With land to develop and growing military presence, Harford

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 7, 2005 by Dori Berman

Maryland economic development leaders tend to tout the spaces between Baltimore and Washington as the state's pride and joy.

The counties in the middle might have the state's highest median incomes and lowest unemployment rates. But Harford County officials hope businesses and residents won't forget about the area north of Baltimore City.

By marketing Harford as the sweet spot of the mid-Atlantic, county officials have managed to attract new industry and job growth. The private-sector gains combined with the expected influx of new jobs from the recent base realignment decisions have Harford entering a period of unprecedented development.

Harford's economic development director, J. Thomas Sadowski, calls his county the northern anchor of the Greater Baltimore region. With Interstate 95 running through the county's designated growth area, location represents one of the best assets the county has to offer businesses.

Recent efforts have focused on attracting development along the corridor, which officials hope will no longer be seen as only a way to travel to and from Harford County.

We're that great valued alternative to being in the more urban settings, Sadowski said. We're not just a bedroom community or net supplier to the region anymore.

Traditionally, Harford has been home to a bustling warehousing industry. It's location along the I-95 corridor, as well as proximity to the Port of Baltimore continues to attract the distribution and transportation sectors, said Robert Hannon, assistant secretary for the Baltimore region at the Department of Business and Economic Development.

Harford still stands as a hub for distribution activity, but a lot of the focus has been turned to growth in the technology sector, which already has been substantial and is expected to explode with the growth at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

The proving ground - a major research, development and testing center for the Army - occupies around 75 percent of the county's waterfront on the Chesapeake Bay. The recent realignment decisions will send more than 5,000 jobs to the base. Growth and development related to the expansion could bring more than 15,000 jobs to Harford during the next 10 years, Sadowski said.

A number of efforts related to the proving ground aim to support private-sector technology development. Last year saw the launch of the Aberdeen Technology Transfer Initiative, a federally funded program aiming to create connections between the organizations at the proving ground and small private technology companies.

Another initiative under way, the Government and Technology Enterprise project, will bring 2.5 million square feet of office, lab and research and development space to the proving ground. Developed by Rockville-based Opus East LLC, the park will accommodate contractors doing work related to base activities, and the site will feature a hotel and conference center.

Commercial development outside the base has also flourished in recent years. Hannon acknowledged that lower real estate costs attract commercial development, but said an even greater draw comes from the availability of land.

Because Greater Baltimore is certainly a maturely developed area, getting parcels available that have substantial size is difficult, Hannon said. For people wanting to put a facility in - 10 acres or 15 acres might not be adequate. When you can field an opportunity of 50, 75, 100 acres or better, you have some very distinct advantages.

Clark Turner Cos. believes there are a number of opportunities for high-end office and residential development.

In the past, this was a place where people came to do warehousing and then flex spacing, and some people believed that's what we were, that's all we could become, said Clark Turner, the company's president. I didn't believe that. I thought, if we create the nice environment for work, people will come here.

Turner was right. His Water's Edge corporate park, developed with Manekin LLC and located a mile from I-95 on the site of the old Bata shoe factory, already has five finished buildings, with five more still to construct. Prospective tenants already have shown interest in the buildings not yet complete.

As usual, along with the high-end office space comes high-end residential development.

Adjacent to the Water's Edge corporate campus, Turner built condominiums and townhomes that he originally expected to sell for around $100,000. The townhouses are selling for as much as $750,000, Turner said.

Meanwhile, along with Manekin and H&S Properties Development Corp., Turner is developing a residential community situated around Bulle Rock golf course in Havre De Grace. The project will have more than 2,000 residential units in 25 neighborhoods. Turner also has plans for office space at Bulle Rock.

Sadowski said county officials are examining the current inventory of housing and available land for housing in preparation for the growth that will take place during the next few years in relation to the base realignment.

Commercial and residential growth, meanwhile, will create a need for new and updated services and amenities. Sadowski said the county has seen significant growth in professional and business services, as well as the health care sector. Efforts are also being focused on the revitalization of 19 miles along the Route 40 commercial corridor.