Event technology company Cvent announced today (Thursday) plans to hire nearly 1,000 employees this year as the company continues to grow.
Based in Tysons by the Greensboro Metro station, Cvent offers software to event planners to help with online event registration, venue selection, event management and attendee engagement.
Many of the new jobs will be in the Tysons headquarters, according to the press release. Other locations around the U.S. and in Canada, England, Australia, Germany, Singapore and India also plan on adding new employees.
In addition to the hiring, Cvent also announced that it will open new office space in Austin, Texas and New Delhi, India and expand in Fredericton, Canada.
The expansion follows a busy year for the company. In 2018, Cvent added 1,000 net employees and more than 5,000 new customers, according to a press release. A few months ago, Cvent added 72,000 square feet of office space to its Tysons headquarters (1765 Greensboro Station Place).
“We hired almost 1,000 people last year and we’re doubling down on our recruiting efforts to ensure we can continue supporting our expanding customer base and delivering the innovations that will drive the industry forward,” Sophia MacDonald, the vice president of human resources for Cvent, said in a press release.
Image via Google Maps
Seven out of the 10 Fairfax County-based companies on this year’s Fortune 500 list are located in or near Tysons.
Fortune released its annual list of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. earlier today (May 16). The rankings are based on 2018 revenue.
The Tysons-area companies represent one-third of the 21 companies from Virginia on the list, according to a Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) press release.
“Only a handful of communities can say they are home to 10 Fortune 500 companies,” Catherine Riley, the interim president of FCEDA, said in a press release. “It is an important milestone, a significant recognition of the county as a prime location for corporations from a wide variety of industries looking for the assets and talent they need to grow and succeed.”
The new list includes:
- #40 Freddie Mac (Tysons)
- #92 General Dynamics (Falls Church area)
- #98 Capital One Financial (Tysons)
- #108 Northrop Grumman (Falls Church area)
- #122 DXC Technology (Tysons)
- #345 Hilton Worldwide Holdings (Tysons)
- #475 Booz Allen Hamilton (Tysons)
Leidos Holdings, an information technology company, and home construction company NVR — both based in Reston — made the list, along with Herndon-based Beacon Roofing.
Last year, Fairfax County had nine companies on the list, according to FCEDA. The company that made the biggest leap from last year’s list was DXC Technology, which jumped up 252 spots.
“The wide diversity of the industry sectors represented here — everything from our traditional strengths in IT and aerospace to financial services, hospitality and, now, construction materials — shows the value of a Fairfax County headquarters to corporations of all kinds,” Riley said.
Bike to Work Day tomorrow (Friday) wants locals in the D.C. area to hop on a bike for their commute — even if it’s just for one day.
People interested in the free event can register online to access 115 pit stops throughout the region — seven are in the Tysons area — and link up to commuter convoys.
Participants can expect a warm and overcast Friday with the chance of stray rain or thunderstorms.
So what do you think? Is this something you would want to do or not?
Photo via Facebook and map via Bike to Work Day
A task force meeting next week will tackle proposed retail, residential and public facilities near the University of Virginia Northern Virginia Center, as Fairfax County looks to revamp an area by the West Falls Church Metro station.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Virginia Tech submitted proposals as part of the county’s 2017 Site-Specific Plan Amendment Process.
The county has initiated a planning study of the proposals, which would add public facilities and government mixed-use and possibly residential units, on the WMATA parcels and up to 130 dwelling units and 43,800 square feet of retail and office space on the Northern Virginia Center parcels.
“The proximity of the Northern Virginia Center property to the WMATA site presents an opportunity to plan the area in a more holistic manner,” the Fairfax County website says. “This approach would allow consideration of their joint land use, transportation, and public facility impacts. Therefore, the proposals will be evaluated concurrently as a special study separate from the Site-Specific Plan Amendment process timeline.”
A community meeting in January gave an overview of the county’s planning and review process.
After that meeting, a task force made up of residents in the area has been working with the county to evaluate the proposals to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The task force is analyzing transportation, public facilities, schools and environmental impacts.
The task force meeting, which is open to the public, is set for Tuesday, May 21, from 7-9 p.m., at The Northern Virginia Center (7054 Haycock Road) in Falls Church.
In addition to the task force, the county plans to hold meetings to get the community’s input.
First image via Google Maps and second image via Fairfax County
A musical about how women won the right to vote is coming to the Town of Vienna for a sold-out preview ahead of a national tour.
“19: The Musical” chronicles the struggles of women suffragists, including Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Inez Milholland.
Ratified Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment made it illegal to deny U.S. citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. The show’s national tour for this fall coincides with the amendment’s centennial next year.
From the musical’s website:
The inspirational story of these fearless women is brought to life through jazz, traditional musical standards style, spoken word, hints of gospel and dance. 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment; our goal is to get a full production of 19 up and running, and onto a stage by the end of 2019.
The show’s book and lyrics were created by Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw, the cofounders of the Alexandria-based Through the 4th Wall. The show’s music is by film composer Charlie Barnett.
