Montgomery County Council approves up to $420 million in Viva White Oak bonds

The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve up to $420 million in bonds to develop about 280 acres in White Oak, providing the financing needed to begin construction.

Proponents of the long-awaited Viva White Oak development say it will be transformative for eastern Montgomery County, which has generally struggled more than the county’s western neighborhoods to attract development.

Viva White Oak is a “massive mixed-use project, and it’s gonna have long-term impacts on, honestly, this part of the county, but also the entire county,” said P. David Bramble, managing partner and co-founder of MCB Real Estate, the Baltimore-based firm leading the project.

Anthony Stahl, president of Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center, which sits next to where Viva White Oak will be built, said nearly half of his center’s 700 nurses commute more than an hour each day because of the limited availability of housing in the area.

“At a time when health care organizations nationwide are competing for talent, housing availability has become a critical factor,” he said. “It directly affects our ability to recruit [and] retain the caregivers upon whom our community relies. The Viva White Oak development addresses this challenge.”

The development, edged by the Capital Beltway to the south and Cherry Hill Road to the east, is expected to include thousands of housing units, including apartments and townhomes, an affordable senior living facility, retail stores and restaurants.

It will also feature a Costco, medical offices, life science manufacturing facilities, land for a new elementary school and public park space.

Council member Kristin Mink, whose district includes White Oak and who has been outspoken in her support for the project, said eastern Montgomery County has a dearth of high-paying jobs compared to other parts of the county. She’s hoping Viva White Oak can help change that.

“We need some really meaningful economic development engines coming out of this side of the county,” she said.

The county bonds will fund the public infrastructure improvements needed to build out Viva White Oak, including soil remediation, connector roads, and water, sewer and utility connections.

Montgomery County will repay the bonds with future property tax revenue under a form of borrowing known as tax-increment financing.

With this financing in place, MCB Real Estate expects to begin construction in the fall. The firm has planned for Costco, some retail stores and townhomes to open in 2029.

The broader project is set to be completed in 2044. It is the first for which the county has used tax increment financing.

Advocates say the method allows the county to support projects without having to potentially compromise funding for other programs or services.

“There is no comparable site in the county with this scale of need, and it demands a unique financing tool,” Shana Davis-Cook, a board member for the nonprofit Friends of White Oak, said during a public hearing in mid July.