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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alan Fogg,
Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600
Fairfax County EDA signs lease for first biotech/bioinformatics incubator in northern Virginia
Springfield center for early-stage companies expected to open in mid 2002
Fairfax County, Virginia, March 11, 2002 — The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) has leased space in a Springfield building that will house northern Virginia's first technology incubator geared to accelerating the growth of early-stage biotechnology and bioinformatics companies. The incubator is expected to open in mid-2002 once the space is built out.
The FCEDA has leased 7,288 square feet of space at 7001 Loisdale Road in Springfield, near the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station and the Northern Virginia Community College medical education campus that is under construction. The five-year lease with the building owner, Blair Inc., will cost $17.50 a square foot per year.
The FCEDA (www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org) has contracted with ANGLE Technology Group (www.ANGLETechnology.com), a global technology management company, to develop and manage the incubator. ANGLE will provide extensive business development services for client companies.
The FCEDA developed the idea of the center as a way to spur the growth of the biotech and bioinformatics companies in northern Virginia and help create new economic opportunities in the Springfield area. The incubator will be the second started by the FCEDA. An incubator that opened in the Baileys Crossroads area in 1999 focuses on early-stage information technology companies.
"Bioinformatics and biotechnology has the potential to generate economic growth and wealth over the next decade as information technology did in the last,"said Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO of the FCEDA. "We see the growth of this industry in Springfield as a way to improve the economic stability of northern Virginia."
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority assists businesses by identifying possible sites and facilities, and is a source for up-to-date demographic and economic statistics. The FCEDA maintains programs to link entrepreneurs with funding sources and accelerate the growth of small, minority and women-owned companies. The FCEDA also maintains marketing offices in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
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