Defense contracting company Northrop Grumman is relocating its headquarters from California to either Washington, Maryland or Virginia by 2011, and officials with Prince William say they are vying for the business.
"There is a compelling case to be made for the relocation of Northrop Grumman's headquarters [here], particularly in Woodbridge along the I-95 corridor between Fort Belvoir and Quantico," stated Supervisor Frank Principi, D-Woodbridge, in an e-mail. "North Woodbridge and Harbor Station are two prime locations on the water that anticipate mixed use developments with a significant office component in this area."
Northrop Grumman is already a large employer for the Washington region, providing for about 21,000 workers. The relocation would add between 100 and 150 more jobs. Company executives have yet to settle on the exact location of its headquarters, but will decide by this spring and open its new office in the summer of 2011.
Prince William, according to Corey Stewart, chairman of the board of supervisors, has a competitive advantage in that the county is already home to several federal government contractors.
"If they are looking to attract the local workforce in Northern Virginia and are seeking immediate access to the military installations and federal facilities throughout Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., then we are the best location," he said, in a written statement. "Seventy-five percent of Northern Virginia's workforces lives within a 30 minute commute, in rush hour, of Prince William County."
And that geographic statistic means a better worker pool, he said.
"Any corporate headquarters that locates here is in the best competitive position possible to draw on the talent and ingenuity in the entire region," Stewart said.
A few of the other jurisdictions reportedly competing for Northrop Grumman are Arlington, Fairfax and the District of Columbia.
Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.
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