Blackboard is moving its global HQ from the District to NoVa this year

Washington, D.C.–based edtech company Blackboard announced Wednesday that it is relocating its global headquarters to Northern Virginia, after striking a deal to remain in the District less than four years ago with the help of Mayor Muriel Bowser, Technical.ly DC previously reported. The new location will combine the company’s existing D.C. and Reston, Va. offices to bring its local workforce under one central tech hub.

“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 CEO Bill Ballhaus said in a statement.

The edtech company’s D.C. office is currently situated at 1111 19th St. NW and will be moving to 11720 Plaza America Drive in Reston, which is less than a mile from the Reston Town Center and six miles from the Dulles International Airport. Blackboard said it evaluated many office space options to locate its global HQ while considering best value, convenience to public transportation, commuter routes and airports, and “life-style” amenities like dining options and stores.

Though Blackboard didn’t disclose the size of its new HQ, it said 350 local employees will work out of its new office, the Washington Business Journal reported. With more than 20 Blackboard locations across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) is happy to receive the edtech company’s new HQ in Reston to expand the tech footprint there.

“Blackboard has long been a leader in education technology and the decision to be based in Northern Virginia’s preeminent technology corridor is additional confirmation of the value of Fairfax County for innovative companies from across the technology spectrum,” Catherine W. Riley, interim president and CEO of the FCEDA, said in a statement.

Blackboard’s 19th Street location is where it first took up office space after its 1997 launch. The edtech company received a $1 million tenant improvement grant in 2016 under Mayor Bowser’s Creative and Open Space Modernization grant program that assisted with various tenant improvements in connection with the office’s relocation back to 19th Street. Blackboard’s move to Northern Virginia should be complete by the end of 2019.

Blackboard isn’t the only company moving into Northern Virginia this year. With half of Amazon‘s second headquarters coming, Vantage Data Centers expanding, WhyHotel adding a pop-up, new university campuses and more, NoVa’s tech footprint is quickly expanding.