Business Doesn’t Stop at Border for Delaware Firms
Published Apr 16, 2008
Doing business on a regional level comes naturally to New Castle County. The county borders Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania, with Greater Philadelpha just beyond, and New Jersey’s Salem County is a bridge away.
More recently, economic development experts have been looking west toward Cecil County, Md., which abuts Newark, home of the University of Delaware. That’s because the U.S. Department of Defense announced in 2005 it will transfer about 8,200 military and civilian jobs to the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground by 2011, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Act.
As a result, up to 35,000 new jobs may come to the region within the next decade, resulting in an estimated $2 billion in annual salaries.
New Castle County is geographically positioned to benefit from the “trickle up” effect. “We want to take advantage of the development that will take place down around the Aberdeen Proving Ground,” says Mark A. Kleinschmidt, president of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce. “There’s a lot of spillover that we’re looking to capture.”
Jeff Stone, director of infrastructure and intergovernmental relations for the Delaware Economic Development Office, concurs that the Pentagon’s base realignment will bring a number of defense-related companies to the Aberdeen vicinity.
This presents “a positive opportunity for the region – one that has fostered regional cooperation between the states and the counties involved to encourage these firms to relocate to the region,” Stone says. “For Delaware, our existing high-quality workforce and innovative research-and-development environment will certainly be an attractive option for these high-tech contractors and employees.”
Currently, “there are no office parks or major offices [in Aberdeen] to handle these people,” says Robert V. Grabus, vice president of client relations and business development for Bernardon Haber Holloway Architects. “New Castle County is strategically placed to provide a lot of services.”
In the near future, expect workshops and seminars on the subject – both locally and regionally – that cross borders. “When the tide comes in,” Grabus notes “all the boats go up.”
Story by Pam George
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