Architect Pelli Joins Effort To Save Comsat Building

"You've got rooms with no windows and 40-foot ceilings and these long corridors they used to use to move satellites," said Steve Elmendorf, Lcor's lawyer. "Part of it is empty just because it is unusable. There's not exactly satellite developers running up and down Interstate 270 looking for this kind of space."

Lcor executives said it would be costly to save the Comsat building. "You have to convert a building that was a manufacturing and research place into a modern office space," Smith said. "It's a daunting challenge."

In April 2005, the county's Historic Preservation Commission recommended that the building and the surrounding 30 acres be designated historic. But the Montgomery County Planning Board voted against the historic designation.

The Montgomery County Council could take the matter up but has not done so, according to Patrick Lacefield, a spokesman for the council.

Some area residents said they hope to gain politicians' attention by having Pelli at their event.

"I'm worried they're going to put parking lots and townhouses right up to the outside of it even if they save the building," said Alethea Hendricks, a Clarksburg resident who was setting up a booth at a community event to promote saving the building. "We have a unique building here. It would make a fantastic art museum with a fancy restaurant or maybe some designer stores with a sculpture garden outside."

Wayne Goldstein, president of Montgomery Preservation, said: "It's a landmark. It could be the crown jewel the way the Silver Theater is of Silver Spring."

Pelli, 79, is known for his work on projects including the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Reagan National Airport. The Argentina-born architect is a former dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University.

Pelli said he's not being paid to speak at the conference in Rockville but "they will put us in a nice bed and breakfast."

He said he designed the Comsat building in the early part of his career and considers its pre-fabricated aluminum panels "very modern for its time.

"It was an influential building," Pelli said. "It would be criminal to tear it down."

New Life for Dealership

Texas-based developer JPI has plans to turn a former car dealership along Route 7 near Tyco Road into a mixed-use development. The apartment developer said it entered into a deal to lease 3.5 acres of the former Peacock Buick car dealership for 99 years.

The car dealership closed in February because of Buick's nationwide troubles, Michael Peacock, who had run the family business, has said previously. He did not return phone calls seeking comment on the deal.

Aaron Liebert of JPI said the site is likely to become a mix of commercial, retail and office space because it will be close to the proposed Metro route through Tysons Corner.

Peacock Buick is among the first car dealerships along Route 7 to redevelop with plans to take advantage of the higher building density that would be allowed along Leesburg Pike with the expected arrival of Metro.

Dana Hedgpeth writes about economic development and commercial real estate. Her e-mail ishedgpethd@washpost.com.