December 2002
TOP STORIES
Arlington Receives Smart Growth Award from EPA
Arlington County is being honored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its practice of smart growth development and planning. The award, created by EPA Administrator Christine Whitman, recognizes communities that create an area where culture and environment are respected, where economic development is fostered and where quality of life is enhanced. Arlington County is being recognized specifically for its development of the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. According to the EPA, the way the dense, mixed-use infill development tapers into residential neighborhoods creates "vibrant urban villages where people live, shop, work and play using transit, pedestrian walkways, bicycles or cars." http://www.washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/11/25/newscolumn7.html.Virginia Incentives Found to Be Cost-Effective
Virginia programs that provide financial incentives to lure companies to the state or keep them from moving elsewhere are cost-effective and worth continuing even in grim budget times, according to a state legislative committee. The committee studied two years -- 1997 and 1998 -- during the height of the Internet economic boom. It found that Virginia paid more than $30 million in incentives to businesses during that time, but that the amount was recovered in higher income taxes in three to five years.This summer, lawmakers requested a study of the often-controversial practice of providing businesses with cash payments or other incentives. Virginia offers cash grants through the Governor's Opportunity Fund and payments tied to the number of jobs created after a business comes to the state. Staff members for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee said they believe both programs are worth continuing. "If the state eliminated funding of its two largest business incentive grant programs, there would be longer-term consequences," the report states. "In two or three years, the state's resulting loss in individual income tax revenues would likely be more than the amount saved by cutting these programs.
http://econnews.reply.net/econClarendon Office Study Released
Arlington Economic Development has released a study of the Clarendon office market entitled: Shifting Markets: Office Development in Clarendon. Prepared at the request of the County Board, the study documents the recent "crowding out" of office development by an extraordinarily strong residential market. Although the office market has continued to deliver new construction at or above historical averages, the residential market has delivered at triple the long-term annual average for the past two years. This has resulted in a number of well-located major properties being developed as housing rather than commercial projects. The Clarendon study expresses concern about the limited number of prime office development sites remaining in Clarendon and in other submarkets, as the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor continues to be developed. http://www.smartplace.org/pdfs/AEDIssuePaper1_fnl4.pdfGrubb & Ellis Research Northern Virginia Office Overview For Third Quarter
Results of Grubb & Ellis Research on the Northern Virginia Office market show that a discrepancy between supply and demand indicators inside and outside the Beltway became increasingly severe over the summer and early fall of 2002. On the whole, Northern Virginia saw its vacancy rate slide up to 16.9 percent, up 80 basis points for the third quarter and up 600 basis points over the past four quarters. Arlington County moved up only 30 basis points and remains in single digits at 9.1 percent. In contrast, the submarkets of Reston and Herndon have vacancy rates approaching 30 percent. The submarkets within the Beltway enjoy less volatile vacancy rate fluctuations, due in large part to a continual stream of government demand.Nearly a year after the terrorist attacks, the first requirement from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reaffirmed the role the U.S. Government can take in further stabilizing the region's office market. The TSA's own search for 500,000 square feet is targeting an early 2003 occupancy date, with Arlington the likely recipient of the requirement.
While landlords within the Beltway will continue to expect the General Services Association (GSA) and assorted defense contractors to absorb large blocks of space, the pending bankruptcies of large homegrown tenants remains a wild card. Together, US Airways and MCI WorldCom have more than 1 million square feet of office space in Pentagon City. Combined with the US Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) phased relocation to Alexandria beginning 2003, the GSA should have close to 3 million square feet of office space from which to select in Arlington alone.
Grand Illumination and Holiday Tree Lighting
The Ballston Partnership will hold its annual Grand Illumination and Holiday Tree Lighting on Wednesday, December 4th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM in Stuart Park. Music will be provided by Blue Harmony and the Arlingtones. County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman will share his best wishes for the season at 5:15 PM. For more information, contact Debra Jenkins at (703) 528-3527.ARLINGTON COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
Interstate and Meristar Select Arlington For Headquarters
Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the nation's largest independent hotel management company, and its sister company, MeriStar Hospitality Corporation, the nation's third largest hotel real estate investment trust, will relocate their headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Arlington County. The companies have committed to an investment of $13.7 million in capital improvements and will bring 270 new jobs to the state. Virginia successfully competed with Washington, DC for the investment.Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner approved a $200,000 grant from the Governor's Opportunity Fund (GOF) to assist Arlington County with the project. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Arlington Economic Development assisted MeriStar Hospitality and Interstate Hotels & Resorts with their decision. http://www.yesvirginia.org/newsitem.asp?ID=485
Summers Stays in Court House
The owner of Summers restaurant Arlington, a popular destination for local soccer fans to watch games from around the world, signed a new 10-year lease with the property owner. The deal also includes two five-year options. Summers owner Joe Javidara had feared he would have to shut down or move the restaurant when the current lease expired at the end of the year. http://www.co.arlington.va.us/NewsReleases/scripts/ViewDetail.asp?Index=936REM Association Services Relocates to Rosslyn
REM Association Services, previously known as REM Legislative Services, has relocated to new offices in Rosslyn. The full-service association management company manages two 501 (c)(6) associations: the Mailers Council, a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations and major mailing associations, and the PaperCom Alliance, a coalition of associations and corporations in the paper, mailing, software, printing, publishing and logistics industries. REM also consults with other associations, as well as corporations and unions in the Washington, DC, area. http://www.remservices.biz/Judge Approves Partial WorldCom Settlement with SEC
In a move that could help the company emerge from bankruptcy, WorldCom, which has substantial operations in the DC area, has reached a partial settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to its improper accounting. Under the settlement, WorldCom reportedly will take responsibility for accounting fraud and train employees in financial reporting and ethical business practices. Fines and civil penalties are expected to be imposed at a later date. The emergence of WorldCom from bankruptcy could have a major effect on Northern Virginia's lagging telecommunications sector. "This shows that the company has made laudable progress in moving toward a much more positive position, and a correction of past mistakes," said Judge Rakoff.http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2002/11/26/rtr807491.htmlwashingtonpost.com Traffic Jumps 24% in October
As a major source of news about the region's sniper shootings last month, washingtonpost.com saw its October traffic jump by 24%. The site's traffic grew more than any other top national news site during the month. "washingtonpost.com is the place where people from around the world come to better understand how Washington affects their lives," said Christopher Schroeder, the CEO and publisher of washingtonpost.com. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021125/dcm018_1.htmlTelecommunications Industry Association Names New Board Members
The Arlington-based Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), a trade association serving the communications and information technology sectors, announced two new board members to serve unfulfilled terms. Larry Aiello Jr., president and CEO of Corning Cable Systems, and Gregory Jones, general manager of the DSL business unit of Texas Instruments were both named. "Larry and Greg both bring years of proven experience in the communications industry to TIA's board of directors. We welcome them and look forward to working with them in furthering TIA's advocacy efforts on the industry's critical issues, namely broadband deployment," stated TIA President Matthew J. Flanigan. http://www.tiaonline.org/media/press_releases/index.cfm?parelease=02-124Veridian Wins Two Contracts
Arlington-based Veridian, a provider of information-based systems, software and services to the intelligence and defense sectors, and 2002 Arlington Tech-e award winner, announced that it and a partner have been awarded a $10.8 million order to support the Federal Computer Incident Response Center (FedCIRC). FedCIRC is proposed agency for the Department of Homeland Security that would protect the information systems of all federal agencies. Veridian also announced that is has won a five-year deal worth as much as $166 million to provide engineering, technical and industrial services to the Naval Sea Systems Command.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpEgUubKbytiZnti
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/021126/262097_1.html
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