Robert McCartney (00:49):

Welcome to Think Regionally, a regular podcast of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments or COG. I'm your host, Robert McCartney. This is the final installment in the three part series, talking to area leaders and experts about our region's future. The first episode looked at population trends and the impact of telework, while the second looked at transit. Now, let's focus on the economy. The good news is that our region is one of a handful of so-called superstar metros with a highly educated workforce. Such regions, including Silicon Valley, New York, Seattle and Boston, attract investment from technology companies that are the driving force in the nation's economy. We face many of the same challenges as those other metro regions, such as high priced housing, congestion, and widening inequality. Regional planners at COG and elsewhere hope to overcome those hurdles by focusing investment and jobs along public transit, especially in low income areas, and by building more affordable housing.

Robert McCartney (01:55):

I talked to County Executive Angela Alsobrooks about how Prince George's County, Maryland plans to capitalize on new technologies and promote growth along transit lines, such as the Blue Line stretching through Capitol Heights and Seat pleasant to Largo.

Angela Alsobrooks (02:13):

So, we are in the process of making historic investments along some of our underutilized transit corridors. You know, I talked to you for example about the Blue Line corridor that allows us to not only invest in new housing, but also to make space for new commercial entities that will help us to expand our commercial tax base. I mentioned to you before the growth of high tech industries, such as IonQ, which is one of the most capitalized quantum computing companies in the world and it's leading our discovery district. And we also expect to see more ventures like those kind of emerge in the dynamic market that's here in Prince George's County.

Robert McCartney (02:55):

It's a major plus that the industry is expected to dominate future growth in our region are in technology. Tech companies offer the most potential for sustained long term expansion. The area's position as a technology hub was highlighted in 2018 when Northern Virginia beat out more than 200 competitors to become the site of Amazon's second world headquarters. Amazon cited the area's workforce as the number one reason for the choice. Here's Jack McDougle, CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

Jack McDougle (03:28):

Our workforce and our talent is a huge strength here. We have a really highly educated workforce, more than 50 percent of adults have a four year college education. We have a lot of tech workers, we have the fourth highest concentration of tech workers in the country. We have a significant university and college higher ed system in this region with more than 18 universities and colleges located here.

Robert McCartney (03:56):

Northern Virginia is a leader in everything related to data, data centers, data management, and data analytics. Maryland hosts a growing biotechnology and cybersecurity industry, and the district attracts all kinds of companies.

Jack McDougle (04:11):

What's really interesting and I don't know if a lot of people are aware of this, but our region ranks 11th globally for tech startups. We're starting to be much more competitive against Silicon Valley and New York. I would argue right now that we're not really becoming a tech center, but we're already there. We're a global tech competitor on par with any other.

Robert McCartney (04:32):

While crucial, the tech sector isn't the only engine for growth. Another of course, is the federal government. Not only is it the region's largest employer, but it issues contracts to private companies that create hundreds of thousands of additional jobs. It also is a magnet for companies that want to be close to the legislators and regulators who have a lot of influence over their business.

Jack McDougle (04:54):

The federal government offers us a strategic advantage. And so it's really, how do you partner with and leverage the federal government more effectively. If you think about the decision to locate here for a lot of companies, having access to the federal government is a really important factor. There's a really strong relationship between the two. And it seems that that's what's really enabling us to attract a lot more economic activity in businesses. The recent Boeing announcement moving their headquarters to Northern Virginia into Arlington, that's so they can have closer proximity to their primary customer.

Robert McCartney (05:32):

Then there's hospitality and leisure. Washington is an international tourist destination for its monuments, historic sites and multitude of free museums. Restaurants, arts, entertainment, and sports are vital to attract and keep the well-educated, talented workers that businesses want. It also happens that we're home to corporate headquarters for some of the world's biggest hotel companies, including Marriott, Hilton, and Choice. The whole sector took a beating during the pandemic and isn't fully back yet.

Jack McDougle (06:04):

We need to rebuild our hospitality, leisure industries. Those are quality of life. We want to have a really robust restaurant community across our region. We want people coming here and visiting. We need hotels. We need entertainment. And since that was so devastated during the pandemic, really making sure that we get those industries back on their feet as fast as possible, I think, is really critically important.

Robert McCartney (06:36):

Prince George's County offers an example of how the region is laying groundwork for long-term growth in all the sectors that McDougle mentioned and some others as well. The county enjoyed a noteworthy surge of job growth in the years preceding COVID. Like the rest of the region, it suffered badly in the downturn but has mostly recovered. Here's County Executive Alsobrooks again.

