he South Atlantic League is like an old favorite glove when it comes to minor league baseball enthusiasts. Its teams have been at the core of the game's development for decades, and while their names may change, their loyalty to the region is unchallenged.
        The same may be said of the group of companies that have found prosperous locations in the region ­ except in this case, their considerable economic heft can only be described as major-league quality.

Delaware

Earlier this year, Governor Ruth Ann Minner signed into law the state's official new nickname: "The First State." Economic developers are trying to make that motto ring true when it comes to site consideration.
        That effort was boosted in the town of Smyrna when Wal-Mart announced that it would construct a $50-million regional distribution facility that will eventually employ around 1,000 area residents. Part of the welcome wagon package will be significant workundertaken by the state to improve Route 300 in Smyrna.
        In Newark in March, Incyte Genomics, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., signed a lease agreement with DuPont to locate its first East Coast biotechnology research operation in 50,000 sq. ft. (4,645 sq. m.) of the Stine-Haskell Research Center. The opening of the new operation is expec ted to create more than 80 jobs this year, the majority of which are R&D positions. Incyte is expected to employ more than 140 within two years and nearly 200 by 2005.
        "The decision to locate a facility in Delaware has been reinforced by the cooperation we have received from the State of Delaware and the availability of modern research facilities that we could quickly occupy," said Paul A. Friedman, M.D., Incyte CEO.
        "Incyte needed to occupy lab space by early spring, so time was of the essence," said John D. Wik, Director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, citing DuPont's active participation in cinching the deal.
        These and other developments mesh with the plans of Gov. Minner's Strategic Economic Council, which has identified six growth targets: biotechnology and agriculture, information technology, banking and financial services, tourism, transportation and venture capital cultivation itself.

Maryland

While Baltimore's Inner Harbor concept continues to be studied and copied by harbor renewal teams worldwide, its surrounding area works to attract real industrial and corporate presence as well.
        An urban renewal plan has called for the redevelopment of Carroll Camden Industrial Park, a 500-acre business (202-hectare) park that is as close to the city's landmark baseball stadium in proximity as it is in name. The park currently is home to 160 firms with 6,000 employees. But 40 percent of its space, much of it empty lots, is going unused, so plans call for a combination of transportation improvements and brownfield redevelopment measures.
        Firms that have already put up shingles in the park include Chesapeake Biological Laboratories, Public Storage, AT&T and the Maryland Transit Administration.
        Receiving even more attention are the proposed biotech parks at both the University of Maryland-Baltimore and adjacent to the Johns Hopkins University medical complex, the latter to contain up to 2 million sq. ft. (185,800 sq. m.) of space. There are 275 biotech companies in the state, with 26 currently located in Baltimore.
        Giant Food recently relocated its 550-employee warehouse operation from Landover in Prince George's County to Jessup in Howard County, thanks to a rich package of incentives and an available parcel of 72 acres (29 hectares), where the company already had a dry-grocery and frozen-food distribution plant. According to Dan Currie, executive vice president of operations for Giant, a generous incentive package, an obsolete former facility and the lesser cost of doing business precipitated the move, although the grocery company will keep its headquarters and around 900 employees in Landover.
        In Owings Mills, Toyota and Lexus Financial Services have leased 100,000 sq. ft (9,290 sq. m.) of space in a multi-building campus, where more than 400 will be employed. Toyota and Lexus Financial Services president and CEO George E. Borst cited the ease of recruitment as a key factor. And in Hanover, Colorado-based office supply firm Corporate Express is building a 200,000-sq.-ft. (18,580-sq.-m.) distribution facility and division regional headquarters that will employ 300 when it opens in spring 2003.
        According to new U.S. Census figures, four of the nation's 10 richest communities are in the Washington, D.C. area, with Montgomery County, Md. just outside that ranking at No. 13. Among the Top 10 are top-ranked Loudon County, Va., Howard County, Falls Church and Fairfax County. Just as impressive was the region's jump to first place, surpassing Ann Arbor, Mich., in share of adults with graduate degrees, with 17 percent.
        Loudoun County alone grew by 13 percent in the past decade, adding the the strain felt by regional transportation infrastructure. A transportation improvements tax in Northern Virginia will be on this year's November election ballot.