Alsobrooks: “This Is Our Time, This Century Belongs To Prince George’s”
The 2024 State of the Economy Address Sheds Light on the Future
Story And Photography By Raoul Dennis
This story was updated June 17, 2024 at 8:50 PM
County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks did something different with the 2024 State of the County Address.
She touched upon the FY25 budget and the banner achievements in Annapolis while tackling this year’s budget shortfall. And the executive nodded to her administration’s focus on education and opportunities in affordable housing.
But Alsbrooks opted to direct the heart of her 30-minute message to over 500 business leaders and residents to the big picture--the seeds planted today that will drive the next 100 years.
“I want to talk to you about our economic outlook… and the steps we’re taking to support Transit Oriented Development and [the way] independent policy makers and analysts strongly support our vision for the next century in Prince George’s County,” Alsobrooks said [listen to audio “County Executive Alsobrooks 2024 State of the County Address,” below].
“We also have achieved a once-in-a-lifetime and once-in-a-generation investment that will literally transform our community for a century or more,” the county executive began.
“I want to talk to all of you about our economic outlook and the steps that we're taking to support transit-oriented development and how the actions of independent policymakers and analysts strongly support our vision for the next century in Prince George's County,” she continued.
“[But] First, I want to tell all of you a story, a history lesson on the power of large-scale federal investment in communities around the Gulf. In 1949, Congress appropriated funds for the National Institutes of Health or NIH, a campus in Bethesda, Maryland.”
“Since then, the NIH has grown, adding research buildings and labs, and today, NIH employs 18,000 people who supported their mission. The biotechnology and life sciences industries have grown with NIH in Bethesda, and researchers from NIH work with local companies and start-ups to translate scientific discoveries into new innovative technologies and treatments. That's why Bethesda flourishes.
NIH anchors an entire ecosystem of innovative companies that drive economic growth, making Montgomery County a national leader in life sciences. Growth in Bethesda goes far beyond art and science. We also know that Marriott International and Park Construction have their headquarters in this affluent suburb, anchored by the same once-in-a-generation federal investment. The headquarters of National Institutes of Health, you should know, is not a one-off. The Pentagon and surrounding Department of Defense contractors in Arlington County, Virginia, employ nearly 30,000 people and generate over $11 billion in economic impact.
Just like Bethesda, Arlington County has many firms and contractors working around the Pentagon creating wealth for residents and demand for high-quality amenities and services. Federal investments shaped growth in Arlington and Montgomery Counties for nearly a century. Federal investment helped make these two of the wealthiest places on Earth. Now, with the help of our federal and state delegations, Prince George's County will have its very own transformative, large-scale federal investment.”
Alsobrooks says those early investments aided other communities who are satellites to the nation’s capital to the position of wealth they hold today.
“Those investments matter. It means now that Arlington and that area, Fairfax, is the second wealthiest county in the United States of America as a result of the intentional investment of the federal government. We demanded that equity dictated that after spending $400 billion-plus dollars in Northern Virginia, they must come to Prince George's County and to make the kind of investment that will allow us to also transform our community,” she explained.
Alsobrooks believes Prince George’s will achieve similar results in coming years.
The executive acknowledged several developments in county investment, in addition to gaining the new FBI headquarters, that should catapult county economic growth trajectory significantly in upcoming decades. They include cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing and more (see details in “The Groundwork for Growth.” June 20.)
The address was hosted by the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable in partnership with the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation. Roundtable President & CEO M.H. Jim Estepp led the occasion as he has since the inception of the state of the economy address in 2013. MGM National Harbor served as the location providing a scenic backdrop to the morning address.
Prince George’s County Council Chair Jolene Ivey and PGCEDC’s President & CEO David Iannucci provided remarks as well regarding the $53 Million Blueprint for Maryland and the successful equity argument that helped being the new FBI headquarters to the county.
More details and reaction to come on this story. Watch this space.
