Save the Landmark COMSAT Building in Clarksburg – Update
Have you used your cell phone today or found your way with GPS? You can thank COMSAT (Communication Satellite) Laboratories, established in 1962 to launch the United States as the world leader in artificial communication satellites and into commercial geostationary orbit. Cesar Pelli, one of the most important 20th century architects, designed the iconic silver and glass space-age looking complex to be seen and to announce Modernist architecture in Montgomery County.
The COMSAT Laboratories building – visible from I-270 just south of the exit to Clarksburg – is currently threatened with demolition as its owner is unsympathetic and the property is being denied placement on the County Master Plan for Historic Preservation, despite being acknowledged as significant by County, State, and National standards.
So, what happens if the County Council declines to designate COMSAT historic?
The current owner could agree to sell, make the building and a small area around it available to a new owner who would incorporate it into this growing community.
The County could purchase the site for a much-needed Clarksburg library, community center, recreation facility, or a combination of community uses. Such landmarks serve as centerpieces in Alexandria, Forest Glen, and Washington DC.
The entire building need not be retained and re-used; only a section of the original building could represent COMSAT’s history and architecture, and the iconic view from I-270 can be maintained.
You can find information and testimony from public hearings at these links:
- The entire Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan, including the HPC report
- Testimonies from the County Council public hearing January 21:
- Preservation community: Eileen McGuckian (MPI), Karen Burditt, Susan Soderberg, and Jeffrey Haines (HPC)
- Local civic associations and historical societies: John Parrish (Friends of Ten Mile Creek), Ginny Barnes (Conservation Montgomery), Maury Mechanick (COMARA), and Scott Knudson (Boyds Historical Society)
- Written testimony submitted to County Council: Gwen Wright, Mark Edwards, Dan Seamans, Liz Waytkus and Todd Grover (docomomo-US), and Pamela Sanchez
- Memorandum from Council staff to PHP Committee for its deliberation (see text on pp 19-22 that explains, should COMSAT be proposed for full or partial demolition, that owner would be required to provide mitigation commensurate with the loss of the historic resource)
Background Information and Next Steps
MPI has been an advocate for COMSAT since the early 2000s, when University of Maryland professors Isabelle Gournay and Mary Corbin Sies identified it as Montgomery County’s most notable example of Modernist Architecture. Soon after, the Maryland Historical Trust determined COMSAT eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and a unanimous Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission recommended it be designated on the Master Plan for Historic Preservation. This was rejected by the Planning Board.
In 2006, MPI organized a four-day design charette with architects, planners, and neighbors to demonstrate that the owner’s plans for development could easily share the site with the COMSAT building. The charette included with a talk by Cesar Pelli on the impact of this building on his internationally renowned body of work and the work of other architects.
With Planning staff working on the Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan, the HPC again reviewed the significance of COMSAT, unanimously concluding that the property and its original setting met six 24A-3(b) criteria in the County Code. Proponents agreed that the entire building and its full acreage were not vital to rejuvenating and integrating them into a future use. In July 2025, the Planning Board again voted against designation, convincing MPI and many others to continue to press the significance and potential of this unique landmark.
Then followed the County Council’s public hearing on January 21, 2026. The Council Planning, Housing, and Parks Committee (PHP) held worksessions on the plan on Feb. 2 and 11, at the latter agreeing not to designate COMSAT historic but not totally closing out the option of a new owner re-using the building as the surrounding area began to fill in. A third session is scheduled for February 23. PHP is open for public attendance and livestreamed at the Council’s YouTube channel.
PHP will make its recommendations to the full Council, including revisions to the Planning Board draft. Following Council adoption, the full M-NCPPC must approve a resolution making the plan official. Then follows a Sectional Map Amendment to implement zoning changes recommended by the Plan, which must be approved by the Planning Board and County Council.
It’s not too late to share your opinion with the County Council at https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/CCL_ContactForms/ContactCouncil.aspx with the subject Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan. Send an additional copy of your letter to Councilmember Balcombe, who represents the district that COMSAT is in: councilmember.balcombe@montgomerycountymd.gov.
Agendas and staff reports will be posted on the Council website here: Find Council Meetings and Agendas – Montgomery County Council, Maryland.
Here is a link to the Council’s YouTube channel, where livestreams will appear under the “live” tab once scheduled to begin: MoCoCouncilMD – YouTube.
Relevant Detailed Reading
The staff report to the HPC can be found at https://montgomeryplanningboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Appendix_G_COMSAT_Staff_Report_to_HPC.pdf.
The entire Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan can be found at https://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/communities/upcounty/clarksburg/clarksburg-gateway-sector-plan/.
More information on COMSAT can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COMSAT or https://www.comsatlegacy.org/COMSATLabsBuilding.html.