The city of Fairfax and George Mason University are reupping their partnership on a business incubator based in the small city, relocating it in a bid to expand its potential.
The city and its economic development authority announced that it signed a new memorandum of understanding with the local university Monday, ensuring that their 25-year affiliation on the Mason Enterprise Center will continue for the next decade. The center will also ink a new lease for a combined 22,000 square feet at the WillowWood Plaza office complex, owned by Polinger Development Co., as part of the deal.
The move brings the incubator from the heart of Old Town Fairfax into the redeveloping Northfax district, a section of the city that officials have been replanning in order to spur its transformation. And by expanding the center’s space, city leaders hope to start attracting larger businesses to join the incubator, particularly as George Mason University looks to expand its programs in the area and match new demand generated by Amazon.com Inc.’s arrival in the region.
“We wanted to continue this project, but we wanted it to evolve for a post-Amazon world and the Fairfax city of 2021,” Chris Bruno, the city’s economic development director, said in an interview. “We’re trying to embrace a multilayered approach. Now we want to support both smaller and medium-size businesses, giving the bigger companies a chance to come in and work directly with startups and other small businesses at the incubator.”
Bruno said the incubator has been successful at attracting businesses to Old Town over the years, helping a variety of small companies grow and eventually locate in and around Fairfax. The center currently works with 150 firms — some physically located in its offices and others participating in virtual programs and collectively spanning more than 200 people, Bruno said. It's graduated a variety of firms, particularly those in the IT, cybersecurity and government contracting industries, including Fairfield Technologies Inc., now located in Chantilly, and Blue Collar Objects of Fairfax.
But Bruno also saw a real need to pursue some bigger fish, and that would only be possible with a more modern office space that’s accessible to additional amenities. The EDA engaged Savills to help find the new space, working with brokers Ken Biberaj and David Cornbrooks — the new buildings, located at 10300 and 10306 Eaton Place, are located close to a variety of shops and restaurants, including the recently redeveloped Point 50 shopping center.
That Regency Centers project will be home to, among other new retailers, an Amazon Fresh grocery store. The company has yet to formally confirm its plans for the site, but Bruno said that, as far as he’s aware, it will indeed be an Amazon grocer of some kind.
Plus, the broader Northfax area is set for a more robust transformation over the years, if the city can deliver on its plans for the neighborhood. Local leaders envision a new linear park and retail district taking the place of some auto-oriented businesses nearby, as well as new green space and trails to be built alongside a “road diet” for some of the area’s busy thoroughfares.
“The quality of the building and all these amenities nearby will allow us to use the center as an asset,” Bruno said.
He said he is also hopeful that extending this agreement with GMU, which provides workshops and consultations with university faculty to businesses at the center, will deepen the city’s relationship with the university overall. The city and the EDA pay the rent for the facility, contributing $150,000 for its operations each year, while GMU generally chips in about $150,000 to $200,000 annually and helps staff the center, Bruno said.
The town-gown relationship hasn’t always been the most harmonious one over the years, but Bruno said he's optimistic that the city will be a strong partner for GMU moving forward, particularly as it moves to upgrade its Fairfax campus in the near future.
“The Mason Enterprise Center has worked in partnership to serve the community by providing services and access to university resources and talent in the support of the local economy — and we look forward to continuing the work through our next chapter of this shared mission,” GMU President Gregory Washington said in a statement.
