Israeli defense firm Smart Shooter has selected the location for its new U.S. headquarters, and - surprise! - it's Northern Virginia, not Montgomery County. The company, known for its rifle-mounted and hand-held fire control systems, chose Dulles Office Park in Herndon for its U.S. operations center. As you might surmise from the property name, the site is 5 minutes from Dulles International Airport, an essential amenity for international businesspeople. Montgomery County infamously lacks direct access to Dulles, by virtue of County elected officials cancelling the long-planned new Potomac River crossing from I-370 in Gaithersburg to Route 28 in the Dulles area. "I coulda been a contender!" Womp, womp.
Photo courtesy Fairfax County Economic Development Authority/Nikolai Roster
15 comments:
Well, blow me down!
These type of companies clearly look for easy and immediate access to the Pentagon. With Metro and MARC access to all three international airports in the DMV, I don’t think that close proximity to airports is a very big deal for business travelers. BWI has tons of cheap flights all over the country and internationally, but you don’t see companies flocking to the immediate area around the airport for that reason alone.
8:59: Dulles is the only airport in the region that offers the frequency and destinations of flights required for serious international businesspeople. It would take forever to get to Dulles on Metro from Montgomery County. We've got to have direct highway access to Dulles.
We already have direct driving access to BWI, and Metro access to Reagan and Dulles without the need to drive, pay tolls and park at the airports. Yes most serious businesspeople fly out of Reagan if they can, and can save lots of money by using Southwest at BWI. Proposed massive expansion and upgrades will surely add to the already high fees at Dulles.
Many business travelers prefer using Amtrak to access the Northeast Corridor. Again no driving, parking, and stupid bridges to cross at rush hour if you start in DC or Maryland. Plus they can get work done on the train, and don’t have to rent cars or take long taxi rides into the central downtowns of Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
It takes 33 minutes to drive from Bethesda to Dulles without traffic and not at rush hour. It takes 1 hour and 25 minutes to walk and take the Metro from downtown Bethesda to Dulles, all the time, regardless of traffic. Again with Metro, you don’t have to get your car out of a parking garage, drive across a stupid bridge, park at Dulles, and can certainly get more work done on the train compared to behind the wheel.
We got the Washington Flyer 'pay and pray' service.
I live in Downtown Bethesda and Dulles is quicker to get to than BWI assuming no traffic in either direction. I'm not sure that the other road you mentioned would make that materially easier or that it's harder now? I think in this case the business climate differences between states is probably a bigger factor.
Downtown Bethesda here again. It's about 31 minutes to Dulles by car or Uber. Yes, metro would be bad, but how many business people are taking metro rather than using their rental car or an Uber/Taxi? Yes, I'm sure it's quicker to Dulles from Dulles, VA than Bethesda....
The solution is clear - Montgomery County must invade and occupy Dulles Airport.
A Darnestown crossing would change nothing; it is nowhere near the job or population centers of the county. No one who cares about access to Dulles would be persuaded by MoCo spending billions on a redundant crossing out in the middle of nowhere. You seem to be the last person on earth to realize that.
5:12: I-370 is accessed from I-270, which runs through multiple office park districts that were once - and if we attract the employers, can be again - filled with businesses and corporate campuses. 15-20 minute direct access to Dulles would indeed be persuasive to companies serious about international business.
3:34: You are absolutely correct that business climate - taxes and regulations - are just as big of a factor. The good news is that it is within our power to change both shortcomings.
12:33: Serious international businesspeople require Dulles access. You can check for yourself by trying to book a flight to various business destinations in India or Southeast Asia, for example. You'll quickly find that National and BWI have fewer departures per week, if they even serve certain destinations at all.
You have to approach the topic from the mindset of a business executive with prospective clients around the world, not a spring breaker taking Southwest to Florida.
You mean the council rapid reaction team?
31-minutes is off peak not during AM rush or PM from 3pm to 7pm. If my flight comes in during PM rush, leave the car at home a d suck up the 1:45 metro ride to Bethesda.
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