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Tag: Arlington

Nat’l Science Teaching Assoc.’s Arlington HQ sells for $14M

The Arlington headquarters of the National Science Teaching Association has sold for $14 million, CBRE announced Thursday.

Washington, D.C.-based The Fortis Cos., a real estate development and investment company, purchased the 48,000-square-foot building at 1840 Wilson Blvd. The transaction also includes two on-site restaurants: Rhodeside Grill at 1836 Wilson Blvd. and Il Radicchio at 1801 Clarendon Blvd.

The building is flour floors and has an underground parking garage with 136 spaces and is less than a quarter mile from the Courthouse Metro station.

CBRE represented NSTA in the transaction, led by Dean Stiles and John Sheridan.

Richmond apartments sell for $19.3M

Arlington-based Ritz Banc Group has acquired the Forest Ridge Apartments complex in Richmond from Colony Management for $19.3 million, Colliers announced Jan. 4.

The apartment community has 135 units and is located in the Stratford Hills neighborhood, at 2665 Granite Hills Circle. Most of the units have townhome-style floorplans.

The new owners are planning renovations to the community.

 

AWS teaches cloud skills in Arlington

Christie Bibbs already works in the tech industry as a systems engineer, but she wanted to add cloud computing tools to her abilities.

Through the Black Women in Tech Facebook group, Bibbs learned about Amazon Web Services Inc.’s new Arlington-based Skills Center and signed up for a three-part cloud practitioner course. During the free, in-person classes, Bibbs learned the fundamentals of cloud computing, including more about AWS products and services, as well as compliance with data and security controls. This month, she plans to take an exam to become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, taking the first step toward her goal of becoming a cloud solutions architect.

“Our clients need various solutions, depending on what they’re trying to do,” says Bibbs, who works in Columbia, Maryland, for defense contractor TransTechSol LLC. “Taking these classes will help me advise them a little bit better.”

Opened in October 2022 near parent company Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters, the 10,000-square-foot AWS Skills Center includes classrooms and interactive exhibits that demonstrate cloud computing in real time, including a miniature smart home. The Arlington location is the second AWS Skills Center; its first opened in Seattle in November 2021. Both offer free, in-person foundational courses on cloud computing and are a piece of Amazon’s larger goal to provide free digital skills training to more than 29 million people worldwide by 2025.

Russ Cowley, global head of AWS Skills Centers, said the Seattle location has trained “thousands” of people. The centers are meant as launchpads for tech careers, and AWS is targeting “anyone who is new to the cloud,” including underrepresented communities and people seeking to change industries, Cowley says.

Additional courses on foundational topics in cloud computing are planned, and the center will also work with employers and local organizations for networking and career placement events. AWS is already working with Consult Lemonade, a nonprofit that works to connect underrepresented communities in the Washington, D.C., region with career opportunities. AWS partnered with the group to offer a hybrid cloud computing course that started in December 2022.

Bibb says she prefers face-to-face learning and the opportunity to meet other professionals.

“I might even have a nice little study group forming of people who, like me, are trying to learn so that we can move forward in our careers,” she says.

Raytheon contracts include radar surveillance for Taiwan

Arlington County-based Raytheon Technologies Co. was awarded two large contracts this week to help sustain a foreign surveillance radar program and for the continued production and delivery of its AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, the Pentagon announced this week.

Under a $412.6 million Air Force contract announced Wednesday, Raytheon will provide continued sustainment to the Taiwan Surveillance Radar Program. The contract includes logistics support, engineering services, technical updates, spare parts and other logistics and program support and work will be performed in Taiwan with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2027.

Under a $317.4 million contract modification announced Thursday, the Navy is exercising options with Raytheon Missile and Defense to produce and deliver AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles to the Army, Air Force and for foreign military sales. The order includes 290 AIM-9X Block II missiles and 181 AIM-9x Block II + missiles, training missiles, containers, advanced optical target detectors, containers and other associated supplies. Work is expected to be completed in August 2026.

 

Arlington hires new economic development director

Arlington Economic Development’s new director is Ryan Touhill, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz announced Monday.

Touhill will assume the role on Nov. 28. He succeeds Shannon Flanagan-Watson, who has been serving as interim director since Telly Tucker announced he was leaving to return to Danville, where he became president of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in April.

“I am thrilled to have Ryan at the helm of our economic development team, leading our community through an exciting period of commercial growth post-pandemic recovery,” Schwartz said in a statement. “He will be instrumental in fostering innovation and resiliency to advance economic growth and competitiveness in our community for small businesses and large corporations as well as foster real estate development, tourism, arts and cultural amenities.”

Touhill was senior vice president and chief of staff for the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership. He helped manage the business development, small business and economic recovery departments and managed the partnership’s internal business operations. While at the partnership, Touhill served on the project management team that helped secure Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters.

