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Stafford to make bid for Northrop Grumman headquarters Date published: 1/5/2010
BY BILL FREEHLING and CATHY JETT
Stafford County will try to convince global defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. to relocate its headquarters there, said Cord Sterling, a member of the Stafford Board of Supervisors. Northrop Grumman, which yesterday announced it would move its headquarters to the Washington region from Los Angeles by 2011, is already a big employer in Stafford County. The company leases the top three floors of an office building at the Aquia Town Center. Sterling said Stafford's economic development staff and elected officials are working with the state to put together a competitive incentive package to offer Northrop Grumman. "My hope is we can entice them," Sterling said. He said Stafford has a number of features, including Stafford Regional Airport and an available labor force, that could prove attractive to Northrop Grumman as long as the company isn't wedded to being right in Washington. Phillip Baxter, a Silver Cos. vice president who is handling leasing at the Quantico Corporate Center in North Stafford along with David Newman, said his firm will present all its properties to Northrop Grumman. But Baxter said he'd be surprised if Northrop decided to move its headquarters to Stafford or anywhere outside the immediate Washington area. He pointed out that there is a glut of available office space in Washington, much of it barely used, and said the company will have its pick of prime spots. Still, Baxter is "pulling for Stafford." "We will put our best foot forward," he said. Spotsylvania County may enter the competition, as well. Supervisor Hap Connors said he'd just heard about Northrop Grumman's announcement. "I'm not aware of us putting together anything," he said, "but we will certainly look at the opportunity, you bet." Northrop Grumman said yesterday that it's looking for a site in Maryland, Virginia or Washington that it plans to pick by spring. "Obviously what we're trying to do is find a location that meets two criteria," said Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote. "One is proximity to our customers: the federal government, Department of Defense and intelligence agencies. The second is economics, the type of incentive packages that might be offered that would help us make a site selection."
Fairfax County (Airport or Toll Road area) will likely get it....they have Dulles Airport to accommodate their national/international business ops, AND they have the new Dulles Rail Project to move their peeps to and fro. Until Stafford gets some real transportation plans in place, I really don't see it happening. If our BOS/EDA folks can do it.....you have my, our, full support!
is on Maryland winning the bid.
This would be great if you got Northrop Grumman to re-locate
their corporate headquarters here. I think you should do
everything you can to convince them.
has Spotsy ever been on top of something when it comes to enticing anything but retail? For once, I'm happy to see Hap Connors take an interest in bringing big business to Spotsy!
Glad to see we're on top of this before Spotsy. It's good to see we have such capable people looking for these kind of businesses for Stafford County. Hopefully they will come - Quantico is a good center to be next to.
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