s website. The community is encouraged to sign up to testify live at the public hearing either in-person or online or provide written comments to the Planning Board via email ahead of the public hearing. 

Appendices:

• Demographic appendix
• Economic appendix
• Engagement appendix
• Environmental appendix
• Existing Conditions appendix
• Historic Preservation appendix
• Parks appendix
• Transportation appendix
• Glossary

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Current phase of the plan

Racial equity and social justice

Plan boundary

Equitable engagement

Timeline

Current phase of the plan: Public Hearing Draft

The Draft was developed through an iterative process between Planning Staff, community members, property owners, and institutional and agency partners, among others. Recommendations do not come from a single place but represent the balance between best practices and professional expertise, data analysis and modeling, and the lived experience and desires of the community.

Racial equity and social justice

The Plan envisions a future for the communities in the Great Seneca Plan area that celebrates the diverse backgrounds, languages, and cultures that contribute to the character and history of the area and offers opportunities to all community members. All residents deserve high-quality housing, education, jobs, transportation, and recreational opportunities, and providing more equitable access to these opportunities requires us to prioritize private and public investment in the areas where more people work and live, as well as in communities that have experienced past patterns of discrimination.

The Draft of the Great Seneca Plan includes several recommendations to support equitable opportunities and outcomes for existing and future community members, including but not limited to the following:

• Encourage compact, mixed-use development near transit that integrates and connects life sciences uses with residential uses, retail, and neighborhood services and amenities.
• Encourage more housing overall, and further encourage public, private, nonprofit, philanthropic, and religious institution partners to expand housing affordability in infill and redevelopment.
• Expand transportation choices—including improved facilities for walking, biking, rolling, and public transit to enhance access to jobs and other opportunities.
• Improve safety for all travelers through reduced target travel speeds, narrower and fewer vehicular travel lanes, smaller turn radii, and the removal of channelized right-turn lanes.
• Create promenades, greenways, parks, and publicly accessible open spaces to facilitate physical activity, social interaction, access to nature, and environmental stewardship.
• Support economic competitiveness in the Life Sciences Center to bring more well-paying employment opportunities for people with a diversity of education and work experience.
• Invest in the Londonderry and Hoyle’s Addition area to address long-standing inequities.
  • Leverage private investment through redevelopment while protecting current residents from displacement.
  • Provide additional housing, neighborhood-serving retail, and public open space.
  • Provide dedicated transit lanes on Muddy Branch Road and improve bicycle, pedestrians, and transit connectivity.
  • Mitigate noise and air pollution from I-270, improve tree canopy, and minimize impervious surfaces.

Plan boundary

Download map image

The Plan borders the Intercounty Connector (ICC) and MD 355. The Plan area is non-contiguous and dispersed among municipalities. The City of Gaithersburg occupies 10 square miles in the center of the Plan area, the City of Rockville borders the Plan area on the east, and the Town of Washington Grove borders the Plan area to the northeast. The Plan includes several distinct areas, including the Life Sciences Center (LSC), Quince Orchard, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Londonderry and Hoyle’s Addition, Rosemont, Oakmont, Walnut Hill, Washingtonian Light Industrial Park, Washingtonian Residential, and Hi Wood. The Life Sciences Center is bordered by the City of Gaithersburg on the north and west, and the City of Rockville on the east. The Quince Orchard area is bordered by the City of Gaithersburg on the east. The remaining areas are nearly surrounded by the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville.

Plan timeline

Staff contact

Maren Hill
301-650-5613
Email