Anne Arundel Mid-Year Business Update

August 1, 2018

This year marks Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation’s (AAEDC) 25 year anniversary in serving our local business community. In July, Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh stopped by for a visit and presented our staff and board members with a county citation.

“Since its official inception in July of 1993, AAEDC has played a significant role in expanding our business community and ushering in major real estate development projects that have raised the profile of Anne Arundel County,” said Mr. Schuh. “AAEDC has been instrumental in helping businesses start, grow and relocate here, enterprises that range from small mom-and-pop shops to industry icons. Their work has translated into thousands of jobs and a strong economy for Anne Arundel County.”

I appreciate the County Executive and the County Council for their continued support of our organization and mission and look forward to the next 25 years serving Anne Arundel County. It’s precisely because of such support and the value that our county leaders placed on our economy that AAEDC was born.

In May of 1993, then Anne Arundel County Executive Bobby Neall signed county council legislation approving the creation of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation. Formerly known as the Anne Arundel County Office of Economic Development, AAEDC was created as a 501 c3 designated with promoting the county as a world class business location, recruiting businesses to the area, expanding the county’s commercial and industrial tax base, developing job opportunities for county residents and assisting existing employers to remain and grow in Anne Arundel County. Over the years, we expanded our staff and programs which has resulted in transactions that have benefitted the economy and quality of life of Anne Arundel County.

At the halfway mark of 2018, I want to share with you some trends that I believe bode well for our county economy. The northern half of Anne Arundel County, particularly communities closest to the Port of Baltimore and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, have attracted increased investment in our industrial market.

We are pleased to see an international brand such as Fila growing its footprint in Marley Neck. The company renewed its lease and added an adjacent space for a total of 372,000 square feet. The expansion will allow Fila to double its shipping capacity.

We also welcome the expansion of Amazon in Anne Arundel County. In May, the company announced its plan to lease 157,000 square feet of warehouse space in Hanover. The location, will be used as a last mile fulfillment center.

The Hanover area will also be home to Paragon Bioservices, which develops biopharmaceuticals for companies around the world. The company is planning the development of a 150,000 square foot facility to carry out its commercial manufacturing capabilities. Paragon currently has more than 200 employees and expects to double that number over the next three years.

Even the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport itself is planning an expansion. The $60 million project will increase concourse A by 55,000 square feet to accommodate the future growth of Southwest Airlines. Plans include the construction of new gates, holding areas, retail and food concessions and maintenance and custodial storage rooms. The expansion is expected to be completed in July 2020.

Business and leisure travel has been a strong driver for our economy and that is apparent in recent sales of hotels in the county. In the Spring, the Westin BWI Hotel and the Sheraton BWI Hotel, neighboring properties on Old Elkridge Landing Road, were sold to out of state hospitality investment groups. The continued expansion of the airport was an attractive factor in both deals.

In the City of Annapolis, a refurbished Hilton Garden Inn will be back online for travelers in the coming weeks. The building, formerly known as the O’Callahan Hotel on West Street, was purchased last Fall by OTO Development, a private hotel group based in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Some landmark hotels were also acquired in the past few months. Crescent Real Estate of Fort Worth and Hersha Hospitality Trust of Philadephia closed deals for the Westin Hotel at Park Place and the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel respectively. More recently, Adventurous Journey’s Capital acquired the Loews Annapolis Hotel. The company plans to upgrade the property and incorporate it under its Graduate Hotel brand which targets college towns across the nation. Annapolis’ educational institutions and government presence as well as its reputation as a popular leisure destination all figure prominently in the hotels’ strong occupancy rates, thus making these deals high value investments.

Resales were not the only good news in our hospitality industry. Anne Arundel County saw the opening of the brand new Live! Hotel and Conference Center in the Arundel Mills district. This $200 million investment by the Cordish Companies adds a luxury hotel with more than 300 rooms, world class amenities and a large event venue to the entertainment at Live! casino. The project ensures that Arundel Mills will continue to be a very popular destination in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Less than a mile away, Choice Hotels International will soon open a 119-room Cambria hotel & suites at Milestone Parkway and Arundel Mills Boulevard. The property is the sixth hotel to serve travelers in the busy Arundel Mills district.

We expect to see this strong investment in Anne Arundel County continue through the rest 2018 across industry sectors.

Julie Mussog, CEO of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation

NEWS RELEASE: Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation Celebrates 25 Years of Growing the County’s Business Community, Economy »