HD26 - Study of the Need for a Visitor's Center in the Dulles Corridor


Executive Summary:
The 1998 session of the General Assembly requested the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to study the need for a visitor's center in the Dulles corridor of Fairfax County. A copy of House Joint Resolution 184 is provided in Attachment 1. In passing the joint resolution, the General Assembly noted the following factors:

• Fairfax County is the fifth largest business district in the nation; larger than San Diego, New Orleans, and St. Louis;

• The towns of Reston and Herndon combined have 20 million square feet of office space with vacancy rates under four percent;

• The largest number of new corporations, relocations, and expansions in Fairfax County are in the Dulles corridor;

• The Dulles Corridor has been recognized as the "Netplex" and the "Silicon Valley of the East" with the second largest concentration of information technology companies;

• Washington Dulles International Airport serves 30,000 passengers each day, with 50 percent of these passengers having the Dulles corridor as their final destination;

• Washington Dulles International Airport is the second largest transatlantic gateway on the East Coast and the third largest gateway to the Pacific Rim countries;

• The Commonwealth of Virginia needs a continued long-term presence in one of its fastest-growing and economically prosperous regions.