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The plan for an Andrews National Defense and Technology Corridor, announced at the base March 9, was three years in the making, as the coalition gathered insights from Andrews officials, residents and other groups about what the area needs, said M.H. Jim Estepp, president of both the alliance and the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable.

The Andrews alliance, formed by Estepp’s group in 2004, includes county leaders, elected officials, businesses and representatives from Andrews.

The corridor’s development model is similar to those at other military installations in the region, such as Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County and Fort Belvoir in Virginia, said Dean F. Morehouse, president of MTM Builder⁄Developer Inc. of Upper Marlboro. ‘‘It just never got put together in one vision, in one focus,” he said.

‘‘It’s a great opportunity for the private sector to work with the public sector to meet our mutual challenges and opportunities for employment,” said Morehouse, also a Business Roundtable board member.

According to the alliance, Andrews contributes nearly $1.2 billion annually to the local economy and is one of the area’s largest employers. About 32,000 people either live or work at the base.

Next steps include organizing a full-time staff to coordinate this effort, working with government leaders for legislative support, and forming a development review district around the base, said Estepp, a former county councilman. The planning district will allow a direct connection to area stakeholders for their input and review, he said.

The South County Economic Development Association thinks this concept ‘‘means increased contracting opportunities for businesses in south county, especially small, local and minority-owned businesses,” said President Ollie P. Anderson Jr.

County businesses have sometimes been left out in the cold when trying to secure federal contracts, and the Andrews alliance wants that to change, Estepp said.

‘‘If you look to the past, we have not been treated quite as fairly by the entire federal procurement process as relates both to Prince George’s County and specifically to the contracts that are awarded in respect to military bases,” he said. ‘‘We don’t care why — we just want to make it better in the future. And we have assurances that’s going to happen.”

A shift from Bolling to Andrews

The alliance’s announcement comes as the Air Force District of Washington plans to move its roughly 350 employees from Bolling Air Force Base in the District to Andrews, federal officials said before Estepp’s announcement.

The move may begin as early as next month. The Air Force unit is responsible for coordinating regional response in the event of an attack or disaster.

The Air Force, Army and Navy districts of Washington now ‘‘are probably all within a home run hit of the new stadium in Washington, D.C., ” said Maj. Gen. Robert L. Smolen, commander of the Air Force district. ‘‘If something catastrophic were to happen in the nation’s capital, the three principal elements that you would be depending on for response may not be able to do the things that they would like to do.

‘‘It was obvious to us that the home of the Air Force District of Washington flag really belongs at Andrews Air Force Base,” because of Andrews’ facilities and future capabilities, Smolen said.

Plans for the Andrews National Defense and Technology Corridor include:

Revitalization of Allentown Road and Suitland Road corridors.

Redevelopment of the Old Alexandria Ferry Road Corridor.

Acquisition of 200 to 300 acres of adjacent land for future base expansion.

Development of Westphalia, which includes a high-density commercial city center with more than 5 million square feet of office buildings for both secure federal use and non-secured commercial use, nearly 2 million square feet of new retail, more than 15,000 residential units, and six new schools.

Transportation expansion that includes 20 master-planned roads, bus service and a proposed expansion of the Metro Green Line.