Touhill has also worked for Alexandria’s city government in the budget and human resources departments.

“Arlington is a dynamic and innovative community that has proven it can achieve smart, sustainable growth for businesses and residents alike,” Touhill said in a statement. “I am excited about this opportunity to bring my passion of service to ensure that Arlington County is a top business destination.”

He previously served on the board of directors for Rebuilding Together DC – Alexandria and as a youth mentor for Space of His Own.

Touhill holds a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University and a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University.

“I am confident that Mr. Touhill will continue to strengthen important collaborative partnerships with Arlington’s business community across the region and the commonwealth. He will be a critical partner as we work together to strengthen our economic development capacity and accelerate the growth of tech startup companies and entrepreneurs,” Virginia Economic Development Partnership President and CEO Jason El Koubi said in a statement.

HII leases space in National Landing

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. could soon add its name to a building in Arlington’s National Landing area.

The Fortune 500 military shipbuilder has signed an 11.5 year lease with JBG Smith for 36,809 square feet in an 11-story office tower at 2451 Crystal Drive, the Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate firm announced Tuesday. The lease gives HII, Virginia’s largest industrial employer, signage rights, JBG Smith said.

HII is expected to move into the space in late summer 2023. HII spokesman Danny Hernandez called the new space an “enhancement” to the company’s presence in the national capital region, bringing it closer to the Pentagon as well as Reagan National Airport.

HII already has presence in the region, including at the Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C., and in McLean, where its Mission Technologies division is headquartered. The new space will be comprised of employees from corporate, as well as those from HII’s Ingalls, Newport News Shipbuilding and Mission Technologies divisions who currently operate near the Navy Yard. About half of HII’s Navy Yard-based employees will move, Hernandez said, but did not give a specific number.

The company’s space at the Navy Yard will also be reduced, Hernandez said, adding that the new space will be on one floor, “which is important to our team and culture.”

“We will maintain space near the Navy Yard so our close working relationship with our largest customer, the U.S. Navy, continues, and at the National Landing we will get better access to our wider set of customers across the services,” Hernandez said. “Our headquarters stays in Newport News, and this new space facilitates quick travel between them. We’re excited about what this means for our HII team and our ability to grow our impact, with all our customers.”

HII employs more than 44,000 workers in Virginia and the company is the country’s only builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, including the Navy’s newest flattop, the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford, which left Norfolk on its maiden deployment earlier this month.

HII has also expanded its focus as a technology business, expanding its capabilities and workforce to meet the needs of its national security customers.

HII adds another marquee name to Arlington’s growing defense presence. In May, Boeing Co. announced it was moving its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington. The next month, Raytheon Technologies Corp. announced it would relocate its global headquarters to Arlington from Massachusetts.

JBG Smith is the developer behind Amazon.com Inc’s East Coast HQ2 headquarters. In June, the e-tailer acquired the 11-acre PenPlace development site, from JBG Smith for $198 million.

Accenture Federal Services lands $189M CDC contract

Arlington-based Accenture Federal Services has received a $189 million contract to help speed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s migration to the cloud.

According to a news release Thursday, AFS will work with the CDC modernize its portfolio of information technology systems, examine enhancing functionality of those systems, and move systems into a secured cloud environment. The contract’s length is three years.

“We are excited for the opportunity to help modernize public health systems and improve access to data that is essential to CDC’s work,” Jill Olmstead, AFS’ managing director and health consulting lead, said in a statement. “We look forward to introducing innovative ways to achieve CDC’s cloud adoption goals through our public health experience, cloud-first capabilities, and innovation investments, to help advance their mission to protect people from health, safety and security threats.”

Accenture Federal Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, part of Irish Fortune Global 500 company Accenture PLC. Accenture has more than 710,000 employees across 120 countries and reported $50.5 billion in fiscal year 2021 revenue.

Leonardo DRS wins $579M Army contract

Arlington-based Leonardo DRS Inc. has received a five-year, $579 million contract to make the Army’s next-generation thermal weapons sight, the company announced Monday.

The company’s electro-optical infrared systems business will produce the device — a stand-alone, clip-on weapon sight that connects wirelessly to helmet-mounted vision systems. Called the Family of  Weapons Sights – Individual, it uses Leonardo DRS’ uncooled thermal imaging technology and gives users the capability to locate targets during day and night and in smoke or fog. It will connect to the Army’s enhanced night-vision goggle binoculars as well as the service’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System, an augmented reality headset being tested by the service.

The sights use a vanadium oxide micro-electromechanical focal plane array that requires no visible light to operate.

“We are proud to continue to provide this cutting-edge technology that ensures our soldiers will have the most advanced weapon sight systems on the battlefield today, and well into the future,” Jerry Hathaway, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS’ Dallas-based electro-optical infrared systems business, said in a statement. “We have a long history of supplying the Army with advanced electro-optic and infrared technologies, and this award will help to keep soldiers safe and better ensure their mission is accomplished.

