E-Newsletter

Fairfax County E-Bird for October 22, 2019

Higher and higher: Fairfax County supervisors approved The View at Tysons , a six-building complex that includes a skyscraper that would be the region’s tallest building, a title currently held (for occupied structures) by the Capital One Tower across Tysons. The Washington Business Journal notes The View would have direct access to the Spring Hill Metro Station.

Buon appetito: Merrifield-based restaurant software startup MarginEdge raised $5 million in fresh funding, the company announced Tuesday. The Washington Business Journal‘s Andy Medici says Osage Venture Partners led the round. This brings its total funding since MarginEdge’s founding in 2015 to $10.4 million, he writes.

Awesome foursome: Four Fairfax County companies made Fortune magazine’s list of the best medium-sized workplaces for 2019: Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. in the Alexandria area ranked #2; two Reston companies, Collaborative Solutions and Whitney, Bradley & Brown, ranked #6 and #75 respectively; and Expel in Herndon ranked #85.

Cold (case) remedies: Reston-based Parabon NanoLabs is using its genetic-genealogy services to help crack cold criminal cases – and it is getting a lot of attention to boot. Washington Business Journal has the scoop on where it has gone to work in the U.S.

Power brokers: The Washington Business Journal announced its 100 most influential business people in the Washington region, and of course Fairfax County is well represented. The list includes Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA; Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of Reston-based General Dynamics; Teresa Carlson, vice president of Amazon Web Services, which has its east coast campus in Herndon; and Richard Fairbank, chairman and CEO of Tysons-based Capital One.

Now hear this: The FCEDA kicks off its latest Procurement Academy on government contracting and innovation with a focus on cybersecurity and homeland security and collaboration between U.S. and Israel. Event partners are BIRD, a bi-national industrial research and development foundation, and 22nd Century Technologies. Click here.

Talent is king: Companies these days prefer to locate where talent is, and that poses both a challenge and an opportunity, FCEDA President and CEO Victor Hoskins told the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce last week. As Brian Trompeter reports for InsideNOVA, Hoskins envisions a system matching jobs, apprenticeships and internships with candidates.

Forward motion: Metro hired commercial real estate company Stout & Teague to redevelop 12 acres around the Huntington Metro Station. ALX Now says the firm will work with Fairfax County to re-zone the land for mixed-use development. This has been tried before, ALX Now notes, but the timing is better because of the Huntington Station’s connections to Amazon HQ2 and the link to Richmond Highway’s coming bus rapid transit line.

Declaration of service: Tysons-based Declaration Networks Group, which delivers broadband service to rural areas, was cited in Microsoft President Brad Smith’s new book. According to a release picked up by Digital Journal, Smith said DNG was the right Microsoft Airband partner to deliver a viable broadband solution in a rural county in Washington State.

Willing and able: Chantilly-based AbleVets, a service-disabled veteran-owned health IT engineering and consulting company, will be acquired by Kansas City-based Cerner. GovConWire said the move will support Cerner’s efforts to provide integrated care for service personnel, veterans and their families.

All fired up: Mclean-based Logi Analytics is teaming up with Conservation International to monitor the Amazon wildfires. Technical.ly DC reports that the pair built a real-time interactive analytics dashboard that can track the progress and activity of these wildfires.

Core values: Data company CoreSite opened its newest colocation facility, VA3, in Reston. Data Economy reports that VA3 is the first phase in a multiple-facility build-out of the company’s new data center space.

Fun and games: The St. James, Springfield’s sports complex, signed its first partnerships with athletic brands TaylorMade and Technifibre. The Washington Business Journal reports that the two brands will produce events, host clinics, and conduct many other activities at the complex.

Capital idea: Fairfax County will double the number of Capital Bikeshare stations in Reston by 2020. Reston Now reports that the bike stations, which are funded by a $1 million federal grant, will provide neighborhoods with easy access to transit.

Common ground: The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Campus Commons mixed-use redevelopment project in Reston. Reston Now notes it is the latest project near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station to gain county approval.

Take a bow, Bobbie: The Northern Virginia Tech Council’s longtime president and CEO, Bobbie Kilberg, announced she will retire next June after more than two decades at the helm. The Washington Business Journal has more on her legacy (and a quote from FCEDA President and CEO Victor Hoskins).

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County:

  • BAE Systems received a potential $437 million task order to provide open source support services for the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command. GovConWire
  • Leidos received a follow-on contract worth up to $150 million over five years to provide a range of software development services supporting the Office of Extramural Research within the National Institutes of Health. WashingtonExec
  • A Salient CRGT subsidiary will manage a prime contract worth up to $115 million over five years to provide IT services to the Government Accountability Office. WashingtonExec
  • Leonardo DRS will continue manufacturing its weapon-sight technology for the Army under an $89 million order. GovConWire

Featured business events

  • October 29 — TiE DC Capital GovCon. A forward-looking and informative conference for companies looking to do business with the federal government. Hear from government contracting leaders in our region, connect with TiE DC’s community of government contractors and learn how to achieve your growth goals. E-Bird readers get 10% off tickets. Enter the code “PARTNER10” at check out. Click here.
  • November 5 — Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a Business in Fairfax County. Presented by the FCEDA with its partners the Community Business Partnership, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, and the Fairfax County government. Click here.
  • November 7 — Autonomous Technology Summit. The event will showcase Virginia’s leadership in autonomous systems technology and highlight best practices, new business models and technology transfer. Presented by the Northern Virginia Technology Council in partnership with the Virginia Unmanned Systems Center at the Center for Innovative Technology. Click here.
  • November 13 — Procurement Academy: U.S.-Israel Innovation in Cyber, Homeland Security, Government.  An FCEDA Procurement Academy workshop on government contracting and innovation with a focus on cybersecurity and homeland security and collaboration between U.S. and Israel. Event partners are BIRD, a bi-national industrial research and development foundation, and 22nd Century Technologies. Click here.
  • November 14 — BL Small Business Expo. Visit with about 70 different exhibitors presenting a wide range of products and services that could help you enhance your business and/or life. Keynote speaker will be Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA. Click here.
  • November 14 — Opportunity Richmond Highway. Learn about new financial incentives for new development on Richmond Highway such as Opportunity Zones and the Economic Growth Improvement Program. Presented by the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation and the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce. Speakers include Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA. Click here.