Microsoft is investing $64 million to establish a software development hub in Fairfax County, which will bring 1,500 new jobs to the region, it announced this week.
The Redmond, Washington-based multinational technology company will lease about 400,000 square feet of space at 11955 Freedom Drive in Reston, Virginia, which is located in the town center. Microsoft plans to occupy the space beginning in summer 2021, and the expansion of this hub will also include a new retail space.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) worked alongside the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission to secure this expansion project. Through this partnership and with approval, Microsoft will be eligible for a MEI custom performance grant of $22.5 million, which it said it plans to use to fund partnerships with local colleges and universities to invest in more tech majors.
“Microsoft can choose from any number of technology hubs for its operations, and we are so pleased that the company chose to expand its operations in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia,” FCEDA President and CEO Victor Hoskins said in a statement. “Because of our wealth of technology talent and the tech ecosystem here, this area is a great match for the company’s talent needs as well as its business goals.”
With this expansion, Microsoft will keep its office at 12012 Sunset Hills Road in Reston, which is about a mile from the location of the new hub. The tech company also has a corporate office in the Richmond, Virginia area, an enterprise data center in Mecklenburg County, and many retail stores throughout the region.
“Being close to our customer base is extremely important to our ongoing collaborations,” said Terrell Cox, general manager at Microsoft. “We’ve had a presence in Reston for many years now, and this expansion will allow Microsoft to deliver even more solutions from a region known for its innovation and passion for technology.”
Microsoft isn’t the only large corporation expanding in Virginia. Last year alone, Facebook inked a deal for its first office space in Fairfax County, Google announced plans to double its Reston workforce and Amazon Web Services signed a deal to lease an office space in Herndon. And we can’t forget about Amazon’s second headquarters still being built in Northern Virginia.
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