Trying to Head Off Leaner Times

A slumping real estate market is depressing property values throughout the region, and a realignment of regional military facilities in coming years will move jobs out of Arlington County and Alexandria. To offset drains on revenue, the county and city are looking to drum up economic development to ensure they have enough money to maintain quality public services.

For Arlington County, the focus is on providing new, modern and transit-friendly office space to lure businesses. For Alexandria, where preserving the historic core is paramount, a primary goal is to capitalize on tourism, particularly as the National Harbor approaches completion across the Potomac River.

The financial stakes are significant. Like other jurisdictions in the region, Arlington and Alexandria face leaner budgets because of declining property tax revenue. The Pentagon's base closure and realignment process also is expected by 2011 to move many jobs from Arlington, Alexandria and other parts of the region's core.

Arlington is making headway in economic development. BNA, a publishing company, recently moved to Crystal City from the District, bringing 1,000 employees. The company joins defense firm DeticaDFI, which recently left the District to move to the Ballston area. The firm employs 250 people.

Within a few months, the Corporate Executive Board, which provides human resource research and executive training to employers, is expected to move to Arlington from the District. It will be the largest private-sector employer in the county, employing about 2,500.

"Some deals are coming together now that we worked on for as long as three years," said Terry Holzheimer, director of Arlington Economic Development. "We've been pretty successful."

Paul N. Wojcik, chairman of the board of BNA, said the company at first did not want to relocate, but the convenient bus, Metro and railway connections made the difference.

"A great number of our employees take public transportation to work, so transportation was key to us," Wojcik said. "Crystal City has great transportation. Even [Virginia Railway Express] comes into Crystal City, and that was very attractive to us."

BNA had considered moving out of the District about a decade ago. This time, BNA decided to make the move. Executives cited several factors: Its building needed to be modernized; taxes in the District were higher; and Arlington had become a more desirable urban location than it was in 1996.

"I hadn't been to Crystal City in years," Wojcik said. "They've really turned it around. It's a pretty lively place during the day, and there are about 30 restaurants within three blocks of us. That's appealing."

Arlington County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson (D) said the area's parks and cultural and educational programs are luring "young progressive workers" sought by many employers.

"There are a lot of cultural and fun things to do for young workers particularly, and for workers with children, we have great schools," Ferguson said. "We feel we have a complete package."