1998 Annual Report Continued
Introduction
I. 1998 - Frederick County Economic Development
Achievements
II. Marketing Opportunities - Special Events and
Projects
III. Public Relations
IV. Business Development
V. Office of Economic Development Initiatives/Alliances
I. 1998 - Frederick County Economic Development Achievements
The Frederick County Office of Economic Development (OED) serves as the primary contact for relocating and assisting existing businesses within Frederick County. By assisting relocating and existing businesses, the office is involved in the creation of wealth in Frederick County and the creation of careers for our children.
1998 was a busy year with regards to the number of inquiries made ranging from small companies to Fortune 500 companies seeking Frederick as their desired business location. A total of 295 inquiries were made in 1998, compared to 113 made in 1997. The staff of OED assisted 23 new and expanding Frederick County companies who have invested more than $85 million into the County and have generated over 2,733 new jobs.
OED has assisted many of the businesses located within the year to Frederick County including:
- Bechtel Power, a global engineering and construction company, announced the relocation of their headquarters from Gaithersburg to Frederick and is constructing a corporate campus of five office buildings totaling 471,000 square feet at the Westview Corporate Campus. A total of 1,700 employees will be located at this new site.
- A pharmaceutical manufacturer from South Africa, Capricorn Pharma, will occupy 40,000 square feet at the Wedgewood Business Center. Upon continued FDA approvals, the facility could grow into their North American headquarters.
- Air Technology Systems, local manufacturer of commercial and military air conditioners and industrial dehumidifiers, added 62,000 square feet to its existing facility located at Industrial Centre East. ATS currently employs 185 people and plans to employ an additional 140 for a total of 325 by the year 2002.
- Local biotechnology company, Life Technologies, constructed a 50,000 square foot vertical expansion to its existing site located at the Omega Center for Synthetic DNA Manufacturing. Currently, they have 230 employees and will add an additional 70 highly skilled employees.
- I-TECH, an education facility partnered with the Frederick Community College, leased 11,000 square feet of space at the 5301 Buckeystown Pike building off of Route 85.
- CSR Hydro Conduit will construct a 140,000 square foot concrete pipe manufacturing facility on 46 acres located along Monocacy Boulevard. Total project cost is estimated at $20 million and will create 100 new jobs.
- Local manufacturer of solar electric modular and cells, Solarex, expanded, occupying an additional 31,560 square feet at the Wedgewood Business Center.
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Miscellaneous Metals, manufacturer of fabricated steel for the construction industry, announced plans to construct a new 122,000 square foot facility located at the McKinney Industrial Park. They will retain the existing 150 employees as well as employ an additional 30 new skilled residents.
OED works closely with companies in all facets of their projects including such items as site selection, regulatory streamlining, permitting and financial assistance and workforce issues. OED also assists with fast track permitting to accelerate the project development approval process which allows companies to meet their desired occupancy schedules.
OED works closely with Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) to assist companies in several financing and training programs available to businesses.
Frederick County in conjunction with the State of Maryland has successfully participated in several programs such as:
- Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
- Industrial Development Revenue Bonds (IRB)
- Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority (MIDFA)
- Maryland Industrial Land Act (MILA)
- Maryland Industrial & Commercial Redevelopment Fund (MICRF)
- Maryland Job Creation Tax Credits
- Maryland Industrial Training Programs (MITP)
In 1998, OED assisted such companies as Bechtel Power, Air Technology Systems, Frederick County YMCA, Friends of Catholic Charities and Miscellaneous Metals with their financial needs.
As part of our retention strategy, OED visited 119 Frederick County companies over the year. Because most of the County's growth stems from existing expanding companies, OED designated a specific staff member to serve as Retention Specialist. The Board of County Commissioners is expected to increase funding for this activity.
To serve the needs of the agriculture industry and small business, the Board of County Commissioners and the Western Maryland Small Business Development Center approved joint funding of a Small Business/Ag Industry Specialist for 1999. Current plans call for separating these functions in January 2000.
The Frederick County Ag Industry Task force was created by the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce and OED to support, promote, develop and preserve agriculture in Frederick County. Members of this task force surveyed the agriculture community in order to analyze their needs.
OED works closely with the Maryland Department of Business and Economics Division of Regional Development, Maryland Job Service, Workforce Development Center and JTA to ensure the quality of Frederick County's workforce.
The annual average employed labor force has been steadily increasing each year while the annual unemployment rates have been declining. The 1998 total annual average employed labor force in Frederick County was 95,003, up from 94,536 in 1997.
The total annual average unemployed labor force fell to 2,872 in 1998 from 3,758 in 1997. The average unemployment rate for 1998 was 2.9%, compared to 3.8% in 1997.
Commercial and industrial projects continue to be an important segment of the construction trends showing an increase of 384 permits issued in 1998, compared to the five year average of 328. The 1998 value of commercial and industrial construction was estimated to be $95 million, up from the five year average of $84 million.
Other positive growth indicators for Frederick County include both an increase in the amount of income tax returned to the County and the increased estimated market value of real property for the County.
Income tax returned to the County for fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, was $67,510,246, which is an increase of 29% from 1995.
The estimated market value of real property for the commercial and industrial sector has been increasing over the past five years. The estimated market value of real property in the commercial and industrial sector was $1,981,635,000, or 18.5% of the total for fiscal year 1998, which is an increase of 17% from 1995.
Of the total estimated market value of real property ($10,707,847,000), residential represents 71.4% ($7,647,661,000), agriculture 5.7% ($606,154,000), and apartments and condominiums 4.4% ($472,397,000).
Frederick County's 1998 Comprehensive Plan indicates that the County contains a total of 425,472 acres of land and of this total, agriculture/woodland/open space comprise 85%, with residential 10.3%, public 2.5%, and commercial and industrial 2.2%.
Interestingly, even though commercial/industrial represents the smallest land use category (2.2%), it represents 18.5% of the total estimated market value for Frederick County.
