CACI International, one of the country’s largest government defense, intelligence, and cyber security contractors, cut the ribbon on its new Reston headquarters last week.

The corporate headquarters of the nearly $6 billion company is now located in a newly renovated 135,000-square-foot, six-story building at 12021 Sunset Hills Road across the street from the impending Reston Town Center Metro station.

“We’re very excited about our updated modern facilities and confident that this new building will be key to continuing this vital work for our customers’ important national security missions and groundbreaking technology,” CACI President and CEO John Mengucci said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The building will house approximately 450 employees as well as a Center for Research, Application, Development, Learning and Engagement (CRADLE). The workshop will allow employees and clients to interactively work together on concept design and prototypes.

CACI headquarters was located in Ballston for nearly fifty years, but the company signed a lease with Boston Properties, which owns nearby Reston Town Center, late last year to move into two-decade-old building.

Bearing the slogan “Ever Vigilant,” CACI has become one of the nation’s leading defense contractors since its founding in 1962. In fact, President Joe Biden’s recent nominee for the assistant secretary of defense for readiness job is a former employee.

In attendance at the ribbon-cutting were a number of local officials, including Rep. Gerry Connolly, who represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional district which includes large swaths of Reston and Herndon.

Connolly complimented the company’s foresight and spoke about the region’s continued growth.

“[CACI has] chosen a location that is only going to grow in economic investment and technological importance in the coming years: the Dulles corridor,” he said. “This is maybe one of the most dynamic economic corridors in the United States. It is certainly going to eclipse even downtown Washington as the single most important investment and economic corridor in the capital region.”

He also noted that the building’s proximity to a soon-to-be-opened Metro station showcases why extending the Silver Line was critical to economic growth in Reston and Herndon, a sentiment echoed by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

“It’s an affirmation that the long-term development strategy of transit-oriented development makes sense,” Alcorn told Reston Now. “It’s important to have employers like CACI in Reston, where there are multiple transportation options available to workers, visitors, and others using the facilities.”

Building around public transportation, Alcorn notes, allows more people to benefit from economic and development activity.

Del. Ken Plum, who represents Virginia’s 36th House District, says that, as Reston and Fairfax County grow as a economic and technology center of the region, there needs to be efforts to service a diverse workforce.

“We also need to recognize the service workers and others that support [this headquarters],” Plum said to Reston Now. “We’ve also got to accommodate them with appropriate housing and transportation alternatives. It’s all good to cut a ribbon, but we have to recognize the bigger picture…and provide the support structure necessary.”

Even as some workers return to offices with vaccine rates rising, there may be a permanent shift toward more teleworking as opposed to employees coming into an office every day, a possibility anticipated by the renovations and more open work spaces in CACI’s new headquarters, Mengucci said.

Both Alcorn and Plum say a more flexible approach to work spaces could have positive ramifications on everything from public transportation to child care.

“The new normal is recognizing working at home doesn’t reduce productivity,” Plum said. “I think we are seeing an increasing emphasis on that as an option.”

However, bringing more companies like CACI to Reston remains a priority for tax revenue reasons as well as continuing to grow Fairfax County’s economy.

“They’re still very much a role for office space in centralized commercial locations,” Alcorn said. “But people will have more options now, not only about where they live, but also how often they come into work.”

Fairfax County Parks Removes Mask Requirements for Fully Vaccinated Visitors — “Fully vaccinated Fairfax County Park Authority visitors will no longer be required to wear masks. Visitors who are not fully vaccinated and children under 12 years old will be required to wear a mask except as outlined in the Virginia Governor’s Order 79.” [Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park/LinkedIn]

Metro Service Increases Proposed — Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld is set to propose sweeping changes to both rail and bus service at a finance and capital committee meeting today (Wednesday). Possible changes include keeping stations until midnight, instead of 11 p.m., starting this summer and increasing the frequency of both trains and buses. [WTOP]

