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Loudoun loses research institute to Fairfax
Loudoun lost out on the chance to bring more than 400 high-paying jobs to the county as a $200 million medical research institute chose to make Fairfax County its new home.
The nonprofit Ignite Institute had considered moving to Loudoun earlier this year, and both the county and Town of Leesburg were in talks over the deal.
“It would have been great to have it in Loudoun County,” said Chamber of Commerce President Tony Howard. “Now we need to focus on how we can position Loudoun County so we can outcompete Fairfax for the next big corporate relocation.”
Still, Howard said, it is most important to have an institute like this one in the region because the economic benefits will spill over into Loudoun and other jurisdictions.
The Ignite Institute is a partnership between Inova Health Systems and Dr. Dietrich Stephan, a leader in the field of molecular medicine. The institute's mission is to use molecular technologies to discover the bases of illnesses such as cancer so new treatments can be developed. Its exact site in Fairfax County has not yet been chosen.
This is not the first time Loudoun has lost a major business deal to Fairfax. In 2008, Volkswagen relocated from Michigan to Herndon after considering a move to Loudoun County.
To secure the project for Virginia, Kaine promised Ignite $3 million from the Governor's Opportunity Fund. The facility also will be eligible for another $22 million in state grants over four years.
“The Ignite Institute adds to Virginia’s position as a world-class center of excellence for research and development,” Kaine said in Fairfax County Nov. 16. “The advanced medical technologies that will be developed at Ignite will be part of the key drivers in our mission to reform and improve America’s health-care system.”
Contact the reporter at ecoe@timespapers.com
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