Unemployment and office vacancies are low. Real estate prices and hotel occupancy rates are on the rise. And a number of new construction projects are underway. Holzheimer said he expects the local unemployment rate to continue declining in 2011 while the impact from BRAC is mitigated by a robust demand for office space.
Holzheimer noted that between 2008 and 2010, Arlington saw a net employment increase while Alexandria and Fairfax saw a net employment decline.
Zimmerman said unemployment and office vacancy rates have stayed low, while “our real estate values have held better than pretty much any place else.”
According to Blue Virginia’s video, Zimmerman went on to say say that it’s not just Arlington’s proximity to D.C. that has helped it remain prosperous.
Sept. 15, 2011 was supposed to be the date by which some 5 million square feet of military-occupied office space in Arlington — 17 percent of the county’s office inventory — would be moved out as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act.
Now, it appears that most of that leased space will still be in use by the military through 2012 and beyond.
This weekend a group of large local property owners will ask the county board to advertise a public hearing on the creation of a Ballston Business Improvement District.
The Ballston BID would be responsible for marketing Ballston to potential businesses, residents and visitors. It is necessary, property owners say, to keep Ballston competitive with other fast-growing commercial office markets in the District and in Northern Virginia. (Such as Tyson’s Corner, which is a few years away from becoming Metro-accessible.)
County Spending Outpaces Revenue Gains — An improving economy will bring in more tax and fee revenue for the county next year, but those gains will be outpaced by projected increases in county spending. More from the Sun Gazette.
Plane Crash Survivor Back at Work in Arlington — Former NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe, who survived the Alaska plane crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens, returned to work yesterday. O’Keefe is the CEO of Arlington-based EADS North America. More from Reuters.
AT&T is holding a job fair in Pentagon City tomorrow in an attempt to fill more than 100 retail sales and management jobs in the DC area.
The job fair is being held at the Doubletree Hotel at 300 Army Navy Drive (the one with the dome restaurant up top) from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
A newsletter from Arlington’s economic development authority reveals that local spending on restaurants and retail goods is up significantly compared to 2009.
The meals taxes payed by Arlington restaurants jumped by 9.2 percent for the first three months of the year, according to Arlington Economic Development. In addition to the booming restaurant receipts, retail sales rose 11.2 percent in March.
Arlington’s unemployment rate is holding at a low 4.3 percent.
Employment figures just released for June show that total employment in Arlington increased from 134,010 in May to 134,579 in June. But at the same time the civilian labor force increased from 140,041 to 140,617. That produces a 4.3 percent unemployment rate for both months.
Secretary Gates Calls For Reduction of DoD Spending — On Saturday Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave a blistering speech that called for a significant restructuring of Pentagon spending, reports Andrea Stone at AOL News. Citing a “gusher of defense spending” following 9/11, Gates stated his desire to reduce spending on weapons systems and military health care. He also called for a reduction in the number of generals and admirals in the services. Defense spending is a major component of the local economy.
BRAC Moves May Cause Traffic Woes — The transfer of 13,000 DoD jobs from Crystal City to Ft. Belvoir, Alexandria’s Mark Center development and elsewhere may cause major traffic problems, the Washington Post reports. The areas where the jobs are moving to are not Metro accessible and are not prepared to receive the ensuing crush of traffic, several people told the Post. By law, about four million square feet of office space in Crystal City must be vacated by September 2011.
Governor Bob McDonnell is expected to announce tomorrow that Northrop Grumman has selected Northern Virginia for the location of its new headquarters, according to sources cited by the Washington Business Journal.
McDonnell is not expected to announce which Northern Virginia site has been selected quite yet. Among the reported finalists are the 800 North Glebe Road development in Ballston, along with a site in Falls Church and a site in Alexandria.
Arlington Makes AP’s “Least Stressed” List — Arlington has placed 12th on the Associated Press’ list of the 20 least economically stressed counties in the U.S.
County Gov’t Getting Paid By Feds — Arlington County will be reimbursed more than $300,000 for expenses associated with President Obama’s inauguration, the Sun Gazette reports. The county government is now turning its attention to securing about $800,000 in reimbursements from FEMA for December’s “Snowpocalypse” snow storm.
“Arlington is still a highly attractive market,” Terry Holzheimer, the head of the county’s Arlington Economic Development (AED) office, told a gathering of developers, real estate brokers and business leaders this morning.
Citing a new AED study, Holzheimer said he expects job growth to continue (Arlington was the only local community with significant job growth from 2007 to 2009), residential and commercial rents to rise, and development to soldier on, eventually.
