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Prince William Shifts Strategy For Struggling Office Park
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Several states competed for the laboratory that grows cells and sells them to government, private sector and academic researchers, but American Type Culture Collection selected Prince William, in part because of more than $6 million in incentives offered by the state and county.
In 1996, the county commissioned the Urban Land Institute's advisory services program to prepare recommendations for further development.
The consultants urged the county to adopt a catchy name for the park and suggested "Innovation at Prince William." They also proposed an "aggressive" five-year goal of developing 500,000 to 750,000 square feet of office and technology space. To deliver on that goal, the county bought 525 acres of farmland, including the Hersch farm, for $8.5 million in 1997.
"The board came under a lot of criticism for buying the property," Vanderpool said. Residents questioned whether the government should be involved in the private sector, said Vanderpool, who supported development of the park and helped negotiate a deal between the city of Manassas, the county and George Mason University to build an $18 million aquatic and fitness center on the university campus.
Private landowners also have maintained a role in the office park. They sold hundreds of acres directly to companies that moved there. Private parties still own 350 acres neighboring the county's land that is marketed by the county's economic team as part of Innovation at Prince William.
The county's timing seemed perfect, catching the region's wave of technology start-ups and expansions.
In 2000, Innovation's tenants included Ronbotics Corp., which made motion platforms that allowed arcade games and rides to gyrate, and Covad Communications Group Inc., which operated a data center.
Other companies with futuristic names announced plans to come to Innovation at Prince William -- Astrolink International LLC, Avenir Inc., Ebara Technologies Inc., FM Technologies Inc., EarthWalk Communications Inc. Gilbane Properties Inc. of Providence, R.I., agreed to buy 155 acres for speculative office space.
By 2001, the tech bubble had burst. Covad, which went through bankruptcy reorganization, and Ronbotics closed their facilities. The Rhode Island developer pulled out of its deal. And the tech companies never showed up to build their promised offices.
"Certainly the swings in the economy, and in particular what happened with technology in the early part of this decade, affected the whole area," said Jay Norman of Manassas-based Norman Realty Inc., who is leasing the Innovation Business Center, a speculative office project that is being built next to Innovation at Prince William.
"Our strategic plan was in the trash," said Martin J. Briley, executive director of the county's economic development department, recalling the four rewrites of the plan in 2001. County officials tried marketing the park for engineering firms, computer data centers and wireless companies, among others.
By 2002, the marketing team shifted its focus to life-sciences companies and government offices, the formula that now is taking hold. Innovation at Prince William now target employers that pay an average annual salary of $53,000.
