Development of the COMSAT building site threatens Little Seneca Reservoir
COMSAT site
For those who traverse Interstate 270, you are probably familiar with a building just south of the Clarksburg exit that is of the High-Tech design that got its start in the late 1960s. Designed by the world-renowned master architect Cesar Pelli, COMSAT Laboratories was an early example of the type of building that dominated research corridors in Montgomery County and across the United States.
From this building, early satellite technology emerged. These inventions and the basic knowledge of satellites have made possible high-speed Internet connections, telephones that cover the world, television of events like Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1961 and the encoding methods that eliminate the “echo” from long-distance phone calls. And for what it’s worth, the address of the COMSAT building is 22300 Comsat Drive, the number has significance since it was the distance (in miles) of an Earth-orbiting satellite above the equator.
But now this 200-acre COMSAT site – the largest developable area in the Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan – is under consideration for development. The development of this site would entail tremendous impervious additions, which would greatly impact Little Seneca Creek and lead to further degradation of Little Seneca Reservoir. Prior efforts to have the building razed, spearheaded by previous owners and developers, failed. In 2004, the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission agreed with the work done by two University of Maryland professors to nominate the COMSAT building for inclusion in the state’s historic registry, but the County Planning Board did not. Friends of Ten Mile Creek and Little Seneca Reservoir are now working with local historical societies to get historic designation for the COMSAT building and its setting, which would minimize land disturbance and environmental harm. The Friends of Ten Mile Creek looks forward to working with historic preservationists, environmentalists, and other community advocates to build support for the preservation of the Comsat building and property.