Prince George's County, which is known for its diverse heritage and central location, is experiencing rapid growth, particularly in four areas: technology, art, upscale housing, and retail initiatives.
According to Mr. Mike Pelrenko, Deputy Planning Director, the county is going through the final stages of their comprehensive plan. This plan outlines progress in the county for the next 30 years.
The technology sector in Prince George's County grew to more than 1,300 firms in the past two years. Part of the reason for the growth is that a dozen or so high-tech government agencies and laboratories serve as magnets to other business. The labs, research and development institutions have tremendous economic impact on the county.
Some of the tech anchors include the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Research Center, The Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Census Bureau Supercomputer Center. The county is working to parlay technology from federal entities into new products and services that can be offered by local companies. They believe there are more opportunities to commercialize the technology of the federal agencies and research institutions for creating more jobs, expanding existing companies and stimulating new business.
There is an artist's colony envisioned to stretch along Route 1 from the District of Columbia Line to College Park. This will be a focal point for arts activities and tourism. The plan also includes opportunity for entertainment, socializing, dining and shopping. Four arts-related anchor projects and a number of complementary projects are expected to be located on four sites and to receive more than $50 million in local and state investments.
Prince George's County new home real estate development is booming. There are new homes going up everywhere and they are selling a lot faster than anticipated. New homes are in such demand that many builders are capping the amount of homes they will sell in a month to gain control on delivery. The Bowie, Mitchellville and Upper Marlboro areas are HOT locations for these new homes. There are several well-known builders that are developing in these areas such as Mid-Atlantic Homes, Beazer Homes, Washington Homes, Caruso, Patriot Homes and a few others. There are also several planned communities opening up and the prices on these new homes are certainly climbing. At this present time the housing market is great in Prince George's County.
The EDC submitted the new Bowie Town Center, a regional shopping center with a 760,000 square foot facility laid out as a city 'Main Street', anchored by several national retailers for competition in the Best Retail Deal Category, and the new Ikea store project in the Best Land Deal Category. Combined, the two projects represent $220 million in new investments and approximately 2,000 new jobs for the county. Prince George's economy is BOOMING.
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