Northwood News ♦ February 2018

Discovery Communications Leaving DTSS in 2019

By Samantha Salisbury-Jones

In 2003, Discovery Communications opened its headquarters in downtown Silver Spring.  In January 2018, the company announced it is vacating One Discovery Place, opting to move its global headquarters to New York City.  The company is relocating U.S. headquarters to Knoxville, Tenn.

This news comes as a shocking blow to the greater Silver Spring community, in part because of Discovery’s recent commitment to remain in the area.  In the fall of 2017, Discovery and Montgomery County came to an agreement that promised the corporation would invest an additional $10 million in its Silver Spring location.

A surprised Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett stated that he was “disappointed” to hear Discovery was leaving the area.  He also stated, “The County and State made a substantial proposal designed to accommodate Discovery’s challenges.  Together, we were ready to provide considerable incentives to retain their presence in the County.”  Of course, in light of recent news, Discovery will no longer be receiving any promised grants or additional funds.

Despite attractive financial packages offered by the County and the State, Discovery claims it makes more financial sense to move its domestic headquarters to Knoxville.  The company cited a lower cost of living as a significant reason for choosing the Knoxville location.  The company already had established offices in New York, which was presumably a big reason for relocating global headquarters to that city.

Many neighbors recall when Discovery moved to Silver Spring; the move was heralded as part of a strong revitalization effort that proved quite effective over the years.  At its peak, Discovery employed 1,300 full-time, local employees in the Silver Spring office.  With so many Discovery employees occupying space downtown, local restaurants, cafes, and other businesses thrived due to their proximity to the corporation.

Given Discovery’s global distribution channels, numerous multimedia companies cropped up in the area to work with and around such content.  Now, those smaller companies and other local businesses are questioning whether they will be able to sustain themselves in Discovery’s absence.

Moving forward, the big question is what will happen to the soon-to-be-empty office space at One Discovery Place?  Many local residents have speculated that Amazon.com may occupy that space soon enough.  In January 2018, Amazon announced that Montgomery County is a top 20 finalist in its search for a location for its second headquarters.  Even if Amazon did choose to build a second headquarters in Montgomery County, it is unlikely the former Discovery building would be large enough.  It seems more probable that the office space will be divvied up and leased to other businesses.

It will be interesting to see how Discovery’s departure will impact the downtown Silver Spring area.  Will the local economy take a temporary down-turn, or will Discovery’s move open up valuable downtown real estate for other businesses which can commit to long-term investments in the region?

[An at-large Board member, Sam Salisbury-Jones lives on Glenwild Road.]   ■