Hopkins land worth tens of millions if Science City approved

Johns Hopkins University stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars if Montgomery County's leaders approve a huge biotech complex in Gaithersburg, an analysis shows. The university is sitting on 107 acres in the Gaithersburg-Rockville-North Potomac area known as Belward Farm. An assessment of the land reviewed by The Examiner found that the fully developed property could be worth up to $340 million if council members OK the Science City proposal.

That's not a bad return, considering that the university bought the land for $5 million in 1989. Hopkins spokeswoman Robin Ferrier said in an e-mail that the university hasn't looked at the land value "in depth ... as that is not our concern."

SOURCE: Washington Examiner