Angela Alsobrooks (07:01):

As you know Prince George's County created more jobs than any jurisdiction in the state of Maryland for six consecutive years. So it was so painful for us to watch those jobs essentially disappear during the pandemic in a few months time. But we have now secured close to 90% of the jobs that we lost.

Robert McCartney (07:21):

Thanks in large part to federal and state relief money approved during the pandemic, Prince George's is set to receive a multi-billion dollar package that it hopes will help jumpstart the economy for the future.

Angela Alsobrooks (07:34):

In this last legislative session we were able to secure two and a half billion dollars in state aid. And I have to tell you, this is the most state aid that we've been ever been able to deliver to the county in the county's history. And we believe that it will be transformative in terms of the economic growth that it will allow along with long awaited entertainment and other amenities that we've been really hoping to bring to the county for a long time.

Robert McCartney (08:01):

I asked Alsobrooks to spell out how the county planned to use the money.

Angela Alsobrooks (08:06):

The two and a half billion dollars is centered largely around economic development, transit, infrastructure improvements, as well as the health of our residents. We're making major investments along the Blue Line corridor to make these walkable, bikeable spaces that connect us to some of the real activity that we're seeing, again, coming out of Virginia and DC. We also are seeing dollars that are coming here for a new cancer center, $67 million. Prince George's County is one of the only major jurisdictions in the state without a cancer center. We are creating a sports and innovation center.

Robert McCartney (08:45):

A big sports and entertainment investment will be in the communities in and around Landover where the Commanders play at FedEx Field. That could entice the team to build a planned new stadium at the same site. Prince George's will make the investment regardless of whether the team stays. It is not planning to contribute any money to build the stadium itself.

Angela Alsobrooks (09:07):

We were able to secure about $400 million in bonding authority to develop the areas around the Commander stadium and believe, again, that it not only enhances the quality of life for our residents who are in that area who have waited for investment for far too long, but I believe it also makes that area even that much more attractive for the Commanders to come there should that Landover site be selected.

Robert McCartney (09:32):

Prince George's is looking for growth in both cutting edge technology industries and a more traditional businesses such as the six Amazon warehouses that it's hosting.

Angela Alsobrooks (09:43):

You'll note IonQ, which is coming out of University of Maryland College Park and our discovery zone, and it is this epicenter for quantum computing in the country and it's happening right here in Prince George's County. We're also seeing that we are in the area of deliveries and in logistics and shipping. We're seeing that Amazon last mile centers are creating jobs and opportunities also here in the county.

Robert McCartney (10:11):

To attract more federal government jobs, Prince George's is using the lure of undeveloped land around metro stations. Among other things, it hopes to be the site of the planned new FBI headquarters, which is scheduled to go to either Prince George's or Fairfax.

Angela Alsobrooks (10:27):

One of the things we're hoping to increase is the presence of federal jobs to many of the centers around our transit hubs. And we believe this is not only a great opportunity for us to create additional density around some of these areas, but it's also a chance for the government to rebalance some of the opportunities across the region that will allow us to alleviate some of the strain on our roadways and to also help us with the housing strain that we're seeing. Prince George's County serves, for example, as home to about 20% of the federal workforce that works in this area, in the region. Yet we only host about 4% of the jobs, and of those jobs about 48% are warehouse jobs. And so having the opportunity to have more office space here and to have that federal presence is transformative much like we've seen with NIH and the impact that it's had on Montgomery County, similar to what the Pentagon has meant to Northern Virginia.

Robert McCartney (11:30):

A key to the region's economic future is to provide continuing education so its workforce remains competitive as technology evolves. Victor Hoskins, CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority said a lot of workers decided during the pandemic that they wanted to improve their skills.

Victor Hoskins (11:51):

I think that people during COVID started rethinking their own work experience, like, is this what I want to be doing? I'm going to be doing something 8 to 10 hours a day. Do I want to be a server or do I want to reeducate myself? And a lot of people have done this, they started up-skilling. They're taking classes. They're trying to get certifications. They're trying to move their career up the salary ladder.

Robert McCartney (12:17):

Are the universities and community colleges really gearing up for a surge of interest in people getting more skills for these jobs of the future.

