The Prince William County Department of Economic Development today announced it logged $1.3 billion capital investment, added 596 new jobs and retained 80 existing jobs from 23 economic development projects in 2016.
From an agency press release:
The 23 projects consisted of 18 new business attractions, 3 expansions of existing businesses and 2 business retentions. The projects spanned a range of industries (information technology, life sciences, data centers, distribution, recreation, federal contracting and manufacturing) – representative of the diversity of the underlying Prince William County economy. Of the 596 new jobs to be created from these projects, approximately 70% will be in industry sectors targeted by the County.
In the last five calendar years [2012-2016], projects closed by the Prince William County Department of Economic Development alone intend to invest a record of nearly $4.0 billion and create approximately 2,600 new jobs
Prince William County’s business value proposition stretches across the County with economic transformation focused on five target industry sectors: life sciences and biotechnology; information technology; federal agencies and corporate headquarters, and the specialized logistics and supply chain.
Other industry sub-sectors, such as cybersecurity and data centers also continue to be high priorities. The County continues to offer one of the most competitive tax rates among Northern Virginia jurisdictions as well as the lowest property tax rates on computers and peripherals.
The County is increasingly recognized as a major life sciences hub within the Greater Washington D.C. Metro Area and continues to advance within this growing field. During 2016, four start-up life sciences companies were recruited to the Prince William Science Accelerator. Today, just over two years since its launch, the facility is near full capacity, with 6 companies occupying 8 wet lab spaces. Furthermore, the Science Accelerator won a $50,000 grant for its participation in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition which will support the subdivision of its ninth lab.
Technology also is one of the County’s strongholds and area of core competitiveness, thanks to entities such as the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, several federal and state research institutions, along with thriving businesses, such as MAG Aerospace and InCadence Strategic Solutions.
In 2016, the County also achieved another very important milestone crossing 3 million square feet of data center space, that further solidified its position as a data center location of choice. Iron Mountain’s $350 million data center project was identified as the top project in capital investment in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In May 2016, nearly 10,000 acres of land were designated as a Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District, increasing the County’s competitiveness in that market.
Other major project wins for 2016 include the welcoming of BerkelyNet, Serpin Pharma/Caerus Discovery, Systaaq and Celetrix to Innovation Park, Southland Concrete and Tribute at Heritage Village.
News of Two Silos Brewing’s restoration of Thomasson Barn to a new tourism and entertainment destination and the opening of the Northern Virginia Community College Regional Center for Workforce Education & Training (WRC) were both highly lauded.
Today, the County is home to approximately 9,000 businesses, an increase of 40% over the past ten years. Want more Prince William County? Check out our latest video, sign-up for newsletters or visit us at: www.PWCEconDev.org or @PWCDED.
