Council Approves Montgomery College’s Plans to Buy Goldenrod Building

Montgomery College’s request to purchase the Goldenrod Building was approved by the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday.

The Goldenrod Building, which borders the college’s Germantown campus, is owned by Royco Inc. and houses the county’s Germantown Innovation Center, a 45-office business incubator on the second floor.

Montgomery College occupies the building’s first floor.

The college plans to buy the building for $16 million, once its five-year lease with the Silver Spring-based firm ends Sept. 30.

The request was unanimously approved (6-0). Council members Nancy Floreen, Marc Elric and George Leventhal were absent during the vote. The council’s education committee had recommended the request’s approval when it met Monday, July 11.

Patch reported last week that under the new agreement, Montgomery College would lease the building from the Montgomery College Foundation; the county would sublease the building from the college.

The cost of the new lease is expected remain at $1 million, the amount paid to Royco. The college would continue its 20-year sublease to the county at half the annual lease cost, Patch reported.

 The Montgomery College Foundation, the college’s nonprofit fundraising arm, plans to use proceeds from bond sales to buy the building, according to documents the college submitted to the county.