PGCo, Did You Know…

Cracker Barrel coming to BWI area, Konterra Development in Beltsville has big tenant, Economic Advisor issues response to Fairfax County’s Gerald Gordon on FBI, Prince George’s County bulldozing foreclosed properties

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store announced it has signed a ground lease with St. John Properties for a 1.75 acre pad site at BWI Technology Park III, a new 15-acre mixed-use business community located near BWI Airport.  The new BWI store, adjacent to the intersection of West Nursery Road and MD Route 295, is scheduled to open in the third quarter of this year, so says Citybiz.

Looks like it’s still about a 40 minute drive from the Prince George’s County area and I’m not that much of a Cracker Barrel fan but more power to everyone who partakes.

From Washington Business Journal, “Konterra Realty LLC has inked a deal to build a new headquarters for ASRC Federal Holding Co. at its Konterra Business Campus, a 135-acre campus it is developing off Route 1 in Beltsville.  ASRC has signed a lease with Konterra for 50,000 square feet at 7000 Muirkirk Meadows Drive and will relocate there from another site at 6303 Ivy Lane in Greenbelt in February 2014. The space will put ASRC close to the Intercounty Connector and could be an early indication that the newly built highway will help drive tenants to places like Konterra’s development.”

Gerald Gordon, Fairfax EDA chief

 Gerald Gordon, president of the Fairfax Economic Development Authority.  Gerald Gordon basically stated that the only reason the FBI should come to Prince George’s County would be to find criminals.  See my earlier post HERE.  To date, Gordon hasn’t issued an apology.  My thought is he hasn’t issued an apology because he doesn’t think anyone in our county has the power to make him pay for what he said.  If the good people of Prince George’s County would keep all their business in Maryland, I think he’d be a little less pompous.  That’s my opinion.  

In the meantime, Aubrey Thagard, economic adviser to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, issued the following statement Tuesday:

“We have always recognized that attracting the FBI is going to be a very competitive process — in fact we welcome competition. As a rule, Prince George’s County does not make derogatory comments about any competitor. Dr. Gordon’s comments are a disservice not only to the honest, hardworking people of Prince George’s County, but to the people of Fairfax County as well. His slights against us as well as Loudoun County last week, and the District of Columbia several months ago, can only hamper the ability of all jurisdictions in the National Capital Region to work more collaboratively. As economic development ambassadors we are expected to highlight the positives of the jurisdictions we serve, but not at the expense of other jurisdictions.”

“We have this tremendous inventory of vacant and abandoned houses — some of them have been burned out, some are unsafe and uninhabitable,” said Adam Ortiz, acting director of the Prince George’s Department of Environmental Resources, which oversees demolitions. “Using the expedited process, owners are more responsive and take actions to address the properties.”  This expedited process is telling the owner(s) of the dilapidated that your property has been flattened, according to information from the Washington Examiner, “County officials are hoping the recent demolitions can help bring about a faster recovery — or at least a few better-looking neighborhoods. While there’s a 30-day waiting period during which the owner of the property can repair it or appeal the county’s ruling, Ortiz said, most never do. “In the past, going through the court process could take years,” Ortiz said. “We’re being very aggressive. “