Central Maryland's economy prospering

In metropolitan Baltimore, we've seen a steady increase in employment, according to Robert Hannon, assistant secretary for the Department of Business and Economic Development's Baltimore region. During the past year, metropolitan Baltimore - which includes Baltimore City and Baltimore, Harford, Carroll, Howard and Anne Arundel counties - has increased the number of jobs by 13,600.

Hannon adds that growth in this region has cut across a number of industries, including construction, distribution and transportation, retail, professional and business services, health care and health services, and leisure and hospitality.

Unemployment in the region, in turn, has decreased from 5.2 percent last year to 4.9 percent the same time this year. However, the news in Baltimore City wasn't quite as hopeful: While in August 2004, the unemployment rate had dropped to 8.8 percent from 9.1 percent in August 2003, that compares with a state unemployment average of 4.1 percent.

The good news for the city is that NeighborCare, a health services company that packages and distributes pharmaceuticals, moved its corporate headquarters there, adding 300 new jobs. When the owners of Hedwin Corp., a firm that manufacturers plastic containers, liner products and custom plastic parts, made known its intent to leave the city, workers came through with an employee purchase that kept the company in place.

Other good news for the city is the University of Maryland, Baltimore's BioPark, a significant undertaking that required the cooperation of Baltimore City, the state and the university. The project is expected to result in 3,000 jobs, of which one-third will be people with high school degrees, another third with college degrees, and the remainder will be those with multiple graduate degrees.

A boon to the entire region will be the renewed activity at the Sparrows Point shipyard in Baltimore County. Once home to Bethlehem Steel's shipbuilding operations, The 175-acre facility has received several contracts for ship disassembly, Hannon said.

In January 2004, Baltimore County saw the merger of Solo Cup and Sweetheart Cup. We engaged in many discussions with the two companies to determine how to best take advantage of the merger, said Hannon. The new corporation, Solo Cup, is increasing employment in Maryland by some new 300 jobs, with about 120 on the Eastern Shore and another 200 in the Owings Mills facility.

Also in Owings Mills, Shire Pharmaceuticals is expanding its processing and distribution center.

According to Hannon, Carroll County expects to see three significant companies announce expansions and new construction toward the end of the year.

Performance Food Group/Carroll County Foods launched a three- year, two-phase expansion that will add an 11,000-square-foot cooler, warehouse and office space, and 75 jobs.

DBED also has been working with the town of Sykesville to invest in the redevelopment of the former Springfield State Hospital. There are 500,000 square feet in several buildings, and while our efforts to attract businesses into this property have been in the works for a while, they're now getting closer to reality, he said.

In Harford County, Columbus, Ohio-headquartered Battelle, a science and high-technology company, opened a research facility at the Higher Education and Applied Technology (HEAT) Center in Aberdeen in the spring 2003, with an eye toward developing commercial applications from research that takes place at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Other new tenants at the HEAT Center include Federal Radio Communications and RTR Technologies.

Chesapeake Spice has expanded in Harford County, resulting in a new processing and distribution center that employs 100.

Anne Arundel County - anchored by Fort Meade and the National Security Agency, as well as multiple homeland security-related private companies - continues to prosper. There are tens of millions of dollars that are being directed by NSA, said Hannon. That means a lot of new businesses, especially in the area of information technology.

The Airport Square Business Park and National Business Park have signed several news deals, and the recently opened Annapolis incubator - Chesapeake Innovation Center - which focuses on homeland defense businesses, has gotten off to a very successful start.

In Howard County, Baltimore Aircoil Co., which designs, engineers and constructs the air handling systems for office buildings, expanded its headquarters, while Advanced Polybags opened a new facility there.

Buoyed by an influx of defense-related spending, the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab - Howard County's largest employer - is working on developing biohazardous sensors, biological/chemical surveillance and detection systems, U.S. mail inspection and decontamination systems, information systems security, port and air systems security, and commercial shipping surveillance.

Anne Arundel County

Businesses are attracted to Anne Arundel County for a variety of reasons. For starters, it is located in the Baltimore/Washington corridor, the nation's fourth-largest marketplace, along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, and it is home to the Baltimore/Washington International Airport, which is midway through a $1.8 billion infrastructure upgrade. With a talented work force, an unemployment rate consistently below the state and national averages, and a booming economy, Anne Arundel County is a great place to live and work.

Economic development goals for 2005

* Encourage continued development of Class-A office space to accommodate the growing defense and security sector boom in the area near Fort Meade - Anne Arundel County's Gold Coast.

* Brand Anne Arundel County as a national leader in the growing field of informatics, the technological ability to sift through enormous volumes of data and rapidly identify and extract specific or critical information.

* Encourage quality mixed-use development in Odenton, Glen Burnie and Parole town centers and revitalization in underused retail developments throughout the county.

* Continue to promote Anne Arundel County as the premier location for corporate and nonprofit headquarters operations.

