Fairfax County officials are banking on a surge of economic development to remedy pains inflicted by the recession, while hoping pending construction and personnel costs don’t drag down the county’s long-term recovery. Discussions are underway about how to attract nongovernment industries, from personalized medicine to green technology, County Chairwoman Sharon Bulova said Thursday in her state of the county speech.
Bulova also expressed interest in building a conference center as part of the multibillion-dollar public and private redevelopment of Tysons Corner,
Proponents sensitive to the charges of overspending are quick to emphasize it’d be a conference center catering mainly to regional businesses — not a giant convention center.
“A convention center makes very little sense because we’d be competing against the convention center in Washington, D.C., the Gaylord in Prince George’s County, and the Baltimore Convention Center,” said Barry Biggar, president and chief executive officer of Visit Fairfax. “But a conference center is very much needed” to serve local businesses and tourism, especially as Tysons opens up to Metrorail expansions.
County Supervisor Linda Smyth, D-Providence, whose district includes Tysons Corner and the surrounding redevelopment, said board support for the conference center has been strong, but outstanding questions remain.
“Obviously, all we have is a concept,” Smyth said. “What and where and how you pay for it is another thing hanging out there.”
Also hanging out there are raises for teachers and county employees. County Executive Anthony Griffin’s budget proposal will not include them — they’d add more than $100 million to the $50 million budget shortfall already expected in fiscal 2012. But two years without raises have employees and unions clamoring for an increase. The school board intends to include raises in its proposed budget, setting the stage for a battle between the county and its biggest employer.
Where to get nearly $1 billion for new and improved roads to facilitate Tysons Corner’s redevelopment also lingers, as does a $1.2 billion cost overrun in the second phase of construction for the Dulles Rail, pegged for completion by 2016.
“It’s not that we’re not working on it — we are,” Smyth said. “But there are some big question marks out there, starting with what happens with transportation funding [at the General Assembly] in Richmond.”
