Showing posts with label economic development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic development. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Regal Germantown closed while Montgomery County leaders slept at the switch (Photos)


Regal Cinemas
has closed at 20000 Century Boulevard in Germantown. The closure, which was first reported by The MoCo Show, is a significant blow to the development and success of Germantown Town Center. The theater is likely to be replaced by yet another residential building. Yes, it may have retail or restaurant tenants in the ground floor (or, like others in the area, it might not), but neither outcome will produce the general activity level of a cineplex. In a relatively-high-crime area like Germantown, the last thing in the world you want is a large, dead, dark space after business hours.


The closure is also bad news for the surrounding businesses. A study last decade found that a multiplex theater draws an additional 20,000 people to a neighborhood each weekend, who shop and dine at nearby establishments before and after their movie. "Dinner and a movie" is such a generator of economic activity - not to mention one of the most popular weekend activities of many Americans - that some restaurants will even partner with theaters to offer special packages. 


It's sad that it came down to this. When this theater opened as a Hoyts Cinema around the turn of the century, it stood out for awhile in a county where most theaters were aging or had closed altogether, and the odds of finding a hole in your seat cushion at many were quite good. But in recent years as a Regal Cinemas, the failure to convert to the latest theater standards such as recliners could be seen as the writing on the wall. 


The reality is that the potential cash value of the land as a mixed-use development site exceeded whatever Regal would realistically be able to pay in rent over the coming years. And as in the demise of Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10, the Montgomery County Council was asleep at the switch, despite it being known for months that this economic engine of Germantown Town Center was in danger of being switched off, with no replacement. 


It should be noted that Topgolf, the only other significant entertainment option in the Town Center neighborhood, is in financial distress at the corporate level. Parent company Topgolf Calloway has declared its intention to spin off the Topgolf business into a separate entity. As a result, there's no ironclad guarantee that Topgolf will be around forever in Germantown. BlackRock Center for the Arts isn't enough to sustain a viable Town Center economy on its own. Where is the leadership? Somebody reach for the smelling salts.







Thursday, November 14, 2024

Virginia beats Maryland again, wins $1.3 billion manufacturing facility & 2015 jobs


Could Maryland and Montgomery County use a $1.3 billion corporate investment, 2015 high-wage jobs, and a major infusion of tax revenue? Yes! Did we win the 500,000-square-foot Microporous manufacturing facility? No! But Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin will give you three guesses as to who did. Yet again, our rival across the Potomac River has bested us in the economic development sweepstates.


Microporous, a leading manufacturer of battery separators, will construct the $1.3 billion facility in Berry Hill, Virginia. The factory will create 2015 new, high-wage jobs, and will provide more freight traffic for the Port of Virginia. Tennessee-based Microporous was founded as the American Rubber Company, which patented the first rubber battery separator in 1934. Today, their products are in high demand, as adoption of electric vehicles explodes in many countries around the world, even if demand for EVs still lags in the United States. Virginia's port will indeed see a boost in outbound traffic as a result, as Microporous is the only manufacturer of rubber battery separators used in electric automobiles and mobility devices.


“This historic $1.35 billion investment by Microporous in Pittsylvania County marks a new chapter in Virginia's incredible advanced manufacturing story,” Youngkin said in a statement yesterday. “This project not only brings over 2,000 new jobs to Southside Virginia, but also positions the Commonwealth at the forefront of our nation’s resurgence in manufacturing. Microporous' decision to establish their new facility here underscores Virginia's competitive advantages and our commitment to leading the way in innovative industries.” Youngkin's office identified North Carolina as the other finalist for the facility; it's unclear if Maryland even attempted to pursue the opportunity, or was once again asleep at the switch.


“It is with great pleasure and excitement that we welcome Microporous to the Southern Virginia Megasite and Pittsylvania County," Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors Chairman Darrell Dalton said Wednesday. “Microporous brings a new level of technological advancement to our business community as well as high paying jobs that offer another opportunity for our young people to remain and raise families in and near their hometowns. Microporous will also provide the County with added revenue to better serve our citizens. We look forward to many years of Microporous’ growth and success and Pittsylvania County is honored to be part of that journey.” 

Photos courtesy Office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Fairfax County beats Montgomery County again, winning CMC Electronics facility


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.

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.

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.”

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.” 

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Montgomery County willing to mortgage Upcounty's future to nix M-83 Highway


More than half a decade ago, the Montgomery County Council again nixed plans to build the M-83 Midcounty Highway Extended that has long been in the County's master plan. The highway was one of two major infrastructure projects that were essential to the major growth proposed for the Upcounty area, and Clarksburg in particular. When Clarksburg was allowed to grow more than 800% in population earlier this century, its new residents were promised the M-83 Highway, and a Corridor Cities Transitway light rail system that would connect the proposed new growth centers between Rockville and Clarksburg to the Shady Grove Metro station. In the end, however, all of the growth was allowed to occur, and developers reaped their massive profits - but the promised highway and light rail were never built. That display of naked greed by our developer-controlled County Council wasn't enough - now the Council and Planning Board want to remove the M-83 from the master plan altogether, so it can never be built.

Such a move would be a dereliction of duty by the public officials charged with ensuring adequate infrastructure to maintain a functioning transportation system. Montgomery County doesn't have that even today. Imagine what traffic will be like in another decade with leaders who continue to block completion of our master plan highway system.

As a quick review of the correspondence received by the Planning Board ahead of two public meetings and a November public hearing on changes to the master plan reveals, it isn't residents who are asking for the M-83 to be removed from the plan. In fact, the only letter from an actual Upcounty resident on the question is asking the Planning Board to keep the M-83 in the plan. Those who are asking to have the highway removed are the same handful of tiny groups who have tried to block construction of the highway at every turn. M-83 wasn't even up for discussion, until these groups met privately with Montgomery County Planning Department officials earlier this year.

