Prince George's County Lack of Job Growth? (College Park, Adelphi: real estate market, how much)

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Hmmmm. Not one word about retail or NH in this article about the economic development town hall.



Read more: P.G. County Narrows Economic Development Focus | Washington Informer | African American newspaper, Washington D.C.

A little late in the game for Federal and life science.....but I applaud the effort, one step at a time

The engine that could actually accomplish that is Univ of Maryland.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

Yeah I remember reading that and thinking the same thing. The problem with office space is going to compound as both the public and private sector decrease their footprint for a smaller workforce and/or teleworking.

Yes, but that does make sense. The movement towards smaller spaces and staff size, and teleworking has been ongoing for a number of years now, and exacerbated by the recession. So why were/are these massive office buildings still going up? There should have been more effort to build smart, even if that means rebuilding aging structures with added amenities.

That being said, any job growth is better than none. Corporate and technical job-related growth is best, but we have to start with what we can get. Perhaps the OP should be rephrased to elicit discussion about solutions that will bring more lucrative job growth to the County.

But don't sleep on Kinkytoes' comments. There are a great number of bedroom communities in the DC area, of course. Otherwise, the commuting woes wouldn't exist to the degree that they do? I mean, popular, expensive bedroom communities that don't have to constantly worry about bring better jobs where they are. The people are willing to commute to the jobs and keep their communities as is. Why is that? What makes it all work? What can be applied to PG?

[bowian]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Different thread, same discussion. Next.

True that.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by bowian

Yes, but that does make sense. The movement towards smaller spaces and staff size, and teleworking has been ongoing a number of years now, and exacerbated by the recession. So why were/are these massive office buildings still going up? There should have been more effort to build smart, even if that means rebuilding aging structures with added amenities.

That being said, any job growth is better than none. Corporate and technical job-related growth is best, but we have to start with what we can get. Perhaps the OP should be rephrased to elicit discussion about solutions that will bring more lucrative job growth to the County.

But don't sleep on Kinkytoes' comments. There are a great number of bedroom communities in the DC area, of course. Otherwise, the commuting woes wouldn't exist to the degree that they do? I mean, popular, expensive bedroom communities that don't have to constantly worry about bring better jobs where they are. The people are willing to commute to the jobs and keep their communities as is. Why is that? What makes it all work? What can be applied to PG?

I have brought those points up and it really starts with not investing in casinos which has been beaten to death on here. There is going to be so much money for infrastructure that will be used for that project yet the majority of the jobs that it will bring won't be beneficial. Are casino jobs on average going to boost the median income? How do you compete with other counties when you have at least $15k less median income than your neighbors?

I read kinkytoes comments and although that point is valid, the point that I am making is being lost in certain posters attempt to talk about points that haven't been made. Look I get it. PG wants to be a more valuable option for retailers and I think it's great but you don't get there with the status quo. All I have been saying is if you want to make that vision a reality, you have to bring more money in the county to make it more viable. National Harbor works because it is close to DC and VA and major highways, but if you try to replicate the same project in a more remote place like Upper Marlboro then it becomes less attractive for people who work outside the county with high paying jobs to stay. Even the article that adelphi put up mentioned that many leave the county for work. For a place like National Harbor that is okay but if you want to have similar success elsewhere in the county, are people really going to travel that far to work especially when the quality of life is so horrible (traffic, lack of amenities, bad schools)?

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by bowian

Yes, but that does make sense. The movement towards smaller spaces and staff size, and teleworking has been ongoing for a number of years now, and exacerbated by the recession. So why were/are these massive office buildings still going up? There should have been more effort to build smart, even if that means rebuilding aging structures with added amenities.

That being said, any job growth is better than none. Corporate and technical job-related growth is best, but we have to start with what we can get. Perhaps the OP should be rephrased to elicit discussion about solutions that will bring more lucrative job growth to the County.

But don't sleep on Kinkytoes' comments. There are a great number of bedroom communities in the DC area, of course. Otherwise, the commuting woes wouldn't exist to the degree that they do? I mean, popular, expensive bedroom communities that don't have to constantly worry about bring better jobs where they are. The people are willing to commute to the jobs and keep their communities as is. Why is that? What makes it all work? What can be applied to PG?

I can't provide a definitive answer to why newer and bigger bulidings are being built aside from the fact they are being built by different developers in different jurisdictions and each developer and jurisdiction is trying to steal tenants from another. It becomes amvicious cycle of sstealing from peter to pay paul. IMO its the community amenities that other areas have that PG needs to address. I think this need trumps improving education in the short-run. Having places to play eat and shop are extremely important to most today. Especially singles or couples with no kids.

