Visit Montgomery merges with Planning Board
In a strategic move to improve organizational efficiency and boost Montgomery Planning’s all-time low favorability ratings, local officials have announced its merger with Visit Montgomery, the county's official tourism agency.
The merger redefines local tourism by spotlighting infrastructure. “We’re shifting from traditional destinations like Brookside Gardens or the National Capital Trolley Museum to experiential engagement through corridor studies, mobility audits, and sector plans,” said Planning Board Chair Artie Harris.
A new travel guide, Experience MoCo: A Journey Through Process, offers self-guided tours through the slow, deliberate machinations shaping the region’s built environment—past, present, and future—starting in White Oak.
White Oak: The Biomedical Gateway to a Hypothetical Future
Long known for its proximity to the FDA campus and high-rise apartments without functional elevators or air conditioning, White Oak features in the travel guide with The LifeSci Village Legacy Tour, a site-specific journey through 25 years of coordinated, multi-agency aspiration.
Exploring the tension between visionary renderings and current conditions, visitors walk the perimeter of what was once LifeSci Village—later rebranded Viva White Oak—which narrator Neil Augustine calls “a surrealist workforce housing dreamscape.”
The tour begins at the Proposed Viva White Oak Welcome Plaza at Industrial Parkway and Tech Road, where visitors can snap selfies beside a 2016 banner zip-tied to a rusting fence, partially obscured by invasive vines, promising a vibrant, walkable community anchored by biomedical research.
The North White Oak Streetscape Simulation Walk invites visitors to imagine a pedestrian boulevard, with crosswalk signals simulated via smartphone alerts and future retail renderings revealed by QR codes placed in vacant lots.
At the Federal Synergy Viewpoint, guests can glimpse the FDA’s Federal Research Center complex off in the distance. A parade of just-fired employees departs the north parking lot at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Adaptive Reuse Reflection Zone, in a refuse-filled field once designated as a mixed-use node, encourages reflection on the unintended benefits of stalled master planning, such as reductions in solid landfill waste.
Planning documents dating to the 1981 Eastern Montgomery County master plan are available in the mobile app, with links to archived renderings and joint press releases from the Elrich, Leggett, and Duncan administrations.
“This site reflects the resilience of process,” said County Executive Mark Elrich. “Each time it stalls, we learn more about interagency coordination, development finance, and the elasticity of public patience.”
Visitors can extend their stay with the Viva White Oak Discovery Workshop, where small groups brainstorm new names for the same site, guided by 14 professional facilitators.
Officials See Favorability Boost
While some feared the new approach might confuse visitors expecting wineries, parks, or dining, officials report promising metrics. The Planning Department’s YouTube channel saw a 4.1% increase in average view time on a 2.5-hour briefing about neighborhood sidewalk acceptance strategies.
“Visitors want to understand development before it happens. There’s beauty in planning, and we’re finally letting people experience that beauty at the conceptual stage,” Harris said.
County officials are already considering more mergers to improve efficiency and agency favorability. Montgomery Animal Services is expected to absorb Montgomery County Public Schools, while the Arts and Humanities Council will take over the Department of Permitting Services.