Our anti-highway, war-on-cars Planning Board is all too eager to indulge this ultra-minority request. Shockingly, so is the "leadership" of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. The same MCDOT that once determined that Alternative 9a - the master plan alignment of M-83 - should be constructed, until the Council politically interfered with the department, overruling sound traffic engineering practices with radical ideology.

Montgomery County officials continue to rule against the wishes of their own Upcounty constituents. You know, the folks who pay their salaries, and keep the lights on at the County Council and Planning Department. 

You would think the Planning Department and County Council would at least feel a stinging sense of shame at their disastrous record on growth in the Upcounty.

Think again.


Longtime residents will well remember the talking points planners and Councilmembers alike sold us as they rammed through sector plans for new growth centers like "Science City," Watkins Mill, Damascus, and Clarksburg. There would be job centers right in these areas, so many new residents wouldn't have to drive down I-270 to Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia! There would be vibrant town centers in Clarksburg and Watkins Mill! There would be a library in Clarksburg! There would be an M-83 Highway between Montgomery Village Avenue and Ridge Road, which - given that we knew the vast majority of new Upcounty residents would commute by car - would divert much of the new Clarksburg, Germantown, and Damascus traffic from I-270, MD 355, and little old Brink Road onto a modern parkway that also would include a major new bicycle link! And for those who could be convinced to board a convenient rail transit alternative, there would be a Corridor Cities light rail system!

None of it ever happened. Not one bit of it.

And no politician paid the price. Even in the myriad of scandals surrounding Clarksburg alone, the Council and Planning Department let Derick Berlage be the lone fall guy. Now, after collecting twenty years' worth of fat checks from their developer sugar daddies, they want to kick Upcounty residents where it hurts one more time, really hard.

They'll probably get away with it. Again. The Council is pretty open about the fact that there simply aren't enough votes in the Upcounty to pose a risk to the holders of the At-Large Council seats in the next election year. And the individual Upcounty Council districts have been severely gerrymandered, to ensure that the residents of the various growth areas like Clarksburg, Damascus, and Germantown can't unite to knock out any one Councilmember come election time. They have repeatedly thumbed their nose at Upcounty residents, and privately call County taxpayers "suckers" and "losers."

Getting away with murder doesn't make it right, however. The Planning Department, Planning Board, and County Council will continue to augment and solidify their legacy of shame, failure, embarrassment, reckless irresponsibility, and dereliction of duty. They'll continue to let a handful of special interests, and their developer sugar daddies, block economic growth and progress at every turn. 

We've seen the results of the failure to build the M-83 Highway, the new Potomac River crossing of I-370 to the Dulles area in Virginia, the Rockville Freeway, the Northwest Freeway, the North-Central Freeway, and the Northern Parkway in Montgomery County. Residents sitting in traffic. Higher shipping prices. Job creation and business growth numbers at or near the bottom in the D.C. region. And a failure to attract a single new major corporate headquarters in over a quarter century.

Heckuva job, Brownie!!

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

"Sirius" failure for Montgomery County, Maryland as Virginia wins UK defense firm's US HQ


Officials in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland just can't seem to get "Sirius" about economic development, coming up empty again as a U.K. defense firm has followed so many others to Virginia to establish its first U.S. headquarters. Sirius Analysis, a defense management software consulting company headquartered in Portsmouth, England, will open its American headquarters at 4525 Main Street in Virginia Beach, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced in a statement. The headquarters will bring 105 new high-wage tech jobs to the Old Dominion. 

Youngkin said Virginia and Massachusetts were the two finalists competing for the headquarters. There's no indication that Montgomery County or Maryland officials even bothered to compete. This despite Sirius having sought a location near military bases, of which Maryland has twenty, compared to Massachusetts' paltry six. Did we blow it, or what?

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin

“Sirius Analysis choosing Virginia Beach as their U.S. headquarters showcases the Commonwealth's magnetic appeal in global defense innovation,” Youngkin said in a statement. “This expansion bridges UK-US defense collaboration, bringing cutting-edge analysis capabilities to our shores and creating valuable job opportunities for Virginians.”

“The arrival of Sirius Analysis signals a bright future for our region's tech ecosystem,” Virginia State Senator Aaron Rouse said. “By choosing our Virginia Beach for their U.S. operations, Sirius Analysis is not just creating over 100 high-skilled jobs, they're planting seeds for a new wave of innovation by strengthening our position as a hub for defense technology." 

It's long past time Montgomery County and Maryland's elected officials conducted a "Sirius Analysis" of their failures to attract corporate headquarters to locate here. Virginia is laughing at us.

Photo credits: Sirius Analysis (top), Office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (bottom)

Friday, September 27, 2024

Foot Locker chooses Florida over Montgomery County, Maryland for new corporate HQ


Montgomery County and the State of Maryland turned out to be flyover country for Foot Locker. CEO Mary Dillon announced that the sporting goods giant, currently located in New York City, has chosen St. Petersburg, Florida as the new location for its global corporate headquarters. This officially gives St. Petersburg more Fortune 500 headquarters than Montgomery County, while its population is barely a third of MoCo's. Foot Locker plans to make the move late next year, bringing 175 high-wage jobs to St. Petersburg.

Foot Locker is only the latest company to sail over Montgomery County and Maryland like Michael Jordan on its way to the basket. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a major corporate headquarters in over a quarter-century. It's just one reason why the County, like Maryland, has a moribund economy and structural budget deficit. Once again, we've been dunked on by a more business-friendly jurisdiction, and the losses are adding up on residents' annually-rising tax bills.

"Foot Locker's move represents a significant corporate relocation, and importantly, it's another example of impactful and inclusive economic development in our city and the Tampa Bay region," St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch said in a statement. "On the heels of the generational Historic Gas Plant District project approval, St. Pete has now attracted a Fortune 500 company that will create 150+ more jobs and further diversify our workforce."

"We are delighted to welcome Foot Locker, Inc. to Pinellas County," Pinellas County Economic Development Director Dr. Cynthia Johnson said. "The Fortune 500 company’s decision to relocate here is a testament to Pinellas County’s attractiveness as a business destination. Pinellas County is committed to supporting the company’s growth and ensuring it thrives in the community.”

