Prince George's County Lack of Job Growth? (real estate, 2013)

[justtitans]

There was a discussion that I have had with a few members on here about job growth and I happen to run across an article that illustrated some of the points that I was making. Check it out:

Tanger Outlets opens at National Harbor, but job woes remain for Prince George’s County - The Washington Post

Prince George’s has a larger percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees than the national average (30 percent to 28 percent), and its median income is also higher than the national average ($71,260 to $51,914). But the county has added few net jobs since it lost more than 10,000 in the recession.

By Dec. 20, the county will also learn which of three bidders for a new casino will be selected. All of the teams have promised hundreds of casino, hotel and resort jobs should they be chosen. But many of the jobs being created by these projects are of the hourly sort — cooks, hotel staff, cashiers, etc. Real estate investors with holdings around the Washington region are wondering what the local economy will look like if no white-collar job growth appears. In Prince George’s County, they can get a preview.

Look I don't want this to turn into a bash PG thread, because that is not the intent. I consider myself to be pragmatic. I see it the way it is. Prince George's County has a problem, that is being swept under the rug because people want to feel good about everything going on. It's great to have a new outlet mall, but getting those jobs should not be lauded simply because the cost of living in our region makes the quaility of life for those individuals extremely difficult.

Does that mean that getting retail jobs are bad? No it doesn't have to be, but when it's all you're adding then it's an issue. One of the main reasons why I was not very supportive of the casinos is because it doesn't increase the income level of the average which is important to generating revenue, it also is one of those ventures that once you go in there is no turning back because it would be crippling to get rid of it if it doesn't work out as planned. I know adelphi_sky mentioned that the county is looking at the casinos as a strictly tax revenue building opportunity, but you don't generate that revenue if you do not have people with disposable income. If you lack jobs that pay people the opportunity to spend at these places, then you make your county dependent on tourism. Is tourism bad? No not necessarily but you have to have something to draw people consistently. Everybody isn't going to go to a casino, but even when places are dependent on tourism their economy is very unstable. You also have to consider that the county is competing against DC which has at least 3 projects that a similar to National Harbor and has way more attractions. Does National Harbor have enough things to draw people on it's own accord? Has the county done all that it can to attract more white collar jobs that this is the last resort?

[Renznceman]

Was a pun intended when you asked whether "this [National Harbor casino] is the last resort?" You're right about there being "no turning back" once the roulette wheel of fortune/misfortune gets spinning. If it pays for schools (which really require nonpaid support from literate parent(s) to begin with) then that is a plus. On the other hand, if fortunes go south then the County is stuck with the sleazy baggage of having an unsavory gambling operation in its midst, not exactly an ivory tower that one aspires to. Not exactly conducive to attracting higher paying jobs, real estate investment, better retail, growing middle class, etc. But let's be optimistic and place our bets (pun intended, but not a very funny one?)

[kinkytoes]

Why does job growth there matter? It is a county in a state with a lot of jobs and it is close to DC. Can't people just commute to work?

[North Beach Person]

A couple things about gambling money and tourism:
The gambling money isn't "new" money to be added to what's now being spent, it's "in place of money", replacing what's now being spent, which will be reprogrammed elsewhere. Net gain in revenue for schools is zero. Also, don't forget that the Legislature and Governor sent the cost of teacher's pensions back to the County after decades of the State picking up that cost.

Tourism by its nature is low skill/low pay. To expect a casino to change that is also expecting unicorns to appear.

[adelphi_sky]

I read this thread and just have to shake my head. lol PGC needs jobs but retail and tourism aren't good jobs. PGC needs revenue, but revenue received from outside county is not good revenue. lol I imagine if PGC gained 10,000 more jobs that wouldn't be enough to satisfy the Negative Nellies.

I think we can all agree that NH is not the panacea of PGC's woes, nor was it ever meant to be. Those playing up this little scenario are just using it for fodder to highlight already known flaws within the county. The county and its needs are bigger than NH and I don't think the county is focusing on just NH. For those who care to know, there are other initiatives and projects within the county that will generate jobs and revenue. *sigh*

[Mr Beco]

Most contractors are pulling back, no new contracts or contacts expiring, well, they are giving back office space. I don't expect the numbers to look pretty in PG over the next few years.

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by kinkytoes

Why does job growth there matter? It is a county in a state with a lot of jobs and it is close to DC. Can't people just commute to work?

Seriously?

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

Most contractors are pulling back, no new contracts or contacts expiring, well, they are giving back office space. I don't expect the numbers to look pretty in PG over the next few years.

yep and that is happening throughout the region. I read in the post that office space will continue to increase in vacancies and that retail space will offer the best opportunities

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

yep and that is happening throughout the region. I read in the post that office space will continue to increase in vacancies and that retail space will offer the best opportunities

They say the DC area is "under retailed", go figure. Finally, I guess, retailers nationwide have discovered DC all of a sudden. I'm not sure what took so long. Retail IS hot, and so is medical space.

What I see as a trend, and more disturbing, is that tenants are discovering that they do not need tons of office space. They can accomplish what they need to do in less space. Therefore, if a tenant is renewing or relocating, they typically reduce the size of their footprint. Leaving behind more space that property owners have problems releasing…..In addition, there is a flight to quality, leaving behind old antiquated space for new and improved space near more amenities. Also, there is this live, work, play mentality where tenants want to be near stores, restaurants, transportation and the like.

They are not accepting a “one off” building or buildings on a street with no amenities and far from major roads and Metro.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I read this thread and just have to shake my head. lol PGC needs jobs but retail and tourism aren't good jobs. PGC needs revenue, but revenue received from outside county is not good revenue. lol I imagine if PGC gained 10,000 more jobs that wouldn't be enough to satisfy the Negative Nellies.

I think we can all agree that NH is not the panacea of PGC's woes, nor was it ever meant to be. Those playing up this little scenario are just using it for fodder to highlight already known flaws within the county. The county and its needs are bigger than NH and I don't think the county is focusing on just NH. For those who care to know, there are other initiatives and projects within the county that will generate jobs and revenue. *sigh*

This is the attitude that I was trying to avoid. Why not just say you disagree with the sentiments being made here. This is how a lot of threads in this section break down because people become overly defensive. Your comment is ridiculous and doesn't even address the merits of anything being discussed here.

The problem is, National Harbor is being marketed like it's going to answer all of PG County's problems. Again look at the realities, the largest employer in Prince George's County in the past five years is, the National Harbor when it opened. Since it opened, the next time the county received a sizable amount of jobs is the opening of Tanger. Now of course we're looking at the casino at National Harbor (presumably), being the next place to provide jobs. The only thing that I have been saying is, the county needs more diversity in the type of jobs that it is getting. Other parts of the region can focus on retail because they have more white collar jobs available as is. The problem is in PG, it is expected that the county 'competes' with other counties for quality retail, restaurants and the works but the county isn't attracting the type of residents who would be more likely to patronize these type of developments.