The Montgomery County Council has approved legislation designed to cut into the county’s office vacancy rate.
The “Make Office Vacancy Extinct (MOVE) Act” would codify and make permanent the program that awards grants to businesses that relocate to or expand within Montgomery County, Maryland.
During the discussion before Tuesday’s vote, Council member Evan Glass noted the office vacancy rate for Montgomery County hit a record high this year. The rate topped 18% in the first quarter of the year, according to CoStar, a commercial real estate company.
Glass said telework has changed the landscape in Montgomery County.
“We know that going to work in a physical location is good for our local economy, our stores, our restaurants and our coffee shops,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep doing more as we rethink our infrastructure.”
The legislation provides grants of up to $150,000 to businesses that either relocate to or expand within Montgomery County. The legislation also removes a cap of 20,000 square feet of space to qualify for the grants, which had been limited to $80,000.
In a news release, Council member Natali Fani-González, chair of the Economic Development Committee, said, “The MOVE program has a proven track record of attracting businesses and nonprofits to the County, so it makes a lot of sense to codify and expand it. The committee will remain vigilant to the state of the office market and is committed to pursuing more reforms to support our economy.”
The 11-member council passed the measure with 10 votes. Council member Dawn Luedtke was absent for the Tuesday voting session.
The law would take effect 91 days after being signed by County Executive Marc Elrich.
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