Photo courtesy Foot Locker

Monday, September 23, 2024

Montgomery County fumbles biotech HQ, Philadelphia recovers for touchdown


Butterfingers!
Biotech, along with residential housing construction, is really the only bright spot in Montgomery County's otherwise-moribund economy. Decisions - and hefty tax breaks, which coincidentally only apply to these two industries (wow, you mean tax breaks generate economic growth?) - made by County and Maryland leaders decades ago led to the development of a strong biotech sector. But even this couldn't prevent MoCo officials' latest fumble of a corporate headquarters, as the relocation search of Adare Pharma Solutions' global headquarters ended with the selection of...Philadelphia.

The New Jersey-based biotech firm made its decision last month, but the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development celebrated the victory at a ceremony on Friday. “Having a company like Adare relocate its global headquarters to Philadelphia is a fantastic win for our Commonwealth and proves Pennsylvania gets it done,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said. “The company’s growth is helping to boost our already robust life sciences sector ― a key element of our economic development strategy — while creating more opportunities for Pennsylvanians.”

Steering the Keystone state's successful bid was the Governor's Action Team. “I’m competitive as hell and I believe Pennsylvania is the best state in the nation for companies who want to innovate, grow, and succeed so I’m thrilled that Adare has chosen Pennsylvania over other states for its headquarters and continued growth,” Governor Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “Pennsylvania is a leader in biotech and life sciences – with a talented workforce, access to key markets, and significant laboratory infrastructure – and Adare’s growth here will build on that legacy while creating more opportunity for Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania is open for business, and I look forward to welcoming more companies to our Commonwealth in the near future.”

Adare's new global HQ will bring "at least 115 new, well-paying jobs" to Pennsylvania, the governor's statement indicated. Meanwhile, on the day that Philadelphia was celebrating the Adare HQ prize, the Montgomery County Council was tweeting about placing even more costly environmental regulations and paperwork responsibilities on building owners in the County. "Doh!" Now there's a great recruiting message to send to firms around the world. Montgomery County continues to be closed for business.

Friday, September 20, 2024

Montgomery County, Maryland miss target again as Virginia wins Kongsberg missile facility


Montgomery County and Maryland hit the snooze button again, and Virginia picked up another economic development victory while their rivals across the Potomac slept. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced this week that it has chosen Virginia as the location for a new cruise missile production facility. The 150,000-square-foot complex will be constructed in James City County, and will manufacture Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missiles and Joint Strike Missiles. Both are anticipated to remain in high demand, and the Norwegian firm believes it is likely to win another contract from the U.S. Department of Defense soon.

A press release from the office of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Virginia beat out two unidentified states in the competition for the Kongsberg facility. Youngkin made his winning case to Kongsberg during his trade mission to Europe this past April. While Youngkin was sealing the deal in Europe, the Montgomery County Council was passing legislation regulating hours for hookah lounges.

The factory will create more than 180 high-wage jobs. And this is actually the second Kongsberg production facility Maryland has lost out on; Pennsylvania won the first one in 2008, and the firm announced it will be expanding its Johnstown operation to handle the increased demand. It seems Kongsberg factories are dropping out of the sky everywhere around us, but landing everywhere but here. Such high-wage job creation is desperately needed not only in Montgomery County, but across Maryland from Cumberland and Hagerstown to Baltimore and Salisbury.

"Kongsberg's decision to establish its first U.S. defense assembly facility in Virginia reaffirms our status as America's top state for business," Youngkin said in a statement Tuesday. In contrast, a January report from the Maryland Comptroller's Office "found that Maryland is behind neighboring states and the nation in gross domestic product, personal income, real wages and population growth," the Associated Press reported. 

Photo courtesy Kongsberg

Monday, August 12, 2024

Virginia destroys Montgomery County, Maryland on 2024 Fortune 500, Global 500 lists


Montgomery County and Maryland continue to find mis-fortune in the world of business, as Virginia - and Northern Virginia in particular - have completely wiped the floor with both in Fortune magazine's 2024 Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 lists. The magazine published the latter list this past Friday. For 2024, seven Virginia-based companies rank in the Global 500; Maryland has only one: Lockheed Martin. 

This past May's Fortune 500 list, which is limited to American companies, was equally bad for MoCo and the Old Line State. Virginia has 24 Fortune 500 firms, more than half headquartered in Northern Virginia. Maryland has just four. Montgomery County remains down to only two, after Discovery fled to Knoxville and New York City in 2019. 

Perhaps the most humiliating aspect of Discovery's exit was that the Montgomery County Council was not engaged with the company's leaders at all, and was laser-focused on outlawing the use of animals in circuses during the very days that New York and Tennessee were sealing their deal with Discovery.

Montgomery County not only has failed to retain, much less grow, its stable of Fortune 500 companies in recent years, but hasn't attracted a single major corporate headquarters in over a quarter-century. "We don't need the Lockheed headquarters," former County Councilmember Nancy Floreen infamously declared in 2010. The Council's wish could come true: Lockheed recently announced it is shrinking - not growing - its footprint in Montgomery County, selling off its Rockville campus. 

Lockheed seems intimately aware that MoCo's elected officials are putting all their effort into helping their developer sugar daddies continue to transform the County into a bedroom community, rather than attracting and keeping high-wage jobs and corporate headquarters like theirs. The aerospace firm is marketing its Rockville campus as a site for townhomes, not corporate offices or research facilities. If that pitch isn't "peak 2024 Montgomery County," I don't know what is. Of course, even former County Executive Ike Leggett sounded the alarm that we were becoming a bedroom community before he left office, an incredible moment of political bravery and candor that surely did not sit well with the Montgomery County cartel.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin hasn't released a statement yet regarding the Fortune Global 500. But he did issue a press release to announce $126 million in State grants to fund preparation of business-ready sites across the Commonwealth. It's important to remember that the paradigm of Virginia crushing Montgomery County and Maryland in economic development predates Youngkin and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. The issue isn't necessarily partisan, either. While Montgomery County's Republican residents have been denied any representation on the County Council through clever gerrymandering of Council districts since 2002, Virginia's booming business growth and 21st-century corporate HQ haul have come under one GOP and two Democratic governors. And several of America's top states for business have Democratic governors.

