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Week of April 21, 2003 Blockbuster Deal from Site Selection's exclusive New Plant database |
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Capital Idea:
New Government Contracts Spurring
by JACK LYNE, Site Selection Executive Editor900 Unisys Jobs in N. Virginia of Interactive Publishing RESTON, Va. – Enlarging its work force in concert with its lengthening list of federal government clients, Unisys (www.unisys.com) has taken its first steps in a 900-worker, 420,000-sq.-ft. (37,800-sq.-m.) expansion and consolidation of its Global Public Sector division in Fairfax County, Va. Two location factors clearly drove the decision, company officials explained: the quality of Northern Virginia's labor and the area's proximity to the nation's capital. "In addition to providing our team with a superior working environment, remaining in Fairfax County allows us to continue drawing upon the talented local work force," said Greg Baroni, president of Unisys' Global Public Sector division, which includes the company's U.S. Federal Government Group.
The area was already a well-known commodity for Unisys. The 900 jobs from the expansion and consolidation will enlarge an existing Unisys work force in Fairfax County that totals more than a thousand employees. Unisys was so sufficiently sold on the area, in fact, that it only looked at sites in Fairfax County, Baroni said. "Unisys has been a terrific corporate citizen of Fairfax County for years, and this is exactly the kind of operation that can benefit from our proximity to Washington, D.C., our skilled work force and the quality of life here," said Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (www.fairfaxcountyeda.org). Unisys Lands Billion-Dollar New Two hundred of Fairfax County's new jobs will come as a result of the new contract that Unisys was awarded earlier this month by the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA at www.tsa.gov), part of the newly created Department of Homeland Security. Under the terms of the TSA contract, Unisys will develop an agency-wide information technology infrastructure to protect travelers in some 430 U.S. commercial airports. Unisys' TSA contract runs for three years, followed by two two-year options to extend the agreement. If the contract runs the full seven years, it will be worth a little more than $1 billion, according to federal officials. More new jobs in Unisys' Global Sector Division will be created by a Department of Defense contract, valued at $1.23 billion, awarded late last year. Under the terms of that award, Unisys will provide research and development support in the use of biometrics - a field that promises to take national security to the next level. Unisys' team will work on converting two-dimensional photographs into a 3-D model program. That model will provide the technology to add key identifying 3-D details to existing photos, including skin texture, expressions and aging. The Defense Department plans to use the technology with its extensive photo files in the processing of visa and passport applications. Unisys officials didn't say how many of the new jobs in Fairfax County will be created by the biometrics contract. 15-Year Lease at Plaza America A major part of Unisys' expansion and consolidation will be based in the $225-million Plaza America development in Reston, Va.The company signed a 15-year lease for 275,000 sq. ft. (24,750 sq. m.) of space in the 14-story Plaza America III tower. The high-rise is part of the 1.2-million-sq.-ft. (108,000-sq.-m.) Plaza America, which was developed by Atlantic Realty Companies and Intertech Corporation. Unisys will be moving into a block of space in Plaza America that was formerly occupied by Cable and Wireless. The telecommunications company has put most of its square footage in Plaza America III onto the sublease market. Atlantic Realty (www.arcrealty.com) canceled a tenant's sublease for part of the former Cable and Wireless space in order to make the deal with Unisys. Plaza America's 983,000 sq. ft. (88.470 sq. m.) of office space in its four towers is 99 percent leased, according to Atlantic Realty. Other terms of the lease agreement weren't released. Unisys will begin move-in in about a year, after building out and reconfiguring the space in Plaza America III, company officials said. In the interim, Unisys says that it will lease another 145,000 sq. ft. (13,050 sq. m.) of space somewhere in Fairfax County to accommodate the rest of its expansion and consolidation. Incentives for the project were relatively modest, given its considerable size. 
Unisys will receive a Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (www.yesvirginia.org), Created in 1994, that program provides all companies that locate or expand in Virginia and create at least 100 jobs a one-time $1,000 corporate income tax credit for each new full-time position. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will also provide work-force training services for the Unisys expansion and consolidation. ©2003 Conway Data, Inc. All rights reserved. Data is from many sources and is not warranted to be accurate or current.
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