Herndon Office Plaza Sold — New York investment firm Innovatus Capital Partners has acquired the Dulles Executive Plaza office buildings at 13530 and 13560 Dulles Technology Drive in Herndon for $113.5 million. The 384,336-square-foot complex is mostly occupied by Lockheed Martin Corp., which leases half the property through 2024, and the private security company Constellis LLC, which leases 28% of the square footage under a deal that runs through 2031. [Washington Business Journal]

Reston Construction Company to Design Gas-to-Gasoline Facility — “Nacero has awarded Bechtel the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract for the first natural gas-to-gasoline manufacturing facility in the United States. Nacero’s 115,000 barrel per day plant in Penwell, Texas…will be the first gasoline manufacturing plant in the world to incorporate carbon capture, sequestration, and 100% renewable power.” [Chemical Engineering]

Remember the U.S.S. Herndon — In the wake of Memorial Day, the Herndon Historical Society tells the story of the two U.S. Navy ships named after the Town of Herndon’s namesake, Commander William Lewis Herndon, a Navy officer who died in 1857 when his ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean at the hands of a devastating hurricane. [Patch]

In the third quarter of this year, more than a dozen companies in the county brought more than 450 jobs to the county.

Two Information Technology companies based in Herndon added roughly 35 jobs. Learning Tree International, which provides IT training, certification and management courses, is adding 25 jobs. BITS, an IT company that is classified as an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business, brought 10 jobs to the area.

Ranstand Technologies, which is based in Tysons, topped this list by adding 300 IT jobs in fiscal year 2020.

Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said most of the companies were highly focused on technology.

“Technology is the backbone of the Fairfax County economy, and we are proud to have companies growing in a wide variety of tech sectors – and throughout many areas of the county too,” Hoskins wrote in a statement. “The diversity of these companies also is keeping Northern Virginia globally competitive.”

Tysons-based companies dominated the list of 14 companies.

Photo via Unsplash

Some of the area’s largest cybersecurity companies are located in Herndon and Reston, according to a ranking by the Washington Business Journal.

Three companies in Reston and Herndon topped WBJ’s list, which ranks the largest cybersecurity companies in the Greater DC area by the number of employees, total revenue last year, and total Metro-area revenue.

More information on the local companies is below:

• Carahsoft Technology Corp. (Ranked #1): The company, which helps the public sector manage and reduce cybersecurity risks, has 1,282 employees, including 948 in the Metro-area. Last year, the company brought in $5.4 million in total revenue.
• Iron Bow Technologies LLC (Ranked #2): Located at 2302 Dulles Station Boulevard, the company boasted $1 billion in revenue last year.  It has 680 total employees, 510 of which are based in the Metro-area.
• ThunderCat Technology LLC (Ranked #3): The company, which is located at 1925 Isaac Newton Square, brought in $503 million last year,  roughly $289 million of which was in the Metro-area. The company has 84 employees.

Overall, 18 of the region’s 25 largest cybersecurity companies are located in Fairfax County.

Photo via Unsplash

Two incoming county board members who won the Democratic nomination launched a policy platform on Tuesday (Oct. 1) to attract and increase technology development in the county.

Walter Alcorn, the Democratic nominee for Hunter Mill District Supervisor, and Rodney Lusk, the Democratic nominee for Lee District Supervisor,  pitched the plan at a public event in Tysons.

In their first year of office, both Democrats say they want to establish a technology accelerator on the historic Richmond Highway Corridor that focuses on creating technology for governments and commercial markets.

They also want to forge partnerships with colleges, universities and governmental research firms to identify emerging technology markets.

By doing so, they hope Fairfax County will become a “test bed” for demonstrating new technologies like last mile delivery systems and self-driving cars.

“Over the years we have done a terrific job of diversifying our economy and ensuring that we remain on the cutting edge of innovation. However, as new technologies continue to emerge at an ever-increasing rate, it’s critical that as a county we not only work to keep pace, but also leverage the economic opportunities created by these developments to address the many needs and challenges that still exist in our region,” Alcorn said.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) lauded the incoming supervisors for their work.

“This is an area that’s new, it’s exciting, and my hope is that through partnering with Walter and Rodney my office can help move this forward,” Warner said.

Both Alcorn and Lusk are running unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election. They expect to release more details on their plans early next year.

