A method for fabricating a FinFET device includes forming a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate having a semiconductor layer overlaying a buried oxide (BOX) layer; etching the semiconductor layer to form a plurality of fin structures and a semiconductor layer gap in between the plurality of fin structures and the BOX layer; depositing a sacrificial gate over at least one gate region, wherein the gate region separates a source and a drain region; disposing offset spacers on vertical sidewalls of the sacrificial gate; removing the sacrificial gate; removing the semiconductor layer gap in the gate region to prevent merging of the plurality of fin structures in the gate regions; and fabricating a high-k dielectric metal gate structure overlaying the fin structures in the gate region.