Towns, cities, county: Why Economic development differs depending where you are.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Prince William County is a big place. More than just the county of nearly a half-million people, there are five towns and two cities geographically located inside Prince William County’s borders.

When it comes to economic development, different businesses are drawn to different areas and around the county.  

Leadership Prince William recently hosted Economic Development and Tourism Day, designed to explore economic development and tourism as it relates to the region, to include the towns of Dumfries, Haymarket, Occoquan, Quantico, and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

Manassas Economic Development Director Patrick Small organized the event that included a panel discussion on alternative economic development which included the Mayors of Occoquan, City of Manassas Park and Dumfries.

Small said the panel was designed to show how economic development looks across different municipalities.

Manassas Park Mayor Jeanette Rishell said commercial development defines economic development for her city. One of the strengths of her city is its ability to respond to events and requests at a greater speed than a larger locality.

“It is important to maintain strong core services (education, police and fire) so Manassas Park will remain a City where people desire to live, work and raise a family,” said Rishell, “Home values are tied directly to our ability to provide these services. A strong community creates a strong business environment.”

Rishell said the City’s goal is to become an intentional destination for individuals and families. One of the biggest burdens of the City is managing debt from the 2000s, said Rishell.

“For FY19 that debt service is about 24 percent of the City budget,” said Rishell, “That seriously limits the decisions we are able to make on behalf of the City, its residents, and staff. But commercial development will help us address this issue.”

Rishell said their strong sense of community is their number attracter as a City. The city’s community center is a large driver of the debt, and so it the city’s aging water infrastructure.

Despite this, the city continues to work on a plan to remake the area near the Manassas Park Virginia Railway Express station into a mixed-use, downtown center.

“In a world of high-tech, we will always need high-touch, and that is most readily obtained in a smaller locality such as Manassas Park,” said Rishell.

In Dumfries, traffic on congested Route 1 is the topic of conversation, especially when it comes to convincing a business to locate there. Mayor Derrick Wood expressed concern over the controversial highway construction of Route 1 that is running straight through his town.

He said he would like to reduce traffic for those traveling to the town instead of just those driving through it. “We are trying to create an identity with businesses and we’d like to highlight those businesses, but we need control over our own main street and downtown Dumfries,” said Wood.

A 20-year-old plan to widen the northbound portion of Route 1 in Dumfries from two to six lanes, and then shift southbound traffic to the new roadway alignment was partially funded last year. Thanks to the Northern Transportation Authority, there’s a now about $7 million for roadway design and utility relocation.

Wood said shifting the majority of vehicle traffic away from Main Street and in front of town hall opening up the flow of traffic to “downtown” Dumfries will create opportunities for pedestrian foot traffic, attract more businesses and residents.

Small said he invited these municipalities into his panel discussion to demonstrate that economic development is not designed just for the big cities, but is essential for small cities and towns as well.

“No locality should be overlooked,” said Small. “Towns without economic developers still need its presence within their community. It is still important.”