economy

DEVELOPING STORY — Federal Shutdown Could Have “Severe Impact” on N. Virginia

By ARLnow.com

On a conference call today, Rep. Jim Moran (D) said he believe the odds of a federal shutdown at the end of the week is about 50/50 — a dark omen for Arlington and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions whose economies rely heavily on federal employment.

If such a shutdown were to happen, Moran says he believes that furloughed federal employees would not be reimbursed for their time off due to Republican opposition to such a move. A shutdown could last several weeks and have a “severe impact” on the local economy, Moran warned.

“This is very, very, serious,” Moran said. “Federal employees need to understand that this is not 1995, when we closed down… and [employees] were fully reimbursed.”

“About a million federal employees will not be working, and it is highly unlikely they will ever be reimbursed,” Moran continued. “Not only is this going to hurt the overall economy in the metropolitan Washington area that I represent, but it is going to have a very severe impact on employee’s abilities to make their mortgage payments, their car payments, etc.”

“Every private sector element in my district’s economy is going to be adversely affected,” Moran added.

Others on the conference call pegged the number of federal employees who would be furloughed during a shut down at around 800,000 nationwide, including Department of Defense civilians. Moran said the impact would likely to extend to government contractors.

“If this continues I think there’s going to be a number of smaller contractors that will simply go out of business because the [federal agencies] aren’t giving them the kind of cash flow they need to survive,” he said. Backing up that suggestion, Moran’s office pointed out that 20 percent of government contracts in the D.C. area were adversely affected during the 1995 shutdown.

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Arlington’s Top 10 Government and Private Employers

By ARLnow.com

Things are looking pretty good for Arlington, economy-wise — at least according to a presentation this morning by Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer.

Unemployment and office vacancies are low. Real estate prices and hotel occupancy rates are on the rise. And a number of new construction projects are underway. Holzheimer said he expects the local unemployment rate to continue declining in 2011 while the impact from BRAC is mitigated by a robust demand for office space.

Holzheimer noted that between 2008 and 2010, Arlington saw a net employment increase while Alexandria and Fairfax saw a net employment decline.

Today’s presentation included a list of the top public and private employers in Arlington. The total number employees in Arlington in 2011 is noted below in parenthesis.

Given the current talk in Congress of significant federal budget cuts, Arlington’s large number of government employees may be of some concern.

Private Employers

  1. Deloitte (3,490)
  2. Lockheed Martin (2,668)
  3. Virginia Hospital Center (2,042)
  4. Marriott International (1,600)
  5. Booz Allen Hamilton (1,370)
  6. SRA International (1,359)
  7. CACI (1,251)
  8. US Airways (1,300)
  9. SAIC (1,281)
  10. Corporate Executive Board (986)

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Zimmerman: Arlington’s Prosperity Is Not an Accident

By ARLnow.com

County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman touted Arlington’s ability to weather the recession during a short speech at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.

Zimmerman said unemployment and office vacancy rates have stayed low, while “our real estate values have held better than pretty much any place else.”

According to Blue Virginia’s video, Zimmerman went on to say say that it’s not just Arlington’s proximity to D.C. that has helped it remain prosperous.

“It is important to understand that those facts are not accidents — they’re not just good luck,” Zimmerman said. “The reason we’re doing very well, even in difficult times, has to do with many years of working in this community, planning what we do, designing our community in a certain way, and investing in it year after year.”

“We’re intentional about what we do in government in Arlington, and we have been for a long time,” Zimmerman added. “When times are good, we’re thinking about what’s going to happen when things turn down. When times aren’t good, we are going to have to explain the fact that they are going to turn around again… and we’re trying to prepare for that.”

Zimmerman said Arlington’s inclusiveness and its emphasis on community participation in decision-making are two additional reasons why the county is ” talked about, in a lot of ways, with envy.”

BRAC Delays Could Keep Thousands of Jobs in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

So much for deadlines.

Sept. 15, 2011 was supposed to be the date by which some 5 million square feet of military-occupied office space in Arlington — 17 percent of the county’s office inventory — would be moved out as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act.

Now, it appears that most of that leased space will still be in use by the military through 2012 and beyond.

A new report by commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley that examined lease renewals suggests that BRAC relocations are years behind schedule. According to the firm, “[BRAC-related] leases totaling 2.3 million square feet have been extended through 2013 or later.”

And yesterday Rep. Jim Moran threw another wrench in the stalled relocation process. Per a provision Moran inserted into a Defense Department funding bill, the DoD’s Inspector General will be investigating the planned BRAC relocation of 6,400 jobs — many from Arlington — to the Mark Center project in Alexandria.

Moran has been working “to suspend or delay the move into the Mark Center site until the necessary transportation improvements to prevent a traffic nightmare on I-395 are implemented,” according to a statement announcing the investigation.

Such a delay could ease some of the economic pain the county will experience as a result of BRAC job losses.

Ballston Looks to Improve Image

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn and Crystal City are doing it. Now Ballston wants in on the action.

This weekend a group of large local property owners will ask the county board to advertise a public hearing on the creation of a Ballston Business Improvement District.

The Ballston BID would be responsible for marketing Ballston to potential businesses, residents and visitors. It is necessary, property owners say, to keep Ballston competitive with other fast-growing commercial office markets in the District and in Northern Virginia. (Such as Tyson’s Corner, which is a few years away from becoming Metro-accessible.)

“The common view is that Ballston is a ‘good’ place but, it is not yet a ‘great’ community — a goal all urban mixed-use communities need to achieve in order to remain competitive, attractive and sustainable,” the BID’s boosters wrote in a proposed business plan.

