Council Passes Legislation to Reduce Office Vacancies
From the Office of Councilmember Evan Glass
The Make Office Vacancy Extinct “MOVE” Act expands grants for businesses to move and grow in Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Council passed legislation today to codify the Make Office Vacancy Extinct (MOVE) grant program into law. Spearheaded by Councilmember Evan Glass, the measure was co-led by members of the Economic Development Committee, including Chair Natali Fani-González and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
“Office vacancy rates are near an all-time high in Montgomery County and across the D.C. region. This action sends a clear signal to our business community that Montgomery County is a welcoming place to start and relocate your business,” said Councilmember Glass . “The MOVE Act will allow us to expand grants for businesses to move and grow in Montgomery County. When we have thriving office buildings, it means more people visiting restaurants and shopping at stores, more creative innovation and productivity, and more overall economic activity. If we want a community where people can truly live, work and play, then we need to support physical places for people to work. Telecommuting is great for some people, but having office space is still a necessity for many professions and industries.”
“Passage of the MOVE Act is one of the tangible results of the year-long effort by the Economic Development Committee to tackle the concerning rise in vacant office space,” said Councilmember Fani-González. “Last September the committee held a panel discussion with commercial real estate experts and followed that up with a series of worksessions in winter and spring to better understand the nature of the vacancy problem and identify practical and cost-effective solutions. The MOVE program has a proven track record of attracting businesses and nonprofits to the County, so it makes a lot of sense to codify and expand it. The committee will remain vigilant to the state of the office market and is committed to pursuing more reforms to support our economy.”
“Attracting and keeping businesses in Montgomery County is critical to growing our economy. We must use every tool in the toolbox, and the MOVE program is a great tool,” said Councilmember Balcombe. “The passage of the MOVE Act allows us to better support businesses that relocate to our County as well as those that are already here and ready to expand. This creates a win-win situation where greater numbers of businesses can benefit from incentives which boosts our economy while reducing vacant office space.”
“Thank you to Councilmember Glass for leading the introduction of the MOVE Act. As an Economic Development Committee, we stand united in our support for this crucial legislation,” said Councilmember Sayles. “We cannot afford to sit back and hope for the best. We need to fill more jobs and attract more people to our County, and this legislation is a crucial step in the right direction. I am confident that it will be an essential tool in our economic development efforts.”
Bill 11-24, Finance—Economic Development Fund—Make Office Vacancy Extinct Grant Program—Established, makes the MOVE program a permanent component of the Economic Development Fund, providing an incentive for businesses to relocate to Montgomery County and utilize vacant office space. According to the commercial real estate information company CoStar, the office vacancy rate in Montgomery County was 18.2% for the first quarter of 2024. The legislation also expands program eligibility to businesses already located in the County that want to grow their office footprint. Additionally, it removes the 20,000 square footage cap to qualify for the program and increases the maximum funding award from $80,000 to $150,000.
Council Vice President Kate Stewart, Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke, Kristin Mink, Gabe Albornoz, Sidney Katz, and Council President Andrew Friedson cosponsored Bill 11-24.
“The enhanced MOVE program is a valuable addition to our efforts to support business growth and expansion in the County,” said Bill Tompkins, president and CEO of the Montgomery Council Economic Development Corporation. “Adding appropriate incentives to help attract and keep businesses can help the County diversify its economy and fill office real estate inventory. It demonstrates that we offer a business environment that is sensitive to their needs.”
“The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce applauds the passage of the MOVE Act,” said Georgette “Gigi” Goodwin, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. “This critical legislation will provide much-needed support to our member businesses, both those looking to relocate to Montgomery County and those seeking to expand their existing operations here. We are grateful to the County Council for recognizing the importance of a vibrant business community and for taking action to strengthen the County’s economic competitiveness.”
In FY23, the MOVE program supported 22 companies across a variety of industry sectors that leased a total of 92,720 square feet.
“The MOVE grant funding provided in 2022 was critical to help offset some of our lease expenses. This allowed us to more quickly send pilot products to potential industry partners for testing, the first step in introducing our technology into the marketplace,” said Frank Yang, president and CEO of the start-up Litaris . “We are considering additional phases of expansion at our facility in Rockville and feel additional MOVE incentives will have a significant impact countywide in attracting additional skilled jobs and personnel, particularly in the R&D sector.”
“If I were able to access funds via the MOVE program, I would sign a lease for a bigger office as soon as possible,” said Aaron Seyedian, owner of the Takoma Park company Well-Paid Maids. “By increasing our square footage, we could work more effectively as a management team, buy equipment and supplies in larger volumes for better pricing and grow our business faster.”
The new law becomes effective 91 days after the bill is signed by the County Executive. Visit the Council’s website to view the Council staff report and the full text of Bill 11-24.
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Release ID: 24-286
Media Contact: Valeria Carranza 240-257-6198
Categories: Evan Glass , Laurie-Anne Sayles , Marilyn Balcombe , Natali Fani-González
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=45628