All 200 tickets got snapped up for the special preview performance at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE) on Friday (May 17), according to the musical’s Facebook page. The preview will include songs, dance and narration from the first and second acts of the show.
Photo via Facebook
The Falls Church City Council recently voted to move forward a series of developments that would transform the area south of the West Falls Church Metro station into a new commercial center and gateway into the city.
The council unanimously approved the signing of a comprehensive agreement with EYA, PN Hoffman and Regency Centers for their planned development of nearly 10 acres at the George Mason High School, the Falls Church News-Press reported.
The current George Mason High School is set to be demolished and replaced with a new commercial area like the Mosaic District in Merrifield.
The approval of the comprehensive agreement now allows the Falls Church City Schools to solidify plans for the construction of a new high school next to the current one, the Falls Church News-Press noted.
The council decided to delay a final vote to July 8 on the specific exception entitlement after the development faced last-minute changes, which included removing the structured parking lot near the new high school and reverting back to a surface lot for school use, according to the Falls Church News-Press.
Rendering via City of Falls Church
A fitness studio’s former Mosaic District spot may soon welcome an increasingly popular recreational sport: urban, indoor ax throwing.
A building permit indicates that Bad Axe Throwing is looking to move into 2985 District Avenue, Suite 195, which used to house Elevate Interval Fitness. The spot is next to BGR and Nando’s Peri-Peri.
Started in Canada in 2014, Bad Axe Throwing has expanded to roughly two dozen locations across the U.S. and 10 in Canada.
At the current locations, large and small groups of people can throw axes in lanes with throwing coaches, who can demonstrate different games. The closest one to the upcoming Mosaic spot is in D.C. at 2419 Evarts Street N.E.
First photo via Facebook
A free forum tonight (May 15) will question the Hunter Mill District Supervisor candidates just on the Town of Vienna.
Vienna Votes, a new voter outreach initiative in the Town of Vienna, will host the forum at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE) from 6-9 p.m.
Five Democrats have jumped into the race for the seat, which oversees Reston and Vienna. Cathy Hudgins, who currently holds the seat, announced her decision in January to retire after her current term ends.
Vienna Votes posted on Facebook that all five candidates have said they will participate in the forum. They are:
- Former Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Walter Alcorn
- Lawyer Laurie Dodd
- Comstock Companies executive Maggie Parker
- U.S. Air Force veteran and community advocate Shyamali Hauth
- Recent Roanoke College graduate Parker Messick
Vienna Votes was launched in March to help citizens have easy access to voting resources and information.
From Vienna Votes’ Facebook:
The Vienna Votes Project has organized this casual forum to hear what all five candidates on the ballot have to say about Vienna. Please join us this Wednesday, May 15th and, more importantly, remember to vote in June. High voter turnout signals to our elected officials that Vienna is an active and engaged population that will be paying attention!
The forum will consist of questions entirely about the Town of Vienna. That discussion will be held from 6:30-8:30 PM although some candidates will be available before and after for one-on-one conversations. Have other obligations that evening? This is a casual event and you are welcome to come in/out anytime between 6 PM and 9 PM.
The Democratic primary is June 11.
Second photo via Facebook
A moratorium on new development applications for Maple Avenue that was scheduled to expire in June has been pushed to November.
The Vienna Town Council voted on Monday (May 13) to extend the temporary suspension of the Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) zone to November 15.
The moratorium first went into effect last September to allow the town staff time to redesign the town’s guidelines.
Since then, the Planning Commission, the Board of Architectural Review and the Town Council have held individual and joint work sessions on draft design guidelines.
Additionally, the Town of Vienna also commissioned a Maple Avenue Corridor Multimodal Transportation and Land Use Study, which is expected to be received this summer and could be incorporated into the design guidelines.
Final design guidelines and amendments are anticipated to be done by September.
The Vienna Town Council adopted a $41.2 million budget yesterday (May 13) for fiscal year 2020, which represents a 6.5 percent increase over last year’s budget.
The new budget keeps the town’s real estate tax rate the same for the fifth consecutive year at 0.225 cents per $100 assessed value.
“While the tax rate is unchanged, most Vienna property owners will pay more in real estate taxes next year due to increases in assessed property values,” according to a press release from the town. “Real estate assessments increased 4 percent overall (4.9 percent for residential properties and 0.14 percent for commercial properties).”
The water and sewage rates will increase by about 10 percent — $64 — annually.
The Town of Vienna also expects new programming to bring in increased revenues from parks and recreation fees, more zoning fees from new developments, higher investment interest rates and more cellphone tower rentals, according to the press release.
The budget has funding for new initiatives, including an economic development manager position, several studies, a comprehensive zoning update and more tree maintenance funds.
Mayor Laurie DiRocco said in a press release that the economic development manager position “will help Vienna provide enhanced business-friendly services for existing businesses while also helping to bring to Town additional independent, locally owned businesses that will, collectively, help make Vienna a vibrant destination.”
The budget also provides the 189 employees of the town with a 3 percent merit raise.
FY 2020 begins July 1 and ends on June 30, 2020.