In contrast, Montgomery County and Maryland continue to self-sabotage their own "fortunes" in economic development. We have to be honest that this sabotage has been fully intentional. A new Potomac River crossing could have long ago given us direct access to Dulles International Airport, the only airport in the region with the flight frequency and global destinations demanded by CEOs and top executives. We've never completed our master plan highway system, when so many large companies are rightly focused on logistics, and seek states that invest in infrastructure like Virginia has. "Business-ready sites? What's that?" Most of our County elected officials have been tasked by their developer sugar daddies to convert as many existing or planned office and retail properties to luxury housing as possible. And they are delivering, as a quick drive around the Montgomery Mall, Wheaton, Germantown, Tower Oaks, or King Farm areas in recent years will reveal.


As a result, our County economy has been moribund since shortly after the MoCo cartel seized a majority of seats on the Council in 2002. The destruction of our business sector that began in December of that year has only accelerated over time. They're laughing at us in Arlington, Fairfax, Herndon, Manassas, and Richmond. But as more and more of the region's highest regressive tax burden shifts onto the shoulders of Montgomery County residents, the only smiles here are on the faces of the MoCo cartel, and the elected officials they totally control.

Monday, July 29, 2024

Virginia continues to crush Maryland in job creation


The economic development outlook remains bleak on this side of the Potomac River, as Virginia absolutely crushed Maryland in job creation last month. Just eight days after CNBC declared Virginia "America's Top State for Business," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the state added 15,000 new jobs in June. That gave Virginia the third-highest job creation number out of all fifty states last month. By comparison, Maryland barely surpassed a third of that total, generating only 5,600 new jobs in June.

Maryland's unemployment rate rose to 2.8% in June, while Virginia's dropped to 2.7%. The biggest area of job growth in Maryland was in the government sector. In contrast, Virginia's largest job growth was in the private sector, in Professional and Business Services. While Maryland has only added 27,800 jobs total since January 1, Virginia was able to add more than half of that in the last month alone.

Montgomery County used to be a major engine of economic growth not only in Maryland, but in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. It has now ceded that role to Northern Virginia, as MoCo increasingly becomes the bedroom community for workers who are employed elsewhere in the region. In fact, a new Bethesda-to-Tysons express bus has just been proposed to serve those workers commuting to Virginia in the morning. Tysons - and Northern Virginia as a whole - continue to add major corporate headquarters, while Montgomery County hasn't added a single one in over a quarter century.

It's that high-wage job growth that allowed Virginia’s general fund revenues to end fiscal year 2024 $1.2 billion over the official revenue forecast. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin cited "robust job growth" as the driver of that better-than-expected revenue.

In contrast, Montgomery County remains focused on the revenue-sapping activity of adding bedrooms, instead of boardrooms. Aside from presiding over a strong biotech sector that was created by wiser leaders years before they ever took office, MoCo's elected officials continue to put all of their economic development eggs into the residential housing construction basket.

Instead of building a new Potomac River crossing to Dulles International Airport, completing our master plan highway system, creating shovel-ready job sites, and focusing on attracting Fortune 500 companies and aerospace and defense firms to vacant office parks from Clarksburg to Bethesda to White Oak, our County Council is focused on building more luxury apartments and townhomes.

Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson told an audience of real estate developers hosted by Bisnow on July 18 that “[i]n Montgomery County, we’re really trying to change the narrative. We have to view housing as the economic infrastructure that we have to build communities.” That's definitely not the narrative guiding Northern Virginia, Texas, or California. We're in real trouble, folks.

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Nancy Regelin is new chair of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) Board of Directors


Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI)
, a public-private partnership that helps businesses launch, locate, and expand in Rockville, has appointed a new chair of its Board of Directors. Nancy Regelin succeeds Susan Prince, who held the position since 2020. Regelin is a familiar face to those who follow land use and development issues in Rockville and Montgomery County, where she is a real estate law shareholder at the prestigious law firm of Shulman Rogers in Potomac. Among the notable projects she was associated with that fundamentally transformed neighborhoods in the City were the redevelopment of the Rockville Mall, and the development of the Upper Rock District.

“We are honored to welcome Nancy as our new Board Chair and look forward to benefiting from her continued vision and expertise,” REDI CEO, Cindy Rivarde said in a statement yesterday. “I have long considered Rockville as my adopted hometown and am honored to have the opportunity to serve to support economic development efforts so all of Rockville can prosper,” Regelin said.

Regelin has been a member of REDI’s Board since 2010, has served as Vice Chair since 2020, and is the Chair of the Maryland Women’s Business Center Advisory Board. She is also the co-founder of The Power Conference, a women’s business development event.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Virginia is named #1 state for business; Maryland is...31st


CNBC
released its annual America's Top States for Business list this morning, and as usual, our neighbor across the Potomac has cleaned our clock once again. The cable network declared Virginia the top state for business in America. Maryland ranked 31st on the list for 2024. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is already taking a victory lap this morning. "I am thrilled that our great Commonwealth has been named America’s Top State for Business," Youngkin said in a statement. Rest assured you won't be seeing a press release from Maryland today on the subject.

You won't be surprised to know that other states in the top 10 include Texas and Tennessee. But southern, right-to-work states didn't completely dominate the top tier, as union redoubts Minnesota, Michigan, and Washington came in at #6, #9, and #10, respectively. Pro-labor policies don't make for an anti-business state all by themselves.

Delaware surprisingly finished below Maryland. The First State is usually associated with corporations, but is apparently a better place to incorporate your business than to actually operate a business - in CNBC's evaluation. Of course, Elon would strongly disagree.

