It looks like Hampton Roads is moving towards an “Economy 4.0” paradigm: mobilizing resources to build its defense-industry cluster rather than opportunistically chasing any old business-relocation opportunity that comes down the pike. The Hampton Roads Technology Council and the Defense & Homeland Security Consortium have launched an initiative to promote the region as “Pentagon South.”
Outside of Northern Virginia (and possibly Southern California), Hampton Roads is home to the largest defense-industry cluster in the United States. Hampton Roads is the largest center for military shipbuilding and repair in the country (which makes it the largest in the world). Outside the shipbuilding sector, however, most private-sector defense businesses once consisted mainly of field offices serving local military clients. But the size and scope of defense-related business have grown steadily over the years to encompass “systems integration, analysis, innovation, solutions and services across multiple disciplines.”
Illustrative of the “new” defense sector in Hampton Roads is the up-and-coming modeling & simulation cluster in Suffolk, the ultimate in sophisticated information technology.
The Pentagon South initiative combines a number of components: (a) provide necessary training and workforce development, (b) create networking opportunities for businesses in the sector, and (c) to brand the region nationally and internationally. (Read the list of goals here.)
This initiative makes sense. Not only does Hampton Roads have a strong military presence and defense-industry cluster to build upon, it enjoys a significantly lower cost of doing business and lower cost of living than competing defense-heavy regions. Equally important, Pentagon South organizers are attentive to the “soft infrastructure” needed to support a growing industry. The preliminary indications are very positive.