For the first time in its history, the FBI is looking for a new home. They want it to be smaller than their current headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover building in downtown D.C. and located in an area that will be cost effective.
Prince George’s County officials are say they have exactly what the FBI is looking for.
For the past year the Prince George’s Office of Economic Development has been focused on finding a home for the FBI, as have other jurisdictions, including northern Virginia.
“Some of our friends across the Potomac and in Virginia have pretty much expressed their support for one location,” said Aubrey Thagard, of County Economic Development. “We’ve got at least 12 we can look at in some serious shape, form or fashion.”
Possible sites include the old Landover Mall property on 202, the Branch Avenue Metro area in Suitland and Greenbelt Metro, which is located near federal land. All of those areas are considered to be underdeveloped.
“The other parts of the region have been able to max out the development potential,” Thagard said. “Prince George’s County still has that potential.”
According to Prince George’s stats, 30 percent of the people who work for the FBI already live in Prince George’s, and 25 percent of the entire federal workforce call Prince George’s home. With only 4 percent of the federal government’s offices located in the county, the question is, Why?
The Metropolitan Council of Governments monitors the development of the D.C. metropolitan region, and Executive Director David Robertson says Prince George’s is realizing that it needs to be more competitive for these kinds of economic opportunities.
“The county has more recently under [County Executive Rushern] Baker and others really sharpened its message that it wants to be a player economically in this region,” he said.