* Continue to support the growth and success of Anne Arundel County's small businesses through the Small Business Resource Center, the Arundel Business Loan Fund, the Minority Business Enterprise Committee and the Chesapeake Innovation Center (Anne Arundel County's business incubator for homeland security-focused entrepreneurs).

William A. Bill Badger Jr.,

President and CEO

Anne Arundel Economic

Development Corp.

Baltimore City

Baltimore City has renowned medical institutions, including Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical School and the University of Maryland, with its schools of dentistry, social work, medicine, pharmacy and nursing. The Port of Baltimore is important economically to the entire region, and Baltimore has an Enterprise Zone and Empowerment Zone. Key employers include the Johns Hopkins Institutions, Constellation Energy Group and T. Rowe Price.

Economic development goals for 2005

* Continue construction of University of Maryland, Baltimore's BioPark.

* Continue to attract new business to Baltimore City.

* Work to attract more business to the Sparrows Point Shipyard.

* Work to retain jobs presently in Baltimore City.

Baltimore Development Corp.

Baltimore County

Baltimore County provides a friendly business climate and rapid response to business needs, from helping companies such as General Motors in White Marsh go from groundbreaking to transmission production in a record-setting 17 months to strategically adding properties to its Enterprise Zone portfolio.

The Greater Baltimore region's 25 colleges and universities provide employers with access to a diverse, talented human-resource pool.

The county's business locations range from research and technology parks to industrial deepwater properties to campuses for Fortune 500 companies.

Additionally, Baltimore Crossroads and Windlass Run Business Park are among the Mid-Atlantic's largest planned business communities. These unique opportunities sit strategically along Interstate 95, Maryland's new Route 43 and the Baltimore County waterfront.

Economic development goals for 2005

* Celebrate the opening of the extension of Maryland Route 43, which opens 1,000 acres of property along I-95 for business development. The first spec buildings will begin construction in 2005.

* Increase use of heavy industrial properties on the Sparrows Point peninsula in Dundalk.

* Launch a life sciences business attraction initiative.

* Support County Executive James T. Smith Jr.'s vision by attracting major new business investment and redevelopment in the traditional commercial areas. A new marketing initiative will be launched to increase retail traffic in Baltimore County's 13 downtown districts.

* Build on strong regional and state partnerships to heighten visibility for Greater Baltimore as the East Coast's premier place for business success.

David S. Iannucci, Executive Director

Baltimore County Department of Economic Development

Carroll County

Carroll County is an excellent place to live and work. National and international companies create a diverse and dynamic business climate in one of the nation's premier industrial areas. The work force is skilled, industrious and highly educated. Strong family- oriented communities offer a variety of safe, affordable places to live, state-of-the-art medical facilities and a very good school system.

Economic development goals for 2005

* Encourage a positive business climate.

* Retain and sustain existing businesses.

* Increase the commercial/industrial base and number of high-wage jobs in the county.

* Strengthen regional partnerships that support business and work- force development, tourism, agribusiness and small businesses.

* Employ strategies to attract high-technology manufacturing and engineering, management services and information technology firms.

Denise Beaver, Deputy Director

Carroll County Department of

Economic Development

Harford County

Harford County is strategically located on Interstate 95 - 23 miles from Baltimore, 60 miles from Washington and 75 miles from Philadelphia. Its location, skilled work force, emerging technology resources, reasonable cost of living and quality of life make it an excellent location for companies searching for a dynamic business environment.

The Harford County Office of Economic Development builds on these unique strengths by offering new and expanding businesses fast-track permitting, Enterprise Zone tax credits, work-force training grants, and financial and site selection assistance.

Economic development goals for 2005

* Support the enhancement of the U.S. Army mission at Aberdeen Proving Ground - forging linkages between APG, education and industry to develop and commercialize new technologies.

* Redevelop aging commercial districts such as the U.S. Route 40

Corridor.

* Foster the retention and growth of resident businesses, particularly small businesses.

* Attract high-value industry to expand county tax base and job creation

potential.

* Support local, regional and statewide work-force development efforts.

J. Thomas Sadowski, Director

Harford County Office of

Economic Development

Howard County

Howard County understands the importance of business and its impact on the economy - good quality jobs united with a good quality of life. The county government is predictable, solution-oriented and knows that time equals money. Howard County has the educated work force and the tools necessary to help businesses flourish, including a school system rated among the best in the nation.

Economic development goals for 2005

* Promote and encourage technology business development in Howard County and throughout the region by leveraging partnerships among federal agencies, research laboratories, universities and technology membership organizations.

* Continue to accelerate entrepreneurism through the award- winning NeoTech Incubator at the Center for Business and Technology Development and create a climate and culture of successful growth for entrepreneurs and startups.

* Increase the number of jobs created in Howard County, striving for an overall 5 percent increase over the number of jobs created the previous year.

* Work to maintain excellence in education, health care and recreational opportunities.

* Maintain a low vacancy rate. Howard County's vacancy rate for commercial, office and flex real estate is approaching 10 percent. Economic development officials will encourage construction of office space while maintaining a low vacancy rate.

Richard Story, CEO

Howard County Economic

Development Authority

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