Photo via Walter Alcorn

Companies and organizations looking to host events in Northern Virginia have another option for a venue following the opening of a new event center in Herndon.

Trajectory Event Center, which is located at 13665 Dulles Technology Drive, Suite 150, includes meeting spaces for up to 300 people.

The center is designed to host corporate events, training sessions, sales meetings, product launches, receptions, and other events, especially for companies within the Dulles Technology Corridor.

Different packages are available to reserve rooms. Room features include live streaming, duplex video conferencing and polycom phone access.

An open house is set for Wednesday, September 25 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Photos via Kristen Quin Cody

Light Shines on ‘Humble Reston Artist’ — “John Charles Koebert of Reston said that when he came home from college in the 1970s, and announced to his parents that he had decided to change his life direction and become an art major, he recalled that they said, “You are making a hard 90 degree turn to nowhere. …You’ll be living with us for the next fifty years.” After college, Koebert embraced his new career teaching art during the day and honing his artistic skills at night.” [The Connection]

ThreatQuotient Banks Millions in Funding — “Reston threat intelligence and security software company ThreatQuotient Inc. has raised $7.86 million in fresh funding — and it aims to double in size in the next year, according to CEO John Czupak.” [Washington Business Journal]

County Companies Top Fastest-Growing Businesses List — “Fairfax County is home to 116 companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 list, which is 37 percent of the 315 companies on the list from the Washington region and more than double the number from any other Washington-area county or city. Fairfax County’s businesses also account for 40 percent of Virginia’s 288 businesses appearing on this year’s list.“  [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Microsoft Corp. is on the hunt for up to 300,000 square feet of office space in Northern Virginia, which could require the company to consolidate offices from two other locations.

The Washington Business Journal reports that the company is working with commercial real estate services firm JLL to find prospects across Northern Virginia. Properties in Reston — including Comstock’s Loudoun and Reston Station projects, Brookfield’s Halley Rise, and Boston Properties’ Reston Gateway.

Currently, Microsoft leases 275,000 square feet at Reston Town Center.

Here’s more from the report:

The search appears to separate from the 332-acre site Microsoft acquired last year in Leesburg for $73 million. The company hasn’t filed development plans for that site yet, but as the WBJ reported in May, the company may have acquired the land at least in part to advance its effort to secure a pair of multi-billion-dollar government contracts. That makes the Leesburg land a more likely play for data center development to service the government cloud computing contracts than for office space of the sort it has at Reston Town Center.

Moving to one of those other development sites might better position Microsoft to bring all of its local employees under one roof.

WBJ also reports that Facebook is also scouting for space in Reston after the social media giant scratched Tysons off its list.

Meanwhile, Google is expected to begin moving its current employee based into Reston Station’s signature office building this summer.

File photo

Two Reston-based companies have secured a $750,000 federal grant to lead the Northern Virginia Smart City Initiative, which aims to bring government, private and nonprofit partners to advance the area’s smart city technology innovation cluster.

Smart City Works, a Reston-based nonprofit business accelerator, and Refraction, a co-working innovation hub that supports startups and high-growth companies, will advance the initiative in order to improve the livability and resilience of cities.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded grants to 26  application from a pool of 183 submission. The Reston companies received the maximum amount of available funding.

Here’s more from the EDA on the initiative:

With the i6 Challenge grant, the Initiative will: 1) accelerate the development and lower the risk profile of companies seeking to provide innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges; 2) grow the number of startups and highly skilled tech talent in the region; (3) accelerate the commercialization of innovative products and 4) strengthen the regional smart city cluster supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization.

Over the three-year grant period, the Northern Virginia Smart Region Initiative will create a stronger innovation cluster that will attract talent and capital to the region, stimulate economic development that benefits the entire community, and help to solve the region’s infrastructure challenges.

More than 45 companies are expected to graduate from the accelerator program, which could launch more than 30 new smart city products. The initiative is expected to generate 90 new jobs.

Photo via U.S. Department of Commerce

FireEye, a publicly-traded cybersecurity company based in Silicon Valley, has acquired a local security company.