Why is Maryland failing? It isn't only our failure to attract Fortune 500 companies to the state.

Virginia has the third-best infrastructure in America, according to CNBC. Maryland's infrastructure is ranked way down at 37th-best in America. Ouch. This isn't surprising when you consider that Virginia has built countless miles of new highways; installed Express Lanes on I-395, I-495, and all the way down to Fredericksburg on I-95; expanded Metro subway service through Fairfax and Loudoun Counties to Dulles Airport; now has three passenger airports in Northern Virginia alone, including the vast array of international business destinations only accessible via Dulles Airport; and has greatly expanded - at its own expense - Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express rail service. CNBC also took note of Virginia's "shovel-ready" site availablity. 

Over the same period, Maryland has built - well, not much at all. Maryland finally managed to replace the Nice Bridge over the Potomac River after many delays, only to see the Key Bridge in Baltimore collapse because state leaders for decades failed to make the necessary safety improvements they were warned to in 1980. The Purple Line delays speak for themselves. Gov. Wes Moore recently revived the plans for the Baltimore Red Line, but the state lacks any money to build it in the foreseeable future. 

Likewise, there's no cash for commuter rail in Southern Maryland or a new Bay Bridge, and any financial drain from the operation of the Purple Line is already directed to take money from other transportation projects to cover the shortfall. Maryland continues to kick the solutions for congestion on I-270 and I-495 can down the road. 

Montgomery County likes to cancel transportation infrastructure as much as it likes to ban things. Unless you are a bike lane, you are likely to be canceled by the County Council. The Council's transportation fails include announcing the cancellation of the Montrose Parkway East in White Flint on the very day that Amazon reps were touring the White Flint area during the Amazon HQ2 competition. Our talented County Council also canceled all of the major transportation infrastructure that was required to support its approval of massive housing development in Germantown, Clarksburg and Damascus - - the Corridor Cities Transitway light rail system, and the M-83 Highway. The Rockville Freeway? Removed from the master plan decades ago.

Maryland infamously continues to block construction of any new bridges over the Potomac River, denying itself congestion relief that might negate the need to widen the Beltway and I-270, as well as providing direct access to Dulles Airport that would be essential to attracting major corporations to the I-270 corridor. That highway extension of I-370 to VA-28 has an existing right-of-way from Gaithersburg to the Potomac River crossing site, but none of the intelligence, will, or leadership to build it.

The infrastructure picture in Maryland is so bad, we couldn't even keep the ancient White's Ferry operating. Remember when former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich built an entire highway, the InterCounty Connector, all by himself? It is now, rightfully, named for him. Our leaders today are super low-energy, by comparison.

Former MD Gov. Bob Ehrlich

Where else does Maryland fall short for business, according to CNBC? We're nearly the worst in America for the "Cost of Doing Business," landing at 47 out of 50. "Right into the buckle - that's gotta hurt, Gene." Montgomery County has the highest tax burden in the Washington, D.C. region, and our County and State tax structures are simply not competitive with Virginia.

CNBC shares the growing consensus that the economies of Montgomery County and Maryland are moribund. Maryland's economy ranks 30th out of all 50 states on their list. And that's probably being very generous of them. Grading on a curve.

Maryland's score for "Workforce" is nearly as bad, at 28 out of 50. This is shocking given that we have some of the most highly-educated populations in America in several counties. But CNBC finds our workforce to be worse than average.

Virginia is #1 for education. Maryland is #14. This isn't surprising if you've watched the slow motion 100-car-pileup decline of Montgomery County Public Schools since the departure of Dr. Jerry Weast, the last MCPS superintendent who - for whatever faults he had - was actually professionally-qualified for the job.

Maryland ranks way down at #37 for "Business Friendliness." Virginia is #5 in that column.

If you're an elected official in Maryland,
don't turn on CNBC today

The news isn't all bad. Maryland rises to 16 out of 50 in quality of life. Texas is dead last in that category. But Virginia is only 3 points behind us at 19th. The Commonwealth was also 19th in cost-of-living. That means they beat us there, too. 

CNBC also ranks Maryland in the top 10 states for Technology and Innovation, at #8. This is pretty surprising, too, but likely the result of Montgomery County's only economic bright spot, the biotech sector. Virginia has superior tech infrastructure, and has been home to many more notable tech firms, but somehow ends up at 15 in this category.

We already know that Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major corporate headquarters in over a quarter century. But it's becoming more surprising by the day that Gov. Moore has been unable to attract such HQs or significant manufacturing facilities to the state. One of his biggest calling cards and selling points was that he was a successful Wall Street businessman. He regularly hobnobs and fundraises among the financial elite on Martha's Vineyard and in the Hamptons. Surely, his Rolodex is bursting at the seams with CEO phone numbers. But, perplexingly, he has yet to score a big win in the corporate HQ and factory races.

The CNBC list only reinforces what engaged observers in our County and State already know. We're in real trouble, folks. And the lack of business starts, development and growth are hitting the County and State budgets harder than ever. Just look at the latest County Council tax hikes (and ballot questions to facilitate even-bigger tax hikes starting next year), and the dystopian budget headlines out of Annapolis. 

We can't go on like this.

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Losing to Virginia on another factory, is Montgomery County in the hunt for IKEA manufacturing site?


Montgomery County and Maryland were beaten in the economic development game again by Virginia yesterday. Will they be players in the next big manufacturing competition, for an IKEA factory on American soil? Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's office announced Tuesday that his state had won the competition for a 400,000-square-foot Condair Group AG manufacturing facility. The press release indicated that Virginia and South Carolina were the two finalists. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported this past weekend that IKEA is scouting for factory locations in the United States, due to increasing disruptions in international shipping lanes.

