Fairfax County Economic Development Authority - Recent History

Recent History

In 2005 Site Selection Magazine named the FCEDA to its list of top economic development groups for the EDA's successful efforts to expand the number of defense contractors and research organizations in the county.

The FCEDA hosted the first National Conference on the Creative Economy, in Tysons Corner, Virginia in October 2007. The conference program included keynote addresses from Richard Florida, Thomas Friedman and Alvin Toffler.

• Thomas Friedman

• Richard Florida

• Alvin Toffler

In 2008 the Washington, D.C.-based International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest professional association of economic development practitioners in the world, recognized FCEDA with its 2008 Excellence in Economic Development Award for the FCEDA-produced “Power of Ideas” advertising campaign. The FCEDA received honorable mentions in two other IEDC awards categories in 2008: "Technology-Based Economic Development Program" category for localities with more than 200,000 residents and the "Special Event" category for localities with more than 200,000 residents, for the 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy.

In February, 2009 Hilton Hotels announced it would move its corporate headquarters from Beverly Hills to Fairfax County, Virginia. The Washington Post reported that Hilton Hotels "surprised the local hotel community...by announcing it was moving to the Washington region from Beverly Hills, Fairfax after looking closely at a spot in Montgomery County near Marriott International." Hilton Hotels corporate headquarters are located in Tysons Corner.

On June 18, 2009, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) hosted “The New Urban Economic Model: The Transformation of Fairfax County" conference to examine growth in the county ,MarketWatch reports. The conference was held at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner in Fairfax County. As noted by Reuters keynote speakers included:

• Urban Land Institute Senior Resident Fellow (and former Indianapolis Mayor) William Hudnut III
• Brookings Institution urban policy scholar Anthony Downs
• Matthew T. Crosson, president of the Long Island Association, Inc., the Long Island region's principal business and civic organization

The event's Web site is at: http://www.transformingfairfax.org

In April 2010, FCEDA launched a new advertising campaign designed to promote the county’s rich quality of life.

The 30-second TV commercial, called “Statistics,” uses brightly animated statistical information on the county – presented through pie charts and other familiar visuals from business presentations – and morphs those shapes into real-life representations of various quality-of-life elements of Fairfax County. The yellow bar of a bar graph becomes a woman’s clutch, for example, and the blue wedge of a pie chart is transformed into a slice of pizza. The ad is posted at the FCEDA's video gallery. The TV commercial is the first produced by the FCEDA in a decade. It uses locations at George Mason University and a private home in the Fairfax County community of McLean. The spot, produced by Siddall of Richmond, Va., will run through the end of June on cable outlets in four markets – Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. – primarily on news and business channels. The “Statistics” campaign also includes print, online and mobile advertising.

The ad can also be viewed on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHL1hfslUVQ

In July 2010, Northrop Grumman announced that it would relocate its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles to a site in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County.

In August 2010, the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC, ) announced that Fairfax County won a 2010 Community Economic Development Award in recognition of its success in business attraction.

In December 2010, FCEDA Gordon was named 2010 Virginia Business Person of the Year by Virginia Business magazine, which cited his role in helping attract major business headquarters to Fairfax, County as a key factor in their decision. Also in December, the FCEDA was cited as the top economic development project in the state when the Virginia Chamber of Commerce awarded the authority its Virginia Torchbearer award.

In November 2011, Bechtel, one of the world's largest engineering, construction and projects management companies, announced that it would relocate its Global Operations headquarters to the Reston area of Fairfax County, creating 625 new jobs.

In February 2012, national commercial real estate firm Transwestern honored Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D, president and CEO of the FCEDA as the recipient of the “Trendsetter of the Year” award at the 15th annual Washington, D.C. TrendLines event. Transwestern cited Gordon’s “tireless advocacy and steadfast leadership” in promoting Fairfax County as a business location since joining the FCEDA in 1983.