Northrop Grumman to build Anne Arundel facility

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Northrop Grumman will break ground on a $20 million facility in Anne Arundel County next week.

The company will hold the ceremony marking the beginning of construction on its 25,000-square-foot assembly and test facility on Monday. The project, which will house 80 engineers and technicians, is expected to be complete by summer 2015.

Employees will work on space systems assembly, integration and testing in the building. The new construction is part of the already existing Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems BWI Campus at 7323 Aviation Blvd.

Northrop Grumman is one of the largest employers in Anne Arundel County and the single largest private employer in the county. According to figures from the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., the company has an estimated 6,500 employees.

This facility is the latest opening in a portion of the county that has experienced an explosion in commercial growth. Business parks, especially in the Route 175 and Route 100 corridors, have seen an increase in interest in offices in west Anne Arundel County.

The interest in that portion of the county comes primarily as a result of growth at Fort Meade. Moving the U.S. Cyber Command to the base has attracted various contractors to the western portion of the county. The Route 100 corridor has also attracted increased attention because of its proximity to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Arundel Mills.

About 71 percent of commercial development completed or proposed between 2012 and 2013 in the county was around the Route 175 or Route 100 corridors.

Sen. Ben Cardin, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and Rep. John Sarbanes are scheduled to attend the groundbreaking.