Virginia could already have a [LÖVBACKEN table] leg up in the IKEA race, as the Swedish furniture giant previously operated its only U.S. factory in Danville, Virginia from 2008 to 2019. It ultimately closed that plant, shipping its 300 jobs back to Europe. Montgomery County has plenty of room for an IKEA plant in the I-270 corridor, where there is also potential direct rail access to the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision for domestic or port shipping purposes. Of course, Baltimore, Hagerstown and Cumberland are among the struggling Maryland cities that could use an IKEA plant to help revive their once-mighty industrial areas.

There's no indication of Montgomery County or Maryland having been in the hunt for the Condair plant. The $57.2 million investment by Condair in Chesterfield County, Virginia will create 180 good-paying industrial jobs with full benefits. Instead of Condair products being exported out of the Port of Baltimore, they'll be headed out of Richmond Marine Terminal in Virginia, according to the press release.

"When an international brand like Condair makes the decision to locate in Virginia, the positive ripple-effects of economic investment, job creation and cargo growth are felt throughout the Commonwealth," Virginia Port Authority CEO Stephen A. Edwards said in a statement. "The Port of Virginia will be among the beneficiaries of Condair’s location in Chesterfield County, which is not far from Richmond Marine Terminal. We are ready to collaborate with Condair to help it leverage the assets of this port — America’s most modern gateway — to ensure it has access to world markets." 

"Virginia is the perfect location for the international company Condair to establish its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility," Youngkin said in a statement Tuesday. "We applaud the 21st century manufacturing jobs that this project will bring to Chesterfield County."

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Montgomery County's moribund economy just needs...more cowbell, Planning Dept. says


Montgomery County's moribund economy isn't a new problem. I've been writing about it for over a decade. In more recent years, The Washington Post editorial board has finally acknowledged that MoCo, once the economic engine of the Washington, D.C. region, has become stagnant - - though only in the service of their Ahab-like crusade against their chief nemesis, Marc Elrich. Even a handful of politicians have begun admitting it, from Elrich himself, to his twice-vanquished opponent David Blair, and even Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. But despite the arrival of more-powerful voices at the table, Montgomery County and Maryland's policies have yet to change. In fact, the Montgomery County Planning Department is now arguing that the solution is to double down on the failed path we've been on: "More cowbell!"

In a recent series on the department's relentlessly pro-developer blog, The Third Place, we find the latest example of the Montgomery County cartel phenomenon we might call, "Now more than ever..." Whatever the latest crisis to befall a sector, demographic or geographic area of the County, their solution is always the same: Build more luxury housing. Whether it's the moribund economy, failing schools, increasing poverty, or the decline of an area like Friendship Heights, our elected officials tell us the answer - "now more than ever" - is to build more luxury apartments.

The Third Place series is just the latest example of this "More cowbell!" argument. 

It is ostensibly a deep dive into the stagnation of the Montgomery County economy. But as the series advances beyond a deceptive twisting of statistics that aren't actually the root cause of the stagnation, it eventually arrives at a familiar conclusion - we need to build more luxury housing.

More cowbell!

Most residents will never read this blog series, but you the taxpayer are not the target audience, anyway. Like most reports generated by the Planning Department, the purpose is to provide Astroturf data and analysis our developer-funded elected officials can point to as justification for upzoning greater and greater areas of the County. But if a resident of one of the most highly-educated jurisdictions in America were to read this blog series, they would quickly sense that something is amiss.

For example, Part I classifies Montgomery County residents who make $138,750 and above as "high-income" residents. In the real world, that's called "barely-keeping-your-head-above-water" in Montgomery County. Many County residents skating by on maxed-out credit, the bank-of-Mom-and-Dad, and assorted other survival tactics would be shocked to learn that they are "rich." 

The reason for this low wealth bar becomes clear as you continue reading. It is a way to make it seem that the "rich" portion of the population has merely remained constant. In reality, the flight of the rich from Montgomery County has been well-documented, down to the amount of tax revenue in millions that those wealthy expats have taken with them to lower-tax jurisdictions in the area. 

Were we to classify "high-income" more accurately, we would see that those numbers have declined significantly. The exodus has been most clearly seen in Montgomery County plummeting entirely off of the Forbes Top Ten Richest Counties list last decade, and in the collapse of "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive" in Friendship Heights, which in recent years has become a stretch of aging apartment buildings and vacant storefronts.

As the rich have fled, they have been replaced - and then some - by low-income residents. The Third Place acknowledges this. "Specifically, our analysis shows that between 2005 and 2022, Montgomery County’s low-income population grew faster than the other groups. Montgomery County’s middle-income population shrank." Charles, Frederick, Howard, Loudoun, and Prince William counties can surely attest to the latter, as they've welcomed those cash-strapped, taxed-to-death MoCo refugees, along with the Virginia exurbs.

While that tax revenue has flowed outward, our business growth has dropped to the lowest in the region. Our job creation numbers have collapsed, and even fallen behind Prince George's County in recent years. And Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single major corporate headquarters in over a quarter century, a time frame that neatly dovetails with the MoCo cartel's seizure of the County Council in 2002 with the "End Gridlock" slate. As does the shift of population growth to the bottom of the income scale.

What urgent strategic and policy changes does The Third Place recommend to turn the tide, and attract the business and commercial revenue we need?

"The main, actionable takeaway from this research is to encourage the production of market-rate infill housing."

We know, of course, that "market-rate" housing in Montgomery County is expensive. There's no shortage of expensive housing in the County. We also know, from hard experience since 2002, that massive construction of new luxury housing does not reduce rents or home prices. Period. And because new residential housing generates more costs in County services than it does in tax revenue, building more won't solve our structural budget deficit. Much less restore our moribund economy.

Did the rich flee Montgomery County because home prices were too cheap? Not quite. Would middle class residents return en masse from the exurbs if we produced more $1 million townhomes and $2 million duplexes? Nope.

What would actually make Montgomery County a booming jurisdiction, make it possible for more residents to afford living here, and fill the County's revenue coffers? High-wage jobs from major corporate employers. 

