News
NINE MARKETS BALTIMORE COUNTY WANTS TO GROW
February 16, 2012
| Baltimore County experienced double-digit population growth for decades—until the last 10 years. Baltimore County Economic Development exec director Dan Gundersen released a strategic operations plan this week to spark economic growth. He's keynotingBisnow's Baltimore County Summit on Feb. 29. Read below and sign up for our event to hear more straight from the source! |
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| Dan (in his office this morning) tells us his department's plan is meant to rally investors to the cause. A county master plan does exist, but this one drills down on nine employment centers and how to harness their heft. He says encouraging private investment is a more realistic approach than the predominant ec dev model of one-off deals marketing your region's way to prosperity (and way more realistic than wishing really hard for gold trees). The plan also focuses on collaboration with the county's five college and university systems and helping existing businesses find new markets rather than too heavy an emphasis on attracting companies to relocate here. Dan tells us that actually produces just 2% to 4% growth, according to national analysis. |
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| Above are the nine markets where Dan's organization plans to work with private interests (that means you, CRE community) on 53 game-changing projects like the Red Line (cited as a federal priority in Obama's State of the Union) and UMBC-Southwest (which can take advantage of surrounding counties' cybertech industry growth). Dan says Baltimore County's Urban Rural Demarcation Line, which landed on maps in '67, became a national model for smart growth by containing development, prompting sustainability and infrastructure. And now that the area within the line is built out, it's time to rebuild, he says. |
