INSIDE Loudoun Key To Virginia Wine Industry Push ...... Page 3 SEP TEMB ER 2 0 1 1 VOLUME 8 NO. 10
Boosting Budding Businesses
Incubator Welcomes First Tenants By Kara Clark, Staff Writer One of the most anticipated projects for the Leesburg business community has made its debut. The Mason Enterprise Center Leesburg, the county’s first business incubator, welcomed its first tenants Tuesday, Sept. 6. The 10,000-square-foot building at 202 Church St. will house start-up businesses with high-growth potential. In addition to the executive suite-style layout of the building, where each company will have its own office, or offices, with a window, incubator staff members will be on hand to guide these businesses from the start-up phase to a successful enterprise. Keith Segerson, managing director of the Mason Enterprise Center, has been busy interviewing prospective tenants for the incubator in recent weeks, as well as
nearing the end of the process for hiring a director for the Leesburg site. Segerson said he had in his hand 14 draft leases, representing 14 potential companies taking up space in the incubator in separate offices. He called the response to the Leesburg incubator “unprecedented” although, for him, not unexpected. “I expected that in all sincerity because of the community involvement, press support, word on the street, just the buzz and a lot of things we have not had and not benefited from in other [incubator] locations which are much more isolated, independent, not as fully partnered as this one is,” he said, pointing to the involvement of the Town of Leesburg, Loudoun County, Loudoun Chamber of Commerce and the town and county Economic Development Commissions. “It shows how important See Incubator, Page 8
The home of the Mason Enterprise Center Leesburg on Church Street.
Leesburg, County, Airport Receive Accolades By Kara Clark, Staff Writer August was a month of big wins for Loudoun County, with the county seat, Loudoun’s vast job growth and Leesburg Airport all receiving state and national recognition. Both Loudoun and the greater state of Virginia received kudos for job growth and business attraction efforts over the last decade. Among counties in the United States, Loudoun has been ranked number two by CNN Money for job growth over the last
10 years, while CNBC ranked Virginia as America’s Top State for Business. With the United States as a whole showing little to no job growth during the last decade, Loudoun’s exceptional growth equates to 46,000 net new jobs in the county. The industry sectors that have seen the most growth include computer systems design and related services with an increase of 4,500 new jobs, and Retail, educational services and construction accounting for almost 20,000 new jobs. The county is home to the highest concentration of high-tech firms in the nation, PRSRT STD U.S. Postage
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with CNN Money using the familiar moniker “Silicon Valley of the East” to describe Loudoun. As America’s Top State for Business, Virginia beat out the states of Texas and North Carolina in the CNBC ranking by showing dominance in areas such as infrastructure and transportation, economy, education, business friendliness and access to capital. The good news trickled down to the county seat. The Town of Leesburg ranked fourth in Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” list released in August. The list counts down the 100 best small towns in which to settle across the country. According to the magazine, Leesburg ranked high due to its “proximity to plenty of good jobs,” including in the government, defense contracting, consulting and technology industries. While Money notes commutes to and from the town “can be abysmal” many residents surveyed said the tradeoff is being able to live in a beauti-
ful, historic town, with many “antebellum, red brick buildings” now filled with restaurants, art galleries and shops. Business Retention Coordinator Debi Parry said the designation goes a long way toward recognizing the town’s reputation as a landing spot to grow a business. In 2008, Leesburg landed the 31st spot on FORTUNE Small Business Magazine’s “Best Places to Live and Launch” list. “We have a highly educated workforce and a growing number of families that demand the best from our county schools, our parks and our infrastructure. When CEOs are looking for a home for their business, quality of life and access to an educated workforce are at the top of the list and we have them both here in Leesburg,” Parry said. Of all the top 10 on the list, Leesburg ranked the highest when it came to median family income, at $128,595, and job growth from 2000-2010, at 47.16 percent. The surSee Rankings, Page 5