Report to the General Assembly (Published)

Document Title

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

Author

Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Enabling Authority

HJR 184 (Regular Session, 1998)

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.