BRAC may not bulk up Bowie business base

Officials say the demand will be for housing more than office space

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006

While many are forecasting a significant regional economic boom to coincide with the military base realignment program, Bowie business leaders believe the impact will be felt less in city, especially in the business sector.

The Base Realignment and Closure program, or BRAC, will inject 5,000 new employees at Fort Meade, as well as thousands of other jobs from government contractors and subcontractors. The influx of jobs will greatly benefit Prince George’s County. But in Bowie, which is just five miles south of Fort Meade, all that is expected is some business growth – ‘‘moderate to minor,” as one business leader put it – with a more noticeable impact in residential demand.

Alan Coppola, an associate with NAI-KLNB, a commercial real estate firm and a member of the city’s Economic Development Committee, said business growth would be minimal. Bowie is competing with other areas such as Laurel, Odenton, Columbia and Crofton for office space and commercial development, Coppola said.

‘‘I’d like to see it the other way around, but since BRAC is centered around Fort Meade, most of the growth will be around Fort Meade,” Coppola said. ‘‘There will be spill-over in the whole region. Many of the contractors and subcontractors who are further on down the line from the prime ones will want to work nearby.”

Coppola said office tenants displaced by BRAC contractors may move toward Bowie, especially since the city already has available office space. At best, the city could begin to see the business influx by late summer, Coppola said.

The area most business leaders believe will see the greatest boom is the Route 175 corridor in Odenton. There is already a $150 million mixed-used development slated for construction near the Odenton MARC rail station, which will feature 74,000 square feet of retail space and more than 700 housing units that include apartments, condominiums and townhouses.

Development is also slated for the Laurel area, as developers are seeking to build 1,600 houses and a town center near Route 197 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway specifically targeting the new Fort Meade employees.

Even the housing demand, which is what Bowie will likely notice the most from BRAC, will be limited, officials say. Bowie is almost built out, though increased demand could lead to more mixed-use development and higher density housing such as apartments and condominiums.

Despite the limited BRAC outlook for Bowie, plans as still moving forward to market the city as a business center. The city is promoting the creation of a business incubator and improved public transit. The EDC is incorporating BRAC into its work plan.

In his State of the City address, Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinson said the city is looking at the options available from the BRAC expansion.

‘‘We believe this process offers the possibility of a profound and positive economic effect for those communities willing to engage in this process at the beginning, rather than at the end of the process,” Robinson said. Others feel the city isn’t doing enough to aggressively market itself.

‘‘There’s not a serious push,” said Councilman D. Michael Lyles (Dist. 4). ‘‘We need to advertise Bowie better.”

What could be the key element in Bowie’s spoils from BRAC is the Melford development, business insiders say. The project, the former Maryland Science and Technology Center, has ‘‘enough office space to house the entire BRAC expansion, Coppola said.

The city could see an indirect commercial growth, said Kelly Pierce, director of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce. Increased population and Bowie’s position near the base could have base employees shopping and dining at one of the city’s several shopping centers, including Bowie Town Center, which is already a regional retail center.

‘‘One side of this issue is that people will need a place to shop and to eat,” Pierce said. ‘‘We certainly have enough to handle more commercial growth, and nearly all the shopping centers have gone through renovations.”