The company announced that it has required McLean-based security company Verodin.

A spokesperson for the company wrote the following about the acquisition:

In April, the company announced it was expanding its Reston footprint. Their offices are located at 11955 Freedom Drive… FireEye announced their continued expansion in the Reston area in April and has now taken another step towards establishing its dominance in the growing cyber security industry with the purchase of McLean, VA-based Verodin.  This acquisition will grow FireEye’s footprint in the tech corridor as the region continues to draw top-tier companies.  

Equipped with FireEye’s frontline intelligence, the Verodin platform will measure and test security environments against both known and newly discovered threats, empowering organizations to rapidly adapt their defense.  

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

FireEye offers a single platform for organizations struggling to prevent and respond to cyber attacks. Since it was founded in 2004 by Ashar Aziz, the company has filed more than 150 patents for technology related to cyber threat protections.

The company also has offices in Alexandria, where FireEye’s cybersecurity consultants are located. Overall, the company has more than 7,700 clients in 103 countries.

Photo via FireEye

How Reston Became the Place for Tech Expansion — “Sandwiched between major roadways within its close proximity to the nation’s capital, Reston has grown to become a noteworthy technology town in Northern Virginia. Located in an area often dubbed the “Silicon Valley of the East,” Reston continues to see significant growth in the technology sector.” [ICS Blog]

County Responds to Public Record Requests — The volume and complexity of Freedom of Information Act requests continues to increase. Last year, the county received 8,459 FOIA requests, an average of 34 requests per working day. [Fairfax County Government]

Flickr pool photo by vantagehill

FireEye, a publicly-traded cybersecurity company based in Silicon Valley, has moved into an expanded office in Reston.

The new location at 11955 Freedom Drive in Reston will house the company’s biggest security operations center. More than 300 employees are expected to work at the new site.

Charles Carmakal, the company’s vice president, told Reston Now that FireEye’s new location offers “room for future expansion needs.”

“In line with this, FireEye plans to continue to hire top security professionals for all roles out of Reston, including technology, engineering and consulting,” he said.

FireEye offers a single platform for organizations struggling to prevent and respond to cyber attacks. Since it was founded in 2004 by Ashar Aziz, the company has filed more than 150 patents for technology related to cyber threat protections.

Carmakal also said the company chose Reston to leverage technology security talent present in the Dulles Technology Corridor. The company has had offices in Reston since 2011.

The company also has offices in Alexandria, where FireEye’s cybersecurity consultants are located. Overall, the company has more than 7,700 clients in 103 countries.

Photos via FireEye

(Updated at 9:15 a.m.) The education technology company Blackboard Inc. announced today (Jan. 2) plans to move its global headquarters from D.C. to Reston this year.

“The new location will combine the company’s existing D.C. and Reston offices into a new modern office in the heart of Northern Virginia’s tech corridor,” according to a press release.

Blackboard, currently headquartered at 1111 19th Street NW, will relocate to the Plaza America complex (11720 Plaza America Drive), where its Reston office is already located, Washington Business Journal reported.

The company’s D.C.-area workforce is currently divided between its D.C. and Reston offices.

“We are excited to bring our Metro D.C. area workforce together into a new global headquarters in the vibrant Northern Virginia tech corridor,” Blackboard Chairman, CEO and President Bill Ballhaus said in the press release.

Ballhaus said that the new office space will offer “convenient access” to dining, shopping and transportation.

“We are delighted that Blackboard chose Fairfax County for its global headquarters and will expand its footprint here,” Catherine Riley, the interim president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said in a press release.

Riley added that Blackboard’s decision to be based in Northern Virginia’s “technology corridor” is “an additional confirmation of the value of Fairfax County for innovative companies from across the technology spectrum.”

Blackboard joins several other tech companies that have recently decided to move their headquarters to or expand in Reston, including IDEMIA, Refraction and 1901 Group.

I look forward to welcoming Blackboard's global headquarters to Reston this year! https://t.co/z9QevkLt4f @RestonNow @FairfaxEDA

— Sharon Bulova (@SharonBulova) January 3, 2019

Image via Google Maps