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The Loudoun Tribune I September 21, 2017
LoudounTribune.com
Will Amazon's Second HQ be in Loudoun? HQ2 Will Equal The Size Of Current Campus In Seattle By Joseph Dill Joseph@LoudounTribune.com
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mazon, the international order-fulfillment behemoth, has announced plans for a second headquarters in North America – nicknamed Amazon HQ2 by the company. Community leaders who can attract that headquarter will be wearing smiles bigger than an Amazon delivery box, and Amazon has one message for American communities: Let the bidding begin. According to its website, Amazon expects to invest more than $5 billion in construction and grow the second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs – it will be a full equal to the current campus in Seattle. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is
expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community. Like every other community, Loudoun County would love to be the chosen location. Loudoun County Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer said that this is not just misplaced hope. "We were made aware of this opportunity earlier this week,” Rizer said in a statement posted on LCED's Facebook page. “Obviously, we have a great working relationship with the team from Seattle and will pursue this opportunity with our full resources.” Rizer said the county offers many unique selling points for Amazon. "Loudoun County would be the perfect place for Amazon to locate their East Coast headquarters,” Rizer said. “Our new Metro stops, great access to Washington Dulles International Airport and unmatched work-
force checks all the boxes for any major corporate relocation.” Amazon estimates its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy. According to the company's website, the Seattle headquarters contains 33 buildings
with 24 restaurants and cafes and eight other service business located on the campus. The Amazon headquarters employs more than 40,000 people directly and the company estimates more than 53,000 jobs were indirectly generated by its current location.
LOCAL BUSINESSES ON INC. 5,000 LIST By Joseph Dill Joseph@LoudounTribune.com
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e are constantly bombarded with superlatives about life and business in Loudoun County. Fastest. Richest. Happiest. Another measure of at least two of those was launched with Inc. Magazine’s release of it 2017 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in America. Loudoun County was represented with 23 of those – including No. 50 on the list: FedBiz IT Solutions of Leesburg. “It’s an exciting time for growth in this area,” said Chris Hunter, business retention manager for the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development. “If you look back at 2013, Loudoun County had eight companies in the list. From there it has just been exponential growth. In 2015 we had 26 so that growth from 2013 was a huge growth and from there we have been continuing to foster our relationships with the companies and fostering the growth and we have seen a steady.”
As impressive as it was to have a company crack the top 50, Hunter and DED Marketing and Communications Manager Lois Kirkpatrick also highlighted four companies who earned gold medallions for making the list for at least five years straight. FCi Federal and Media Prowler made the list for the sixth year in a row, while Strongbridge and federal government contractor Ian, Evan and Alexander made it five straight. “Although we’ve won more than $7 billion in commercial investment over the last three years, we’re interested in more than just business attraction and expansion. We want all Loudoun companies to experience sustained, year-over-year growth,” DED Executive Director Buddy Rizer said. Five companies – InfiniSource Consulting Solutions, B3 Group, Punch Cyber Analytics Group, SinglePoint Global and Unimex – made the list for the first time. “I think what’s also exciting is the diversity,” Hunter said. “I think you see is most of them are technology oriented. You see a lot of them are government contract, you see IT solutions
and cyber-security are three of the top themes we have seen throughout the years. That actually is positioned almost exactly with our targeted clusters, as we call them. The kind of companies we are trying to recruit and maintain are these fast-growing companies.” Hunter said neighboring areas like Fairfax County and Washington may have more companies on the list because they simply have more companies overall. He stressed the increase in Loudoun’s representation speaks volumes. “One of the advantages we have here in Loudoun County is the incubators we have here. Like the Mason Center, Brickyard and Terminal 68, and some of these companies are actually housed there,” he said. “One of the springboards for this has been the incubators through the universities like George Mason.” He said having a proximity to the nation’s capital, having a Historically Underutilized Business Zone in Leesburg and Dulles Airport are other huge advantages. “I think quality of life is what separates us from our eastern counterparts,”
Hunter said. “Two-thirds of the county is pretty much rural or agricultural. You’ve got the mountains the breweries, the wineries. It’s that quality of life out here that sometimes attracts the business owners and then sometimes the business follows that.” Hunter said forward-thinking government is also an asset. “A lot of this comes from the board of supervisors,” he said. “Years ago, they decided that investing in economic development is huge. They made the investment in human capital that we need to drive the enconomic engine.” The full roster of Loudoun companies on the 2017 Inc. 5000 list: MEDALLION WINNERS (five or more years on the list) Name
FCi Federal Media Prowler Ian, Evan & Alexander Strongbridge
Rank
Years on list
Growth Rate
2,118
6
600 %
3,824
6
600 %
1,341
5
500 %
4,501
5
500 %
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