INSIDE An Early Look At Leesburg's Incubator ....Page 4 J ULY 2011 VOLUME 8 NO. 8
Business Leaders Call For Rail Resolution Support Builds For LaHood Phase 2 Cost-Cutting Plan By Erika Jacobson Moore & Kara Clark, Staff Writers
The soaring costs of the Rail to Dulles project have brought local business leaders off the sidelines to press the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors as well as local, state and federal government leaders to quickly reassess the structure of the project’s Phase 2 financing plan. A group of business leaders organized a press conference June 23, just steps away from a future Metrorail station at Wiehle Avenue in Reston to protest the rising price tag. Leaders from the Loudoun, Fairfax, Dulles and Reston Chambers of Commerce called on the MWAA board to cut costs on
the Dulles Rail Phase 2 project. If not, they contend, the project may fail. The group maintained that the increasing cost of Phase 2 has not only made it unaffordable for local governments, area businesses and Dulles Toll Road users, but also threatens the project’s financial viability. In a letter delivered to MWAA Board President Charles Snelling June 22, the Chambers urged MWAA to seek cost reductions in five specific areas. Fairfax County Chamber president Jim Corcoran said that they believe about $1 billion could be saved from Phase 2 if all five recommendations were pursued by MWAA. First, the group asked MWAA to eliminate the requirement that the primary contractor implement a mandatory Project See Dulles Rail, Page 8
Loudoun Business/Kara Clark
Loudoun Chamber of Commerce President Tony Howard stood among the leaders of other local Chambers June 23 during a press conference in Reston.
Growing Market: Demand Continues For Data Centers New County Task Force Eyes Options For Alternative Energy Resources By Kara Clark, Staff Writer Loudoun’s data center industry continues to boom and shows no signs of slowing down. That’s according to Loudoun County Business Development Manager Buddy Rizer, who is responsible for recruiting prospects in what has been one of Loudoun’s strongest suits. “Loudoun County has become the number one place for data centers in the world,” he said. “We really see no end to
the demand.” Conservative estimates show that more than 50 percent of the world’s Internet traffic passes through Loudoun, but many speculate that number to be higher, in the 70 percent range. Almost 4 million square feet of data center space exists in the county right now, with another 500,000 square feet planned or under construction. Rizer also says there’s another 2 million square feet of potential data center construction in the pipeline. “I like our chances of winning that,” PRSRT STD U.S. Postage
PAID Permit #78 Springfield, VA
he said. “We see a ton in the pipeline and that’s what’s made our success story so really, really impressive.” According to Rizer, there is literally no existing supply of data center space in the county and many developers wait to build another such space until an existing percentage is already leased. Very few operators build pure spec space, he said. “Demand is outpacing delivery right now,” Rizer said. And his words couldn’t ring more true. Over the past few years, several big data center suppliers, most notably Digital Realty Trust, have had to speed up data center construction projects to meet the increasing demand. So, what is it that makes Loudoun County so attractive to data center users? It’s the infrastructure, says Rizer. “No one has a better accommodation of space, power and redundant fiber than Loudoun County,” he said.
The rise of cloud computing has also paid dividends for Loudoun. “As more and more is being pushed to the cloud, it’s driving a lot of this demand,” Rizer said. “More and more storage is being pushed to the cloud and the good news for us is that cloud has to be grounded somewhere. By and large it’s becoming more and more grounded in Loudoun County.” And the benefits for the county are endless. While data centers provide a significant boost to the tax rolls, they do not come with the needs presented by other commercial developments, namely road improvements and school construction, as they employ very few individuals. “With our unemployment rate at 3.9 percent, the most important thing for us is high-value real estate,” he said. “It’s a perfect industry for us in the right places.” Rizer stresses that last point, as only certain economic clusters in Loudoun are See Data Centers, Page 11