The BID, with an initial budget of just over $1 million, would focus on “improving the business climate through branding, marketing and events.”

Organizers say the BID would be similar in function to the Crystal City BID, which has been very active in beautifying the streets, working to attract new businesses and organizing events meant to showcase various desirable neighborhood characteristics.

Ballston BID supporters propose spending $186,000 on events, $205,000 on marketing and branding, and $300,000 on signage, including banners, a “gateway” and navigation aides. The BID would also create a new “fully interactive website.”

A large part of the BID’s mission will be to “enhance and sustain Ballston’s image as a premier live-work-play community.”

A common complaint about Ballston is a lack of reasons to stay past 5:00 p.m. on weekdays or to visit on weekends. As such, the BID would take steps to promote the neighborhood as “a place where visitors and employees will stay longer and enjoy the BID’s after-work and weekend energy.”

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Spending Outpaces Revenue Gains — An improving economy will bring in more tax and fee revenue for the county next year, but those gains will be outpaced by projected increases in county spending. More from the Sun Gazette.

Plane Crash Survivor Back at Work in Arlington — Former NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe, who survived the Alaska plane crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens, returned to work yesterday. O’Keefe is the CEO of Arlington-based EADS North America. More from Reuters.

Rosslyn Metro Escalator Makes Musical Noises — The Ode Street Tribune has a recording of a veritable chorus of mechanical noises emanating from an escalator at the Rosslyn Metro station.

Road Tattoo in Crystal City — Earlier, we reported that a road in Crystal City would be “tattooed” by artist Steed Taylor. Now, the deed is done. “Crystal City adds roadway tramp-stamp,” reads the headline on We Love DC.

Flickr pool photo by Ian Livingston

Need a Job? AT&T Is Hiring

By ARLnow.com

AT&T is holding a job fair in Pentagon City tomorrow in an attempt to fill more than 100 retail sales and management jobs in the DC area.

The job fair is being held at the Doubletree Hotel at 300 Army Navy Drive (the one with the dome restaurant up top) from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Among the locations for which AT&T is hiring is a new retail store that’s planned for the Pentagon City mall. The third-floor store will replace the existing AT&T kiosk on the second floor.

In a press release, AT&T Mid-Atlantic President J. Michael Schweder said he company is “proud to be making a contribution to the local economy during these difficult economic times.”

Arlington Restaurant, Retail Spending Booming

By ARLnow.com

As we’ve reported before, Arlington’s unemployment rate has stayed remarkably low during the course of the recession. But in case you needed further proof of the resilience of the county’s economy, look no further than the way money is being spent in Arlington.

A newsletter from Arlington’s economic development authority reveals that local spending on restaurants and retail goods is up significantly compared to 2009.

The meals taxes payed by Arlington restaurants jumped by 9.2 percent for the first three months of the year, according to Arlington Economic Development. In addition to the booming restaurant receipts, retail sales rose 11.2 percent in March.

While Arlington’s economy is chugging along now, concerns still remain about cuts to the defense budget and the impending exodus of BRAC-impacted defense employees.

Arlington County Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s unemployment rate is holding at a low 4.3 percent.

Employment figures just released for June show that total employment in Arlington increased from 134,010 in May to 134,579 in June. But at the same time the civilian labor force increased from 140,041 to 140,617. That produces a 4.3 percent unemployment rate for both months.

Statewide, unemployment increased from 6.9 percent to 7.1 percent during the same period.

Weekend News Roundup

By ARLnow.com

Secretary Gates Calls For Reduction of DoD Spending — On Saturday Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave a blistering speech that called for a significant restructuring of Pentagon spending, reports Andrea Stone at AOL News. Citing a “gusher of defense spending” following 9/11, Gates stated his desire to reduce spending on weapons systems and military health care. He also called for a reduction in the number of generals and admirals in the services. Defense spending is a major component of the local economy.

BRAC Moves May Cause Traffic Woes — The transfer of 13,000 DoD jobs from Crystal City to Ft. Belvoir, Alexandria’s Mark Center development and elsewhere may cause major traffic problems, the Washington Post reports. The areas where the jobs are moving to are not Metro accessible and are not prepared to receive the ensuing crush of traffic, several people told the Post. By law, about four million square feet of office space in Crystal City must be vacated by September 2011.

Karzai To Visit Arlington National Cemetery — Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, whose relationship with the U.S. has been rocky as of late, will be visiting Arlington National Cemetery during a trip to Washington this week. Karzai is expected to arrive in town today. He is scheduled to visit the cemetery, where hundreds of service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan are buried, on Thursday.

Northrop Grumman HQ Coming to N. Va.

By ARLnow.com

Governor Bob McDonnell is expected to announce tomorrow that Northrop Grumman has selected Northern Virginia for the location of its new headquarters, according to sources cited by the Washington Business Journal.

McDonnell is not expected to announce which Northern Virginia site has been selected quite yet. Among the reported finalists are the 800 North Glebe Road development in Ballston, along with a site in Falls Church and a site in Alexandria.

The giant defense contractor, which is relocating its headquarters from Los Angeles, was initially also considering locations in Montgomery County and the District.

Gov. McDonnell’s public schedule puts him in the Washington area tomorrow. He’ll appear on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., and at noon he’ll address a commercial real estate development trade association at the Tysons Corner Hilton.

Contacted by ARLnow.com, an official with Arlington Economic Development said he had talked with the governor’s office today, but refused to “speculate” about Northrop’s decision.

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