The former Nike Missile site at 770 Muddy Branch Road was not deemed historic in an August 24th meeting by the Gaithersburg Historic District Commission (HDC), which allows for the buildings on the site to be demolished in preparation for new development. The property is located next to Muddy Branch Square, which is currently home to Giant Food, Starbucks, Subway, First Watch, and more.
We are told the former 13.71 acre Nike Missile site was purchased earlier this year in a GSA auction (sold for 12,050,006) by a company owned by Pleasant Developments, who is interested in clearing the site. Plans have not yet been submitted to the City of Gaithersburg, so it’s unknown what could potentially go in, but the area is zoned for mixed-use.
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.