Michael Mount, a spokesperson for Leonardo DRS, said the company will likely produce thousands of the sights. They will be manufactured in the company’s electro-optical Infrared systems facility Melbourne, Florida.

In August, Reston-based satellite telecommunications company SES Government Solutions completed its $450 million acquisition of Leonardo DRS’s Global Enterprise Solutions satellite communications subsidiary. In June, the company announced that it would merge with Israel-based Rada Electronic Industries Ltd. and become public.

 

Zebox opens U.S. incubator in Arlington

ElectroTempo Inc. CEO and co-founder Ann Xu wants her company’s software to reach 70% of the United States by 2027.

Founded in 2020, Electro Tempo provides analytics and tools to help vehicle fleets, utilities and governments optimize the size and location of electric vehicle-charging infrastructure.

The company took a step toward accomplishing its goal by moving from Herndon into Arlington-based Zebox America, a technology startup incubator and accelerator that launched in late April.

ElectroTempo is one of three startups that have moved into the Zebox accelerator. With room for as many as 20 companies, the incubator also is intended as a space to bring participants together, says Zebox Vice President Charley Dehoney.

Founded in 2018 by Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of shipping giant CMA CGM Group, which has its U.S. headquarters in Norfolk, Zebox focuses on startups offering solutions for its corporate sponsors, which include the Port of Virginia and major logistics and transportation companies like founding sponsor CMA CGM. Zebox incubators in France and the Caribbean have supported more than 80 companies so far, Dehoney says.

Zebox America is working with 32 startups, a majority of which are remote. Five are Virginia-based.

“We’ve now identified more than 65 problem statements that our corporate partners share,” Dehoney says. “Some of these problems may take two startups to solve. We’ll keep adding them until all of the issues in the supply chain go away.”

Startups don’t have to be focused directly on logistics, transportation or the supply chain, though. Zebox also is concentrating on supporting businesses working on problems that the industries have in common, such as cybersecurity. “Everybody in supply chain and logistics is worried about cybersecurity because there’s so much shared data in the supply chain,” Dehoney says.

While Zebox considered tech hubs such as Boston and San Francisco as sites for the incubator, Zebox chose Arlington because of its proximity to Norfolk. Additional draws included Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2, Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus and 5G “smart city” infrastructure plans for Arlington.

Zebox’s goal is to add 150 jobs to Virginia, Dehoney says. The incubator represents a $4 million investment.

Being part of Zebox has already paid off for ElectroTempo, Xu says. Corporate sponsors have asked her for presentations, she says, realizing the value ElectroTempo might bring. “We are attacking a real-world issue,” she says, “a pain point that’s out there.”

Raytheon wins $985M Air Force hypersonic missile contract

Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s missile and defense division has received the go-ahead from the Air Force to move beyond the prototype phase and continue development of a new hypersonic cruise missile weapon under a nearly $1 billion contract announced by the Pentagon Thursday.

The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is an air-launched, maneuverable weapon propelled by a scramjet engine that allows it to travel up to five times the speed of sound. The HACM is designed to hold high-value targets at risk in contested environments from standoff distances, the Air Force said in a news release. Under the $985 million contract, Raytheon will design, develop, and ready the missile for integration with fighter aircraft. Work is expected to be complete by March 2027.

“HACM will provide our commanders with tactical flexibility to employ fighters to hold high-value, time-sensitive targets at risk while maintaining bombers for other strategic targets,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. said in a statement.

Raytheon and Boeing Co., both based in Arlington, and Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockhead Martin Corp. were awarded 15-month contracts in 2021 under the Air Force’s Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experimen (SCIFire) to develop air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile prototypes. The United States and Australia teamed up under SCIFiRE in 2020 for the prototype program. As part of the agreement, the HACM’s initial full-system test flights will be launched using Australian infrastructure.

Raytheon’s missile is powered by an engine developed by Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman Corp. A test flight of its weapon in July propelled it for more than 300 nautical miles and reached altitudes higher than 60,000 feet at speeds reaching greater than five times the speed of sound, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said. DARPA is a partner with the Air Force on the project.

The U.S. has been scrambling to catch up with China and Russia in the race to develop hypersonic missiles. Russia last month said it had deployed three Kinzhal, or “Dagger,” missiles in a special military operation in Ukraine, Reuters reported. U.S. intelligence was caught by surprise when China tested hypersonic missiles around the globe in July 2021, according to the Financial Times.

Raytheon announced in June that it was moving its headquarters from Massachusetts to Virginia. It is the second-largest defense contractor in the world. That move followed a May announcement from Boeing that it was moving its headquarters from Chicago to the commonwealth.