The Third Place worries that currently, "there will be nowhere for affordable-housing residents to go once they are ready to upgrade." But it doesn't explain how janitors, cooks and grocery store bakers will suddenly be flush with the cash needed to buy that luxury housing that The Third Place wants to overdevelop even more than today. 

Here's a hint: Jobs. Good jobs. The kind we haven't been attracting to Montgomery County for a couple of decades now.

Gov. Wes Moore seems to understand this, noting that Maryland's economy today simply can't provide the revenue to fund his ambitious agenda. This year's legislative session in Annapolis seems to indicate that his message fell on deaf ears among his General Assembly colleagues. Likewise, Elrich has come around to the idea that the County should be attracting high-wage jobs. But his legislative colleagues on the County Council haven't joined him yet. 

The cumulative impact of elected officials who write the laws remaining stubborn in their ways - and loyal to the real estate developers who elected them - will only hasten the exit of wealth and revenue from Montgomery County. In addition to the massive property and recordation tax hikes passed last year, low and middle-income workers will soon be paying several hundred dollars to register their work trucks and soccer mom minivans. A 75-cent tax on every Uber ride. Even a $1.25 more on each pack of smokes. All of these are extremely regressive taxes.

A quick look at the press release pages of Gov. Moore and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin gives just a small sense of the problem. Both men have Rolodexes stuffed with Wall Street and corporate connections. Surprisingly, Moore has so far failed to convince any of his friends in the Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard to relocate their Fortune 500 companies to Maryland. And that's even amid a downward trend for Virginia under Youngkin. The GOP 2028 aspirant's announcements of new, major corporate headquarters relocating to the Old Dominion have come at a much more sporadic pace than under his two Democratic predecessors.

But even as Virginia begins to flounder a bit, and budget woes creep up on legislators in Arlington and Fairfax counties who have begun to follow the big-spending ways of MoCo, we have not been able to seize any momentary advantage.

Not only has Youngkin failed to tee up many big wins, but when he does, he now has a legislature that is more like the one in Annapolis to block him. That's partly his own fault, for bizarrely making the last state election about abortion, a sure losing crusade even in red states - much less a blue one like Virginia. And he even turned away a Ford electric vehicle battery plant. Tired of winning, perhaps?

Yet, even as Virginia slips into a lower economic gear, 2024 has brought another major corporate HQ to Virginia. CoStar - which once was headquartered in Bethesda(!!), before fleeing to the District in 2010 - purchased the 1201 Wilson Boulevard office tower in Rosslyn for its new global HQ. It will bring its existing 500 jobs, and add 150 additional jobs in its new Virginia home. 

CoStar joins Northrup Grumman, Capital One, Hilton Hotels, Volkswagen, Lidl, Intelsat, Gannett, General Dynamics, Blackboard, Corporate Executive Board, Nestle, Gerber, Lego, and the rest of a truly-headspinning list of household-name companies to select Northern Virginia over Montgomery County in recent times.

During the same Q1 period in Maryland, Gov. Moore was only able to announce the relocation of Blink Charging Co. from Florida to Bowie. That's certainly a positive and welcome development, but it's not a major or Fortune 500 company. The number of existing corporate expansions in Maryland so far this year has also been dwarfed by the number in Virginia. 

Over the first three months of 2024, Gov. Youngkin issued press releases announcing 9 other new or expanding businesses adding jobs to the state. During the same period, Maryland only had 2, another resounding defeat in regional competition.

It was encouraging news that when Moore received the phone call about the Key Bridge collapse, he was on an unannounced business trip to Boston. This at least shows he may currently be working on something big behind the scenes.

Montgomery County was once the place where such big economic development news was made in the DC region. What I've argued for over a decade has been further vindicated by the collapse of the office market after the pandemic rise of working-from-home. 

We need to be attracting major corporate headquarters, and research and manufacturing facilities, from the aerospace, defense and tech sectors. These are the sectors that need large, secure campuses in suburban office parks, the kind we - thankfully, for now - still have plenty of. And room to build plenty more. The anonymous apologists for the County Council said I was a fool, and that companies wanted to be in traditional office buildings by Metro stations in urban areas. 

It turns out I was right. "Now more than ever," you might say.

Currently, the ever-increasing and regressive tax burden caused by our elected officials' profligate spending is falling almost entirely on residents. We are leaving all of the commercial, business tax revenue - and income revenue from high-wage jobs, on the table for our rivals in Virginia, for whom we've become a bedroom community. 

By adopting more-competitive business policies, adding missing infrastructure like a new Potomac River crossing to provide direct access to Dulles International Airport, and being aggressive in attracting the evergreen industries that provide high-income employment in good times and bad, we can ease the tax and fee burden on residents. 

Monday, October 16, 2023

Prime redevelopment site on the auction block in Rockville Town Center


A property with one of the most-desirable and high-traffic locations in Rockville Town Center will be auctioned off in 28 days. 255 Rockville Pike is currently improved with a three-story office building and heavily-used parking garage. While that would provide a steady income for the winning bidder, the site is also directly across from - and connected to via skybridge - the Rockville Metro station. That means the property is also eligible for a transit-oriented redevelopment at much greater height and density than the current structure.


255 Rockville Pike was once part of the now-demolished Rockville Mall. In recent decades, it was home to Montgomery County government offices. Now that those have been moved to the County's new government building in Wheaton, the vacant building is being put on the auction block. This puts a transit-oriented site on the heavily-traveled MD 355 highway corridor into play on the City of Rockville's economic growth chessboard. The Metro station across the street is not only served by WMATA's Red Line subway trains, but also Maryland's MARC commuter rail, and Amtrak's Washington D.C. to Chicago route trains.


Transwestern, which is marketing the Ten-X Commercial auction, notes that the current building's 12-foot ceilings would also make it a prime candidate for conversion to a biotech facility. It could also be redeveloped as a high-visibility corporate headquarters. Of course, as Montgomery County hasn't attracted a major corporate headquarters in a quarter century, there is also the very real probability of the site being redeveloped as a mixed-use residential tower. Some have long touted the need for more residents in the Town Center, to support the businesses in that struggling area, which the latter use would provide, although others have pointed to parking issues as the primary culprit for the area's empty storefronts.


