April's temperatures have been fluctuating, but economic development is heating up. We are back to in person events and next month we look forward to honoring the Top Frederick Real Estate Dealmakers and projects at our annual FRED Awards. This event is one of my favorite opportunities to thank our commercial real estate community for all that they do to bring new businesses to Frederick County. We are also excited for the return of our EmPOWER networking events and our Top 50 Reception.
In business news, big things are happening. Kite Pharma has received FDA approval, which is huge for the new facility in Urbana. Ellume opened their fully modernized facility for production, and Quantum Loophole’s conduits have arrived. With the capacity of over 200,000 strands of fiber, these conduits are for the QLoop river borings under the Potomac and Monocacy rivers. This is the first phase of a network linking the 2,164-acre campus to the Ashburn Internet ecosystem.
On a personal note, after 30 years with Frederick County Government, I have announced that I will retire this summer as the County’s Executive Director of Economic Development. It’s been a great honor to work in economic development, workforce services and with the dedicated team of professionals in Frederick County Government. Looking back, a real sense of pride arises as I remember the creativity and speed at which we provided services to our businesses and their workforce. Our county is such a special place where our businesses, economic development partners and leadership have worked together to ensure a strong economy and create a real momentum over the past several years. As I transition my role over to our OED leadership team, I know our economic development is in incredibly capable hands and I look forward to hearing of the continued successes in the future!
