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PW to "aggressively pursue" Northrop Grumman HQ
Local
By Dan Roem
Source: Gainesville Times
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28 2010
Bringing in 300 high-paying, corporate executive jobs would certainly be a boon for any locality in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Being able to claim the headquarters of Northrop Grumman, however: that's the real prize. Prince William County is among the localities planning to make a pitch to the Los Angeles-based global security company. The economic development team will particularly focus its sales pitch on two main areas along the Interstate 66 and I-95 corridors, with the local focus being the Innovation business park along the Route 234 bypass. "The biggest advantage to Prince William County is accessibility to market and access to labor force," said Jason Grant, communications director for the PWC Department of Economic Development. "What I can say is we'll pursue the project aggressively." When the PWC DED generally makes its case to large companies that want to expand or relocate, Grant said Prince William's quality of life, highly-educated workforce and school system are usually highlighted. Then, there is the family angle. "I think people who move to Prince William County move here because they like the community," said Grant. "Most of Prince William County is family households. There's a desire to be in suburban growth communities." That means schools and a lot of them. The biggest problem with county schools in the western end is overcrowding. A new high school set to open in 2011 on the northwest side of the Vint Hill Road-Nokesville Road (Route 28) intersection is set to alleviate Battlefield and Brentsville District High Schools, and more elementary and middle schools are set to come on line in the next few years too. However, Grant said most of the education discussions he has with prospective employers are about school quality. That's where the Cambridge Programme at Brentsville, Stonewall Jackson's International Baccalaureate program and Battlefield's robotics concentration all come into play, along with the Governor's School at George Mason University in Manassas. "People want to know what's the performance of the schools... and our schools are performing well," said Grant. "We're able to point out that the schools are meeting the standards of learning and exceeding the standard of learning" requirements. Home to a high population of federal contractors with security clearances, western Prince William undoubtedly has the personnel for a headquarters office. For a company specializing in defense like Northrop Grumman, the PWC economic development team will likely play up the fact that the county is home to the Quantico Marine Corps base and is within 10 miles of both Ft. Belvoir and the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly. The catch though is the state government is taking the lead on recruiting Northrop Grumman, which means they'll be offering equal consideration to the rest of Northern Virginia's localities as the region competes against Washington, D.C. and nearby Maryland counties. Northrop Grumman already employs more than 100,000 people in Northern Virginia. Any locality bidding for Northrop Grumman will have to provide one of two resources: an already-established high-rise building the company can buy or an open parcel of land so the company can build its own facility. High rises are much more common - and more expensive - inside the beltway, though Grant mentioned, "We do have some product." Regarding access to the labor market, 70 percent of Northern Virginia workers live within 30 minutes of the county. "We're at an advantage in that even though unemployment is higher than it's been, it's still relatively low (here) compared to the national level," said Grant. "That's actually not a disadvantage for companies locating." Given that Bristow and Dumfries workers have the longest daily commutes in the country, they would likely be "highly motivated to have a job close to home," according to Grant. The hour-plus commute time will not likely change any time soon as the state government continues to fight over transportation funding. However, locating in Prince William County would mean Northern Virginia commuters would be traveling against traffic on their way to work each day. Backups on Interstate 95 usually begin in Prince William County in the morning and clog up roadways up through the intersection with the beltway. Traffic jams along I-66 are similar in the morning. However, commuters driving from Fairfax would head west in the morning and east at night if Northrop Grumman located in western PWC. That is opposite the flow of most rush-hour traffic. Grant couldn't say when Prince William would be making a proposal, but Randy Belote, vice president of corporate international communications at Northrop Grumman, told the Loudoun Times that the company would like to choose its site by March or April. No matter what happens at the state-level, Grant said, "We will make a strong case of here's who we are as a community and here's what we can do."
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