Further Becoming The Place to Be
By Kendra Lee
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III presented his 2016 “State of the Economy” address to a sold-out crowd at the Colony South Hotel in Clinton, Maryland, last week, and proclaimed the word to know is “opportunity.”
Since Baker’s election in 2010, the county has positioned itself to take advantage of opportunities in job creation, workforce development, economic development - and its geographic location with proximity to the nation's capital.
“We have moved from a county that was under investigation by the FBI to a county looking forward to bringing the FBI to the county,” he said, citing the ways his strategies have proved fruitful. “The new reality is that our economic development, crime reduction and school system restructuring strategies are working, and we are now positioned to take advantage of the opportunities we always knew were there.” Under his watch, Baker said, the county has:
Created a $50 million economic development incentive fund;
Seen crime rates drop to record lows;
Improved the school system, increasing enrollment and graduation rates;
Reduced unemployment;
Experienced an increase in revenues from rising property values and expanded commercial activity;
Streamlined the permitting system;
Strengthened ethics policies; and
Created the Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative, a signature project.
As the entire Washington, D.C., metro area expands, PG County has experienced exponential growth, with 33 development deals in place valued at $23 million that will retain more than 4,000 jobs and add 3,300 more. These include:
Dave & Busters (scheduled to open later this month)
Melford Development in Bowie
The New Town Centre in Laurel
The redevelopment of Kingdom Square in Capitol Heights
The Gateway Arts District on Route 1
The Westphalia Project in Upper Marlboro
Konterra in Laurel
Whole Foods and retail in Riversdale Park
A New Town Center project in Suitland
The county, an enthusiastic Baker told the 500 local business leaders, developers and elected officials in attendance, is “in demand—whether it is the anticipation of the Purple Line, the Regional Medical Center, MGM National Harbor or the possibility of the FBI coming—and it feels pretty damn good!”
