Chamber’s Clapper: Highway Would Attract Business

MANASSAS, Va. — In the past eight months, the Prince William Chamber of Commerce has expanded its membership base to more than 2,000 businesses.

Nearly 30% of the members who have joined this year are organizations headquartered outside Prince William County, and that has helped the Prince William Chamber surpass the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce as the largest local chamber in Virginia, said President and CEO Robert Clapper.

On July 2, the Prince William Chamber will celebrate its third birthday — a product born from the merger of the Greater Manassas – Prince William Chamber of Commerce and the Region’s Chamber, which had a strong following in the Woodbridge area.

About 87% of the chamber’s member businesses have 25 employees or less, making it the state’s largest largest business organization catering to small companies, Clapper said. While it’s not always best to be the state’s largest, it does help.

“Bigger isn’t always better, unless your business takes you to Richmond,” said Clapper. “The decisions that are made there that affect business, the conversations that are had with legislators — some of which are not even in our local delegation — it’s important that we have a presence there.”

Bi-County Parkway

Today, Clapper and his organization are very much in the daily conversation about the Bi-County Parkway — a proposed highway that would run along the 45-mile “North-South Corridor of Statewide Significance” that would link Interstate 95 in Dumfries to Dulles Airport. Clapper and several sister organizations in neighboring counties, have voiced their support for the highway.

That has made him unpopular with opponents of the Bi-County Parkway, who say the road will lead to an increase in cargo traffic through Prince William, as well as cater to developers looking to build new homes in Loudoun County. And, because initial plans for the road call for it to run through a portion of Manassas National Battlefield, and for the closure of portions of U.S. 29 and Va. 234 that run through the Battlefield, many fear traffic on nearby Interstate 66 headed to Washington, D.C. will only worsen.

But Clapper said the roadway has been a long time coming, and if built, will help spur economic growth in Prince William and Greater Manassas.

“This road has been on the comprehensive plan for Prince William County ever since 1994,” said Clapper in late May. “A road to Dulles — it’s an idea that has been a clear strategy for the region long before the growth in the area hit.”

Prince William’s elected leaders only recently removed the Bi-County Parkway from a list of road projects it wants to fund within the next six years. But for Clapper, that move doesn’t quell the need for the highway.

“The population here is expected to double by 2040, and where are the job centers?” asked Clapper. “They’re located along Route 28, and they’re going to stay around the international hub that is Dulles.”

Various companies would also be interested in locating to Prince William because of their proximity to Dulles Airport, and the road would help attract a some of the 28% of new chamber members who live and work outside Prince William and Manassas to set up shop in the region, he added.

“If your opportunity to be near an international cargo hub is 20 minutes down a straight road, why would you not necessarily go into a community like that?” asked Clapper.

When companies look to relocate to an area, Clapper said relocation cost, quality of workforce, quality of life, and transportation are all issues that factor into their decisions. While the path the actual road will take is one that needs to be be debated, Clapper says the need for it can’t be ignored.

“If we don’t fix that by enhancing existing roads, and building new connections, we are going to be left behind, and businesses are going to pass us by,” said Clapper.

Past positions

Prior to coming to Prince William, Clapper led the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce for two years. Prior to that, he was in South Carolina leading the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce. With 10 years in the Army, Clapper is used to moving around.

In fact, his stay in Prince William County has been his longest layover yet. The CEO was initially brought in to head the merger of the two chambers, but he’s hanging around for a “once in a career opportunity.”

“Rarely are you given an opportunity to start from scratch. Essentially we were a start-up, and I can tell you from west coast to east coast, from Canada to Mexico, I have friends across the country, and rarely to do we have a chance to build something from the ground up, and if something goes wrong there’s no one else to blame but you,” said Clapper.