Sketch Plan Approved For 380 Multifamily Residential Units at Former Nike Missile Site in Gaithersburg

A Joint Public Hearing on the sketch plan application was held on Monday, March 20, 2023.  The Planning Commission record closed at 5:00 p.m. on April 21, 2023 and they recommended approval of the sketch plan to the Mayor and City Council at their May 3, 2023 meeting. The Mayor and City Council record closed at 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 2023 and they conducted their policy discussion at their June 20, 2023 meeting, during which the Council adopted Resolution R-32-53 and approved the sketch plan.

The Applicant, Muddy Branch Investments, LLC, has submitted Sketch Plan application SK-9497-2023, proposing to construct 380 multifamily residential units in four buildings up to five stories in height, all located on approximately 14 acres.  The sketch plan includes surface parking, open space, pedestrian connections, and amenities for the multifamily units.  The sole vehicular access to the proposed development will be along a private street coming off Muddy Branch Road. The subject property is located at 770 Muddy Branch Road, and is west of Muddy Branch Road, north of the Lakelands Ridge community and the Muddy Branch Square shopping center, east of the Lakelands Ridge community and Great Seneca Highway, and south of the Timberbrook community, Lakelands Ridge conservation area, and City-owned land.

The Nike missile launch site is a testament to the Cold War era. “Rockville W-92” was a guided missile base installed to help defend the Nation’s Capital from enemy bombers. Built in 1954, the missile launch site located west of Muddy Branch Road, housed both NIKE Ajax and Hercules missiles. The launch site contains three missile silos and a collection of barracks and out-buildings. The Nike site remained operational until 1974, when rendered obsolete by the refinement of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the early years of the Cold War, the United States Army set up a battery of Nike missile defense systems around forty major US cities. The typical Nike base consisted of two operational areas: the launch area and the fire control area. The launch area contained the facilities and equipment required to assemble, test and maintain the missiles and associated launch mechanisms.