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by bowian

Yes, but that does make sense. The movement towards smaller spaces and staff size, and teleworking has been ongoing for a number of years now, and exacerbated by the recession. So why were/are these massive office buildings still going up? There should have been more effort to build smart, even if that means rebuilding aging structures with added amenities.

That being said, any job growth is better than none. Corporate and technical job-related growth is best, but we have to start with what we can get. Perhaps the OP should be rephrased to elicit discussion about solutions that will bring more lucrative job growth to the County.

But don't sleep on Kinkytoes' comments. There are a great number of bedroom communities in the DC area, of course. Otherwise, the commuting woes wouldn't exist to the degree that they do? I mean, popular, expensive bedroom communities that don't have to constantly worry about bring better jobs where they are. The people are willing to commute to the jobs and keep their communities as is. Why is that? What makes it all work? What can be applied to PG?

There isn't a lot of office building's being built. Most of the cranes up in the air, that you see around town, are high rise residential or other residential or mixed use, with retail, residential and some office. The building boom is over for office at the moment.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by bowian

Yes, but that does make sense. The movement towards smaller spaces and staff size, and teleworking has been ongoing for a number of years now, and exacerbated by the recession. So why were/are these massive office buildings still going up? There should have been more effort to build smart, even if that means rebuilding aging structures with added amenities.

Being in IT, I too wonder why companies still lease brick and mortar buildings. While there is benefit to face-to-face communication and collaboration, I'm not so sure that companies are willing to invest much in real-estate to get that done. Perhaps people will get tired of telecommuting and there will be a wave of office build outs 30 years down the road.

That being said, any job growth is better than none. Corporate and technical job-related growth is best, but we have to start with what we can get. Perhaps the OP should be rephrased to elicit discussion about solutions that will bring more lucrative job growth to the County.

I think they are headed in the right direction. I think they have a better chance as any with the FBI. And that's the type of agency that can attract local contractors. Especially for their cyber crime division. The deal with NASA is also a good start.

The people are willing to commute to the jobs and keep their communities as is. Why is that? What makes it all work? What can be applied to PG?

Those are good questions. Most commutes for PGC residents are within 45 minutes to job centers.

[Renznceman]

Re: PGTVATITANS
" Loudoun County still has room for a lot more retail. They are the wealthiest county in the nation and there really isn't a lot of shopping within their county that lines up with their population (i.e. The Galleria in Fairfax)"

Funny to learn how many of the posters on these PG threads are actually folks living in Loudoun County. (Disclosure: I graduated UMD in '79 but left the County for my first real job, never looking back) Although we have usual stores (overrated Wegmans, etc) and Dulles Town Center, even my young daughter (now 28) used to yearn for the glamour of Tysons, all two of em. As far as Leesburg Outlet Malls, she stuck her nose up at those discounted offerings, mirroring the spoiled brat mentality of her generation, which are now the Millenials. Last I heard, she and boyfriend are clamoring for the hipster lifestyle in Clarendon/Arlington/H Street.

But I digress! Makes me wonder if Tanger Outlets will be similarly dismissed by denizens of PG County.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

There isn't a lot of office building's being built. Most of the cranes up in the air, that you see around town, are high rise residential or other residential or mixed use, with retail, residential and some office. The building boom is over for office at the moment.

Aboatload of them have already been built in very recent years, yes. But anything involving mixed used development is going to involve building an office building or park, no? An office building went up. My overall point is there is this attitude that as long as something is being built in PG, the county officials are happy. Discernment is not much of a factor.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by bowian

Aboatload of them have already been built in very recent years, yes. But anything involving mixed used development is going to involve building an office building or park, no? An office building went up. My overall point is there is this attitude that as long as something is being built in PG, the county officials are happy. Discernment is not much of a factor.

I think one has to determine where the job centers will be and focus attention on office space in those areas. Not every neighborhood needs office space. I think with the county's focus on narrowing down where they want downtown to be in the county is a good start. For those downtowns there can be a focus on creating job cores. College Park is a good example. The university should be a major driver in job growth in the county. There is already M-Square which has room to grow as one downtown core. I should say Hyattsville/College Park as they are in the same general area.

Largo is another great location for a growing job core/downtown area with the coming hospital and the offices that are already there including another higher-ed institution in UMUC.

The foundation is there. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of demand for office space. DC is also dealing with vacancy rates. Until we are fully out of this recession, I don't see much demand for office space.

What I do see though is that as these mixed-use "town centers" are built, the office component is fairly small. Usually smaller than the retail portions. A good example is the Cafritz project in Riverdale. I think the office space is around 20% of the retail space planned for that project.

Edit: Forgot about New Carrollton as a downtown job center.