The City of Rockville's 2040 Comprehensive master plan anticipates that 255 Rockville Pike will indeed be demolished and redeveloped. "It is recommended that the City take an active role in the
redevelopment of this area as a prominent site in Rockville’s downtown," the plan states regarding 255 Rockville Pike. "Redevelopment of this property should contribute to the realization of the Town Center downtown L-shaped ‘spine,’ and incorporate an expanded pedestrian promenade over MD-355 to the Rockville Transit Station."


Such recommendations suggest that the City, which is about to elect a new mayor and City Council, will be heavily engaged in any redevelopment of this property. While this could add to the complexity of building something new here, it's also likely that the new property owner could wrangle some benefits or concessions from the City if it presents a project with the amenities and potential to improve the Town Center/Metro station area's environment, business climate, and pedestrian safety. With such a rare opportunity for new construction at the Rockville Metro station, there should be no shortage of bidders. As the auction listing notes, the site's PD-RCI zoning allows for high-rise construction, but also the most Metro-accessible location for a biotech facility in the I-270 life sciences corridor.

Photos courtesy Transwestern

Friday, September 15, 2023

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joins President Biden in announcing adult education funding


Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) joined President Joe Biden (D) at an event at Prince George's Community College in Largo Thursday, where Moore announced he is directing $17.4 million in funding toward adult education. More than half of the money will come from the federal government, and the remaining $7.9 million will be redirected from the Maryland Department of Labor budget. The recipients of the funds will be all 16 Maryland community colleges, two local K-12 school systems (Somerset and Worcester counties), three community-based organizations, one public library system and the state correctional education system. One of the three community-based organizations is Classroom to Community in Montgomery County.

“Together, we will grow an economy that works for everyone, from the bottom up and the middle out,” Gov. Moore said. “President Biden has been very clear about his vision to empower and educate workers to grow the middle class. It’s a vision I stand by because it’s good for Maryland, good for our people, and good for our economy. Together, we are going to work in partnership to follow the president’s lead, build out our workforce, grow the economy, and win this decade.” 

Moore recently expressed his concern about the state's moribund economy, and the resulting lack of revenue that will limit his ability to fund initiatives he has proposed. That concern was heightened by the announcement this week that Maryland's Transportation Trust Fund is running out of money.

Biden and Moore were also joined by Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer (D) and Maryland's U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D). The president was introduced by Prince George's County Community College student Sadé Davis.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich leading economic development mission to Taiwan


Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has accepted an invitation from the Taipei Computer Association to speak at its 2023 Smart Cities Summit and Expo in Taiwan this week. He won't be alone on the trip, as he is leading a delegation to the event. Elrich's guests will be County Councilmember Natali Fani-Gonzales, chair of the Council’s Economic Development Committee; Kevin Beverly, board chair of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC); Gail Roper, Montgomery County’s chief information officer; and Judy Costello, Montgomery County's special projects manager for Business, Innovation and Economic Development.

Representatives of five businesses that specialize in what a County press release calls "Smart Cities-related technologies" will also travel with the delegation. The companies are DFSFederal, Lumo Imaging (located in Potomac), Machfu (Rockville), Person Clinic (Rockville), and TSS, LLC. Not mentioned in the press release is whether their travel costs are being paid for by the County, or the businesses themselves.

The event will culminate this Friday, when Elrich will meet with Chiang Wan-an, the mayor of Taipei. Elrich will be one of only four members of the 1,300 expo participants who will participate in the mayor’s conference-ending press conference.

“I’m looking forward to meeting with Taiwanese business and academic leaders to learn more about their activities and to speak with them about why Montgomery County is a top location for them to enter or expand their presence in the United States," Elrich said in a statement.  “Getting Montgomery County’s economy moving and working for everyone is my top priority as the Chair of Council Economic Development Committee,” Councilmember Fani-González said in the joint statement with Elrich. “That is why I am thrilled to join the County Executive and County business leaders on this delegation to Taiwan to bring investment and jobs to the County. We will aggressively court businesses and academic and research institutions to choose Montgomery County for their next location.”

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Montgomery County loses another corporate HQ to Virginia


There goes another one. Amentum Services, a leading government contractor in the fields of engineering, project management and advanced solutions integration, is moving from Germantown to Chantilly in Fairfax County, Virginia. The latest corporate decision to choose Virginia over Montgomery County will bring 157 new jobs to Fairfax County - good jobs with high pay. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) announced the move in a press release Monday.

According to Youngkin's statement, Virginia competed directly with Maryland to woo Amentum, which has 44,000 employees working in 85 countries around the world. “Fairfax County offers the location, access to decision-makers, and talent pipeline that global providers like Amentum are seeking, and we are proud to welcome the company’s leadership and operations team to Virginia,” Youngkin said. “Amentum joins the ranks of the Commonwealth’s diversified ecosystem of more than 800 corporate headquarters across a broad cross-section of industries.”

“I want to thank and congratulate Amentum for choosing Fairfax County for its home base,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay said in statement. “Our long-term investment into making Fairfax County the top choice to locate a global business continues to bear fruit, and I am thrilled that Amentum has chosen to take advantage of what we offer.” 

Amentum is the latest corporation to abandon moribund Montgomery County for Virginia, or choose Virginia over Maryland in a relocation search. It joins Amazon, Northrop Grumman, Volkswagen, Lidl, Hilton Hotels, Intelsat, Corporate Executive Board, Nestle, Lego, and Gerber, to name a few. 

Montgomery County and Maryland have had difficulty even gobbling up the crumbs under Virginia's dinner table. When Youngkin made the surprising decision to reject a Ford Motor Company battery plant recently, Maryland wasn't even a serious contender to grab the jump ball. That fumble apparently happened on the watch of former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and the 2018-2022 Montgomery County Council, as Michigan was quickly named as Ford's backup choice.