Paula C. Squires// August 9, 2016//
22 Capital Partners, a venture builder private equity company based in Chantilly, has formed a technology platform that it says will help power the development of Gramercy District, a $500 million, transit-oriented project in Loudoun County.
22 Capital Partners has formed 22 CityLink, which plans to build a foundation for the development of smart cities by linking together all aspects of real estate development with an intelligent framework.
“We believe that modern technology is going to be a major force in urbanization projects and can improve the overall quality of life for the citizen. By using a holistic approach where we control all aspects of the development, we can improve the way people live, the way people learn, and the way people socialize,” Minh Le, a former managing director with Accenture and the current managing partner of 22 Capital Partners, said in a statement.
22 CityLink is calling its platform Smart City In-a-Box. It will operate through partnerships with technology companies, innovative startups, academia and local, state, and federal government agencies to help develop new governance models, while employing artificial intelligence and big-data analytics across all applications.
22 Capital Partners is the lead investor and master developer of Gramercy District, a 2.5-million-square-foot development located at what will be the Silver Line Ashburn Metro Station, scheduled to open in late 2019.
The Gramercy District property abuts the Dulles Greenway (Route 267) – the major highway connecting central Loudoun County to Fairfax County, Arlington, and Washington, D.C. The development is the first so-called “smart” city in the region. It would provide 590 apartment units, 735,000 square feet of mixed-use office and retail space, and 147,000 square feet be for parks, civic and open space.