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New jobs: Macedon Technologies will expand its corporate headquarters in Reston, investing $1.65 million and creating an expected 147 jobs. The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure the project for Virginia, which competed with Texas, and will provide job creation support through the state-funded Virginia Jobs Investment Program. Virginia Business reported the story.

Lucky number: Thirteen Fairfax County-based companies made the Forbes magazine ranking of ‘America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2020.’ The Fairfax County-based businesses account for half of the 26 companies on the list from the Washington, D.C., area. Fairfax County also has more companies on the list than 38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Check out the list in the Fairfax County Times. 

Open for business: Education technology company Blackboard officially opened its new global headquarters in Plaza America in Reston on January 27, 2020, according to JMU’s The Breeze. The company announced the relocation plans one year ago in January 2019. See FCEDA’s announcement and video.

Polar projects: Reston-based Leidos, Herndon-based network technology firm Artel, and Reston-based SES Government Solutions partnered to provide satellite-based connectivity and establish live streams to support the research efforts at the National Science Foundation’s Palmer Station, an Antarctica-based research station, ExecutiveBiz reported.

Swip-swap: Capital One asked Fairfax County for permission to swap out a planned hotel for about 385,200 square feet of office space on the 26-acre property in Tysons. Alex Koma covered the story in the Washington Business Journal.

2020 tech predictions: Agencies will increase the use of data, virtual and augmented reality tools and blockchain to support federal information technology operations, predicted Juliana Vida, chief technical adviser, Splunk‘s location in Tysons, in a guest piece: “Will 2020 Be the Year of Data?” for Nextgov.

Leasing flurry: During 2019, Reston-based Comstock signed more than 500,000 square feet of new office leases at the Reston Station development, including to Google, Rolls-Royce, Neustar, ICF and Solar Winds. “We expect demand for trophy office space will continue,” said Christopher Clemente, Comstock’s CEO, in a Q&A in the Commercial Observer.

Park place: Building parks is a priority in the plans for transforming Tysons into a mixed-use destination, with a 5-acre “signature central park,” which will be dedicated to Fairfax County once it’s constructed. Watch Fairfax County Park Authority senior park planner Andrea Dorlester talk about park construction plans for Tysons in a WDVM video.

And a park perch: Plans are underway to open a “park in the sky” on top of Capital One Hall and its parking podium in Fall 2021. To be situated more than 10 stories above the street, amenities in the park will include a beer garden, interactive art sculptures, performances, and more, according to Tysons Reporter.

Mason MOU: A first-of-its-kind MOU with an academic university was signed between Defense Logistics Agency Energy and George Mason University. The agreement will foster employment opportunities for Mason students under the DLA Pathways to Career Excellence Program, Pathways Intern Programs, and other DLA employment programs, GMU News reported.

Edu-expansion: Herndon-based K12, a provider of online learning for many virtual public schools, as well as homeschooling, will acquire Galvanize, a company focused on developing talent for individuals and corporations in technical fields such as software engineering and data science for $165 million. K12 said the acquisition will accelerate its entry into the technical education market, according to citybizlist.

Easy riders: The Fairfax County government will contribute $140,000 in support of the next phase of a plan to develop high-quality bus service in the Route 7 corridor. The Route 7 bus-rapid-transit proposal aims to connect Tysons to Alexandria by way of Falls Church, Seven Corners and Baileys Crossroads, Inside Nova reported.

Student accolades: Two Fairfax County Public Schools students are among the top 40 finalists of the 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search, Regeneron and Society for Science and the Public. The finalists from FCPS are Victoria Graf and Ankit Gupta of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, wrote Patch reporter Emily Leayman.

Campus change: The four-building Reston Business Campus on Pinecrest Drive in Reston was sold to Bethesda-based 10^th Street, a real estate and development company, for $13 million, according to the seller, Bethesda-based commercial real estate firm Finmarc Management. The buildings are located in close proximity to Fairfax County Parkway and the Dulles Toll Road. Reston Now covered the story.

Electro ride: Fairfax County Public Schools will receive its first electric school buses by the end of the year. Dominion Energy plans to support 50 electric buses distributed across 16 localities in the first phase of its initiative, which aims to replace all of the diesel school buses in Virginia with electric vehicles by 2030, the Fairfax County Times reported.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

PAE and Serco won a prime position on a $5.1 billion contract to enhance and expand technology support for warfighters. PAE also won spots on the contract through the small business restricted track, by partnering with established small business technology companies. Washington Executive

Huntington Ingalls Industries won a five-year, $954 million contract to support manned and unmanned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functions of the Air Force. Washington Technology

Perspecta secured a $810 million State Department contract to provide the Bureau of Consular Affairs with IT services. Washington Business Journal

Booz Allen Hamilton obtained a $178 million contract from the U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center and the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center to provide technical engineering services to support the modernization of global positioning systems. ExecutiveBiz

M.C. Dean won a six-year, $98 million contract to provide electronic security and emergency management systems for installation on shore facilities operated by the Department of Defense and federal government worldwide. GovConWire

Intelligent Waves obtained a contract worth up to $48 million from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Under the deal, the company will provide a range of global satellite communications services that use the commercial Iridium satellite constellation. Potomac Tech Wire

OBXtek won a $26.8 million contract to provide support services to the Air Force Special Operations Command’s Joint Terminal Attack Control program. Under the deal, the company will continue to provide personnel and support services to meet mission requirements. Potomac Tech Wire

Science Applications International Corp. secured a five-year, $12.8 million contract to provide information technology support services to the U.S. Army in South Korea. ExecutiveBiz

Parsons won a new task order from the General Services Administration to provide architecture development, systems engineering, secure communications and cyber-risk and threat assessment for weapon systems. Potomac Tech Wire

Featured business events

February 3 — Israel-Virginia Technology Innovation and Collaboration. Hosted by FCEDA and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, a conference focused on trends in the U.S. and Israel in defense, aerospace, homeland security, border and infrastructure protection, and marine and land tactical surveillance. A delegation of 17 Israeli manufacturing companies will attend the event and there will be an opportunity for one-on-one meetings to explore partnerships with these companies. Click here.

February 4 — Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a Business in Fairfax County. The FCEDA presents monthly workshops with our partners: the Fairfax County Government, Fairfax County-based Community Business Partnership, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Click here.