Montgomery County has suffered another loss to Northern Virginia in the competition to win a new research and development facility from CMC Electronics. The avionics manufacturer chose Reston, Virginia for its new office and R&D facility, which will bring 89 high-wage jobs to Fairfax County at the start, with more to be added in the future. Virginia Delegate Karen Keys-Gamarra confirmed that the finalists in the race were Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, and Florida. On a positive note, at least Maryland was engaged in this contest - and in the running until the end - rather than being asleep at the switch.
It's hard not to notice the proximity of CMC's future facility site in Reston to Dulles International Airport. Dulles is the only airport in our region with the flight frequency and international destinations that meet the demands of international businesspeople. Montgomery County and Maryland continue to cut off their ideological nose to spite their economic development face, by blocking construction of a new Potomac River crossing from the I-270 corridor to Dulles.
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| Pierre Rossignol, President, CMC Electronics |
"We are thrilled to be joining the vibrant Reston community and are excited about the opportunities this expansion brings—for our team, our partners, and our customers," CMC Electronics President Pierre Rossignol said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing our mission of pushing the boundaries of avionics excellence." The Montreal-based firm has an existing American facility in Sugar Grove, Illinois. CMC stands for Canadian Marconi Company; the company's founder was someone you might have heard of: Guglielmo Marconi. The brilliant Italian inventor founded the firm in 1903.
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| Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin |
“CMC Electronics' decision to invest $5 million and establish its new facilities in Fairfax County underscores Virginia's position as a leader in aerospace innovation,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement from his office. “This creation of new high-tech jobs demonstrates the strength of our Commonwealth's talent pipeline and our commitment to fostering cutting-edge industries. Virginia's pro-business climate and strategic location continue to attract global companies like CMC Electronics, further solidifying our role in shaping the future of aviation technology.”
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| Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay |
“I am thrilled that CMC Electronics has chosen Reston as the location for their U.S. expansion and continued global growth,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay said. “CMC Electronics choosing Fairfax County is yet another testament to how business-friendly policies, a robust talent pipeline that supports innovation, and our unmatched quality of life is a winning combination for maintaining our status as the premiere destination for starting, locating, and growing your business.”
Robert Dyer is a brilliant!
ReplyDeleteIf a simple sentence is too hard for you to write, the thought it carries is useless.
DeleteTypos happen my friend.
DeleteProofing is fundamental.
DeleteNo surprise here.
ReplyDeleteWas the Montgomery County Airpark the alternative proposal?
8:02: Not unless we extend that runway LOL.
DeleteAviation, aerospace, avionics, airport access, no brainer. Nothing in the world would create the funding needed just to beg some low-level firm to locate on this side of the river. Cost prohibitive and useless. MoCo is not the obstacle, such a road would require regional commitment and approval over current congestion relief first. This ain't happening.
ReplyDelete2:24; If you look back at the history, MoCo is the obstacle. There has been bipartisan support on the Virginia side for decades, but only refusal to cooperate from Maryland and MoCo.
DeleteA toll bridge and highway crossing would actually cost taxpayers very little.
Some other "low level" firms we lost in competition with NoVa include Northrop Grumman, Volkswagen, Nestle, Hilton Hotels, Intelsat, Gerber, Lidl, Corporate Executive Board, and Amazon.
Looking back over decades of COG's CLRP program the entire region was not on board for creating a northern crossing, which included MoCo, as protection of the open space preserve.
DeleteNow you are really smoking the green, Amazon was never, would never, locate anywhere outside of sight distance to DC. Learn it.
Delete11:14: It's a fact that Virginia leaders like Governors Terry McAullife and Bob McDonnell, and Senator Mark Warner were vocal supporters of a new Potomac River crossing. Maryland would never cooperate. I'm skeptical that COG opposed it in the past, as DC is irrelevant to the issue, and Virginia developed its land near the river. In recent times, COG has become a puppet of the anti-highway developer lobby. Only MoCo has a large agricultural reserve, and that too is irrelevant, as we would only be building an expressway to the river, not allowing development around it.
Delete11:16: Montgomery County is certainly in "sight distance to DC." We lost because of poor airport access, high taxes, and the County Council canceling the Montrose Parkway East the very day that the Amazon team was touring White Flint. Axing the biggest infrastructure project in White Flint the day a logistics-obsessed company is being pitched on a White Flint site is proof our County is led by very stupid people.
Everything you state in 11:14 is irrelevant or false. Try harder. Oh and COG is a regional representative body, not a voice just for DC. Your skepticism is mooted by the fact that I reviewed the COG CLRP for years for MoCo.
Delete11:16 - Logistics and access are apples and oranges. Bezos was not interested in any suburban sites as evidenced by where he landed, National Landing, no pun intended. he wanted and got a site with closed access to government power; no not the local yokel kind, but federal power. In addition its close to his second or third home in DC.
Delete9:54: Tell me specifically what's false. Everything I stated was verifiable fact.
DeleteI'm fully aware COG is a regional group. As I said, COG in the years I've been advocating for a new Potomac crossing has been an anti-highway saboteur organization run by "smart growth" developers. As I also said, I don't know what its position on a new bridge was earlier in its history, but I would be surprised that any regional group with business ties like COG would have been opposing an Outer Beltway or bridge from 1960 through the 1990s. I'm not dumb enough to opine on documents I haven't read.
In any case, COG's position is "mooted by the fact" that a new crossing can be built by Maryland without its approval.
5:28PM Still WRONG on all accounts, and COG represents government groups not business. FACTS MATER! You republicons love to make denial word salads.
Delete1:36: You still haven't told me which specific "accounts" I was wrong about.
DeleteFacts do matter, and all of my statements were verifiable facts. Including that COG is controlled by business interests - - or more accurately, by real estate development interests, as COG's positions are often actually detrimental to non-real-estate business interests.
COG's recommendations - over the last decade or more, at least - are virtually always in the best interests of private profit developers, and virtually never in the best interests of the public.