Victor Hoskins (12:28):

Well, I would say yes because there has been some funding made available for these, two tech campuses in particular, I'm thinking of Virginia Tech, which is over the duration of their process will probably invest half a billion that they raise and half a billion from the state. George Mason University, a quarter of a billion that they raise and a quarter of a billion from the state to create these tech campuses. And they are already hiring professors in these different disciplines already. This is happening right now. Those disciplines in AI, data science, quantum computing, and those are the jobs that we need people to be trained in.

Robert McCartney (13:10):

Even for people who don't go to a four year college or graduate program, there's training available that can make a big difference in one's paycheck.

Victor Hoskins (13:18):

The community college is doing it through these certification programs. For example, you can get a cloud certification credential from a Northern Virginia Community College and if you're a low income student you don't even have to pay tuition. So imagine this, you take the classes, you get the credential, now you're going from maybe making $40,000 a year and you'll be able to jump to 60, 70, $80,000 a year.

Robert McCartney (13:46):

The growth of the private tech sector is gradually reducing the importance of the federal government in the regional economy.

Victor Hoskins (13:53):

The government is still extraordinarily important to us, but it's less important than it was 20 years ago. I think that the diversification of our economy is prevalent, everyone can see it now. I would say the last five years I have heard Google, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, Microsoft, all of them are growing here.

Robert McCartney (14:15):

So what do state and local governments need to do to promote these industries, these industries where we have an advantage and where there's the opportunity for a lot of growth long term?

Victor Hoskins (14:27):

Well, part of it is just having good government. I will tell you this, I think one of the most powerful things a government can do is educate its population. I mean give a good education from K through 12 through PhD through community college. And if we can deliver great education, that means we're producing talent and talent is what these companies need. So first is great education. The second is a safe environment. I will tell you one of the strongest sellers of an environment, safety. We say it all the time when we're sitting in front of clients of a jurisdiction of our size, we're the safest in the country. I mean, it's just a powerful thing to say. It makes you feel good to even to say it. So your teachers are teaching well, your police are policing well, and that doesn't sound really cool but that is really cool for companies. That is what companies want. And then the third is a well-managed government. You're looking for great government services and those things, to me, are table stakes. You got to get those right.

Robert McCartney (15:25):

But that's not enough. It's also necessary to help the less advantaged residents of the region, especially during a crisis like the one we just endured with COVID.

Victor Hoskins (15:35):

Probably the one that we haven't talked about, which we should talk about is really providing services for the people that are in need in your community. Affordable housing, psychological services, things that we tend not to put on the front burner that I think that more and more are going to the front burner because so many people went through difficulty psychologically during COVID. So many people lost their housing, became housing insecure during COVID. So many people went hungry during COVID. So I think that is an important thing to remember and to highlight and to really push up on the agenda of things that a community needs to do.

Robert McCartney (16:17):

Now, I'll share some of my own thoughts on the topic.

Robert McCartney (16:20):

Our regional economy has come a long way since I was local business editor at the Washington Post in the early 1990s. The technology industry was just beginning to play an important role and the area's growth was closely linked to federal government spending. Today, elected officials and other leaders need to continue to support technology companies and other businesses that offer well-paying jobs and have strong potential for long term growth. That means first fulfilling the basic requirements that Hoskins outlined: education, public safety, quality services, and help for the marginalized. But it also will require some other kinds of progress to maintain our competitiveness with other Metro regions and to slow and ultimately reverse the widening of racial and economic gaps that have accompanied our growth.

Robert McCartney (17:10):

I'll list three broad goals here. First is successful place-making—the creation of vibrant, mixed use, mixed income communities with good access to transit throughout the region. These locations will attract both talented individuals and businesses to employ them. COG's new planning framework, Region United, outlines how to achieve this by targeting growth along current and planned high capacity transit lines. The second goal is producing more housing, affordable to low and middle income people. High housing costs are a major burden for many residents and are one of the main barriers to finding and keeping workers. Finally, the region's universities, community colleges and businesses themselves have to ensure that affordable career training and adult education are readily available so residents can acquire the constantly evolving skills needed in our industries.

Robert McCartney (18:08):

The whole nation's economy may be headed for what Hoskins called a, "Bumpy road" in the immediate future because of inflation and other challenges. But if it can meet the goals I described, the region can both enjoy tremendous prosperity in the long run, as well as lift up those residents currently lagging behind.

Robert McCartney (18:30):

I hope you've enjoyed this podcast. We welcome your feedback. Please email comments to thinkregionally@mwcog.org. This podcast is produced by Janele Partman and Steve Kania. We're about to take a summer break, but look for our next podcast in the fall. This is your host, Robert McCartney, urging everyone to think regionally.