Renovated courtyard reopens with new seating and public art former Discovery building in Silver Spring

The Discovery, Inc. jobs are gone, but there's a new, updated courtyard now open at the former Discovery headquarters at One Discovery Place in downtown Silver Spring. Montgomery County residents will never forget how Knoxville, Tennessee successfully wooed the bulk of Discovery's operations to relocate to the Scruffy City, while the County Council was busy debating a ban on circus animals.

But you may have forgotten my 2019 report on the renovations the building's new owner, Foulger Pratt, was planning to attract new tenants to the vacant building Discovery left behind. While many were on the inside, the courtyard is the most visible update for passersby.

Ana G. Méndez University opens new Silver Spring "campus"

Ana G. Méndez University has moved its Montgomery County campus from Wheaton Plaza to downtown Silver Spring. It is located in the former Discovery Channel headquarters building at 1 Discovery Place. After the County's anti-business policies and moribund economy - along with the County Council's failure to even negotiate to retain Discovery - led Discovery to relocate to greener pastures in Knoxville, Tennessee, their empty HQ has been rebranded as Inventa Towers.

Ana G. Méndez is calling the new location their "Capital Area Campus." This is a loss for businesses such as nearby restaurants in Wheaton where students would eat, but does put the college in a proximity to more current and potential students at the new location. Of course, the loss for Wheaton restaurants becomes a gain for downtown Silver Spring eateries.

Permits being pulled for Discovery building renovation in Silver Spring

The actual work of renovating the vacant former home of Discovery Communications in downtown Silver Spring is about to begin in earnest. New landlord Foulger Pratt has formally requested permits from Montgomery County for demolition and construction at the property, which is located at 1 Discovery Place. This set of permits includes interior alterations to the lobby, an addition, a fitness center, and demolition inside a cafe. Discovery relocated the bulk of operations here to Knoxville, Tennessee in 2018.

Shark Week bigger than ever after Montgomery County loses Discovery

Shark Week 2019 merchandise

arrives in Montgomery County

Discovery Communications is pulling out all the stops for Shark Week 2019, which is scheduled to begin on July 28. A special line of Shark Week merchandise has just arrived in CVS Pharmacy stores in Montgomery County. The annual shark celebration was once a point of pride for the County, when Discovery's corporate headquarters was located in Silver Spring. This year's event will be the first Shark Week since Discovery fled moribund, anti-business Montgomery County for business-friendly Knoxville, Tennessee, and it's a painful reminder of one of the Montgomery County cartel's most humiliating defeats.

Among the great items you will find at CVS are a realistic Shark Week Deep Sea Diver playset, with everything kids need to recreate their favorite Shark Week scenes. The Shark Week Isle of Jaws Collectible Shark Set includes 10 sharks.  There are big Shark Week stuffed sharks hiding in the coral reefs, er, shelves of the display, including a hammerhead.

Pack official Shark Week beach towels for Ocean City, and try to forget a great white surfaced off the shore of Maryland last week. Or play it safe, and watch Shark Week at home on the couch with official Shark Week throws and blankets, including a Shark Week Leopard Shark blanket with "glow in the dark eyes."

Speaking of glowing in the dark, the old Discovery headquarters has become a massive monument to Montgomery moribundity in downtown Silver Spring. The tower looms high above, with the missing Discovery corporate logo giving a ghoulish, haunted vibe. I've captured here some of the final traces of Discovery still left at the building before they are removed.

The Montgomery County Council and expensive economic development entity should have recognized Discovery needed attention when the famous Chompie Shark Week mascot no longer appeared on the facade of the building during Shark Week. Instead, Tennessee actively courted Discovery, ultimately providing the winning site with low taxes, and a campus with direct interstate and airport access in Knoxville. Horrifyingly, we later learned that over the same weeks that Tennessee was sealing the deal in negotiations with Discovery, the Montgomery County Council was taking up all of its time debating whether or not to ban circus animals.

Heckuva job, Brownie!

Discovery building slouching toward dim future in Silver Spring

No major corporation has shown any interest in the former downtown Silver Spring headquarters of Discovery Communications. That's not surprising, given that Montgomery County's hostile business climate, lack of direct access to Dulles Airport thanks to an unbuilt new Potomac River crossing, and unfinished, congested road network have scared major corporations from relocating here for two decades. After all, Discovery itself decamped almost all of the Silver Spring jobs to Knoxville, Tennessee, where taxes and employees' cost-of-living are lower, schools are just as good as our declining Montgomery County Public Schools, and the Discovery/Scripps site has direct highway access to the nearest airport.

But the new owners of the former Discovery HQ in Silver Spring are making upgrades to the property in the hopes of attracting future tenants to these vacant floors. The County Council shockingly failed to market the property as part of an overall package for Amazon's HQ 2. Of course, this is the same County Council who thought Shark Week was filmed in giant tanks in this office building, blaming "TV trends" for the loss instead of their own incompetence and socialism-on-steroids governance. Reality check: the Silver Spring headquarters jobs were mostly administrative in nature, and therefore went to Knoxville, not New York City. A few top level executives relocated to an existing New York Discovery office - that's it.

Additions proposed by buyer Foulger-Pratt include redesigned public spaces, and new retail space. Project plan amendments going before the Montgomery County Planning Board April 25 include about 11,000 SF of new office, retail and restaurant uses. But in a loss for the downtown community already reeling from the loss of Discovery, public space on the site will shrink by over 50000 SF, if approved by the Board. Planning staff are recommending approval of the amendments.

Another Shark Week in the books for Discovery in Silver Spring

Tonight is supposed to be the final night that Discovery Communications' "Fintastic Shark" mural will be lit up at its downtown Silver Spring headquarters. Be sure to stop by if you haven't seen it already.

The Fortune 500 company, one of the few left in Montgomery County and Maryland, is enjoying another successful Shark Week.

ASSAULT ON LANIER DRIVE, 2ND ASSAULT REPORTED AT DISCOVERY BUILDING IN 2 DAYS - SILVER SPRING/WHEATON CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across eastern Montgomery County on June 19, according to crime data:

Assault. 8800 block Lanier Drive.

Vehicle burglary. 10200 block Douglas Avenue.

Vehicle burglary. 8300 block Colesville Road.

Theft. JC Penney at Wheaton Plaza.

Drug arrest. Parking Lot 13 (Wheaton).

Assault. Discovery Building, 1 Discovery Place.

Burglary. 1600 block Belvedere Boulevard.

ROBBERY AT HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL, ASSAULT AT DISCOVERY BUILDING - SILVER SPRING/WHEATON CRIME UPDATE

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across eastern Montgomery County on June 18, according to crime data:

Burglary. 1900 block Rosemary Hills Drive.

Theft. 9300 block Georgia Avenue.

Theft. 11800 block Dewey Road.

Burglary. 3700 block Adams Drive.

Drug arrest. 10900 block Georgia Avenue.

Assault. Discovery Building, 1 Discovery Place.

Robbery. Holy Cross Hospital.

Assault. 12500 block Veirs Mill Road.