The development of 32 Commerce Center in Annapolis Junction couldn’t be more “Howard County” if it tried.
The owners are from Howard County, the developers are from Howard County, and the mixed-use project is being built with the intention of benefiting companies from Howard County.
In Maryland’s most affluent jurisdiction, residents are keeping their business in their backyard, boosting the county’s already booming economy.
“Howard County is built on the investment of projects like this one,” County Executive Ken Ulman said at Friday’s groundbreaking of the $12 million project. “It all fuels the local economy.”
Niles Morton and Gregory Phillips, Howard County residents who run Clarksville-based Focal Development, were proud to be a part of the home-grown development.
“This project is right in the heart of everything that is Howard County,” Morton said. “Everybody you talk to is trying to get into Howard County, so to be here already is great.”
High salaries, test scores
When it comes to Howard County’s economy, the truth is in the numbers.
It’s the third-richest county in the nation, with more than half of its households earning more than $101,672 a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey.
More than 88 percent of the county’s employee base works in the private-sector, earning an average weekly wage of $948, according to the Howard County Economic Development Authority.
More than 24 percent of the county’s private sector employees work in the utilities field (earning $862 a week), and 22 percent work in the professional and business services field (earning $1,279 a week)
The county’s population has grown 34 percent in the past decade to an estimated 282,000 residents. That number is expected to increase an additional 16 percent to almost 328,000 residents by 2035.
The county’s schools continue to attract new residents to the area, Ulman said.
“It’s the schools and the quality of life,” Ulman said. “There’s a lot of things that go into it, but so much of it is the public schools, parents getting involved in their kids’ schools and developing that sense of community.”
Howard County students continue to outpace the state average at every grade level in reading and math, according to scores released in July by the Maryland State Department of Education.
In the past year, all of the county’s elementary schools achieved at least 70 percent proficiency in reading and math, all of its middle schools surpassed 70 percent proficiency in reading and 15 of 18 high schools achieved the 70 percent standard in math.
“It’s the opportunity, it’s the location and it’s the school’s in Howard County,” said Morton, who has two children in the county’s elementary schools.
Bringing business home
The proximity to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore no doubt adds to Howard County’s resident profile, but some of county’s own are bringing and generating business in the area, Ulman said.
Merkle in June moved its headquarters from Prince George’s County to a new 120,000-square-foot office building in Columbia, bringing 1,100 employees to Howard County. Plans are in the works for an adjacent 70,000-square-foot building that would house an additional 350 employees.
Also in June, Integral Systems said it would move its headquarters from Prince George’s County into a new 131,000-square-foot office building in Columbia. The company will move about 250 employees to the new location in February.
In both cases, the companies were looking to expand and attract new employees. Howard County was the place, Ulman said, because Merkle and Integral’s top executives reside in Howard County.
“They live here, and they want to work here,” Ulman said.
Building for the future
The investors for 32 Commerce Center include three Howard County families who have operated six concrete and asphalt companies in the county for almost 45 years.
The Alho, Torres and Wyler families purchased the six acres where the Commerce Center will be built for their families’ futures and Howard County’s future, Phillips said.
“This project is really going to serve Howard County businesses that are looking for an upgrade. They’re expanding and they don’t want to leave the county,” Phillips said.
The two office/industrial buildings — at 32,000 and 40,000 square feet — are expected to be delivered by late summer 2009.
“You’re probably looking at 75 percent or so of the space being occupied by Howard County businesses,” Phillips said.
“I couldn’t imagine doing this anywhere else,” Morton said. “It’s a great place to be.”
Most affluent counties
Highest median household incomes:
1. Loudoun County, Va. $107,207
2. Fairfax County, Va. $105,241
3. Howard County, Md. $101,672
4. Somerset County, N.J. $97,658
5. Morris County, N.J. $94,684
6. Douglas County, Colo. $92,824
7. Montgomery County, Md. $91,835
8. Nassau County, N.Y. $89,782
9. Prince William County, Va. $87,243
10. Santa Clara County, Calif. $84,360
Source: 2007 American Community Survey
