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June 20, 2013

Intelsat to move from D.C. to Northern Virginia

BY: STEVE CONTORNO DECEMBER 3, 2012 | 7:32 PM
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Topics: Virginia

Satellite service provider Intelsat will relocate its D.C. headquarters to Tysons Corner, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Monday.

The move brings 430 new jobs into the soon-to-be-built Tysons Corner Center in McLean.

"I welcome Intelsat to Virginia, and am confident they will be a great corporate citizen and partner," McDonnell said.

Intelsat provides satellite broadcasting services and owns the world's largest fleet of commercial satellites. McDonnell is providing Fairfax County a $1.3 million grant from the Governor's Opportunity Fund to assist with the move.

McDonnell has made a habit of poaching companies from other states, boasting a business-friendly regulatory environment and using a large chest of public funds to entice potential businesses. In 2011, Northrop Grumman finalized a move from California to Virginia, choosing the Old Dominion for its headquarters over Maryland and D.C.

Intelsat CEO David McGlade credited the Virginia's "well-educated professionals" and "a first-class transportation system" -- including the a rail line to Dulles International Airport -- as key incentives for the company's relocation.

Intelsat will remain in the District until mid-2014 when their Virginia office space will be complete.

Pedro Ribeiro, spokesman for D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, said the loss of Intelsat "is not significant to the District."

"We are hopeful that development on that property will be able to bring substantial economic development to the District," Ribeiro said. "It will bring a parcel of land back onto the market that is very, very low-density in the city. We look at this as an opportunity, not as a loss."

Examiner reporter Alan Blinder contributed to this report.

scontorno@washingtonexaminer.com

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Steve Contorno

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