US Bureau Of Engraving And Printing To Build New Production Facility For Paper Currency In MD
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is planning to build a new environmentally friendly production facility for paper currency and other federal securities in Prince George's County, state officials said Wednesday.
The agency within the Treasury Department will build the plant on a 104-acre site located at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
"Over the past three years, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the state of Maryland have worked closely on evaluating the potential for this Beltsville facility and determining how we can best work together to make this project successful," said Gov. Larry Hogan. "Learning that the land has been officially transferred is another step in the right direction for moving this project forward. We look forward to seeing the Bureau and its hundreds of employees call Maryland home."
The new plant will eventually replace one in Southwest Washington, D.C. A second plant in Fort Worth, Texas, is the only other facility where the federal government produces all seven denominations of paper currency.
The U.S. Mint, responsible for producing coinage and storing precious metals, has six facilities across the country, including two making quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies for circulation.
The agency plans to complete designs for the new building by summer 2023.
Once it's opened, the facility will have at least 850 employees working onsite, with another 600 working remotely. The project, which is being overseen by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Baltimore District, is scheduled to be completed by 2027.
The Maryland Department of Commerce said 65% of the bureau's employees already live in the state and will have shorter commutes when the plant is operational.
"County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has been a consistent advocate for the BEP's move to Prince George's County," said David Iannucci, president of the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation. "We take pride in knowing that Prince George's County will be one of only two locations in the country where U.S. currency is printed. Increasing the number of federal jobs, and federal investment, in the county have long been a key part of our strategic focus for growing the county's economy."
Maryland was named as a possible site for the facility in 2019.