1. SCIENCE CITY—A Montgomery County project that could lead to the creation of a $10-billion, 17.5-million-square-foot research-and-development center in the greater Rockville-Gaithersburg-270 Corridor that could add 60,000 high-paying jobs to the area.
2. KONTERRA—A 2,200-acre mixed-use development situated in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, straddling 1-95 one exit north of the Capital Beltway and adjacent to Laurel. The project includes an extensive business campus, and future development will offer an upscale shopping and fine-dining town center and high-quality residential-living units.
3. NATIONAL CYBER COMMAND CENTER—Coupled with the expected location of the U.S. Cyber Command headquarters and the pending Department of Defense expansions of the intelligence and communications responsibilities at Fort Meade and at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland is the base for the nation’s efforts to defend and protect U.S. information networks.
4. MAGLEV INITIATIVE—Magnetic levitation, of Maglev, is a proven high-speed rail-system technology that literally levitates trains above a guide way. Using electricity, magnets propel trains on a cushion of air at speeds up to 310 miles per hour. The Baltimore Washington MAGLEV project would connect downtown Baltimore to BWI Airport and Union Station in Washington, DC, in 18 minutes. Ultimately, the line would be extended up the Northeast Corridor through New York to Boston and south to Charlotte.
5. POTENTIAL NEW NUCLEAR REACTOR AT CALVERT CLIFFS—France's EDF, the world's largest operator of nuclear power plants, has partnered with Constellation Energy to investigate building the first fleet of new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in decades. The companies have proposed Calvert Cliffs as the potential site for a multi-billion-dollar, 1,600-megawatt advanced reactor. The project could be the largest construction project in the history of Maryland, adding a much needed emissions-free energy source to the regional grid. A number of factors, including pending regulatory approvals and the right financial conditions, will influence the future of this initiative.
6. DISNEY RESORT HOTEL & EXPANSION AT NATIONAL HARBOR—Walt Disney Parks & Resorts purchased a 15-acre site for $11 million from the Peterson Companies, developers of National Harbor in Prince George’s County, and is considering using the site to build a 500-room resort hotel for families and others visiting the National Capital Region. The resort-hotel complex is different from a Disney theme park. The company is building a similar family resort hotel in Hawaii called Ko’Olina, set to open in October 2011. National Harbor itself is expected to continue its expansion as a resort and residential complex on its 300-acre site on the Maryland banks of the Potomac River and is already considered the largest indoor hotel/conference center on the East Coast.
7. BRAC ZONES AROUND BAINBRIDGE IN CECIL, FORT MEADE IN ANNE ARUNDEL, ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND IN HARFORD—The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision is expected to bring 60,000 new jobs and 28,000 new households into Maryland over the next eight years, creating the largest economic-development growth in Maryland since World War II. The five military installations and surrounding areas most affected are Aberdeen Proving Ground (Harford Co.), Fort Meade (Anne Arundel Co.), National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda in Montgomery Co.), Ft. Detrick (Frederick Co.), and Andrews Air Force Base (Prince George’s Co.). An example of the redevelopment efforts already underway is the master planned community being constructed on the 1,200-acre former Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Port Deposit (Cecil Co.), with 4 million square feet of commercial space, 1,200 housing units, and 1,000 retirement-community units.
8. ICC, RED LINE, and PURPLE LINE—Construction of the 18-mile Intercounty Connector $3-billion road system is underway. The six-lane toll highway connects I-270 in Gaithersburg (Montgomery County) with I-95 in Laurel (Prince George’s County).
The proposed 16-mile Purple Line light-rail system would connect Bethesda (Montgomery) with New Carrollton (Prince George’s) and would supplement the already existing Metro subway system. Cost is estimated at $1.6 billion. The proposed 14-mile Red Line light-rail system in Baltimore City and County would connect Woodlawn to John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in East Baltimore and connect the city’s existing transit network. Cost is estimated at $1.8 billion.
