ALEXANDRIA, VA (August 2019) – The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), joined by City of Alexandria officials, construction and real estate partners, community leaders, and other distinguished guests gathered at the construction site of IDA’s new, state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Northern Virginia’s blossoming high-tech corridor to celebrate the official groundbreaking ceremony for its new headquarters Tuesday, August 13, 2019.
“This is the next step in a long journey in support of several agencies that we assist in the United States federal government,” said IDA President, Dr. David S.C. Chu. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without our several partners. It does take a team to build a village, and that team is assembled here this morning.”
The celebration is the latest milestone in a longstanding partnership between IDA and the City of Alexandria that began nearly four decades ago.
“Over the last four decades, the City of Alexandria has benefited from the reputation of this Institute,” remarked longtime City of Alexandria Councilwoman, Del Pepper. “While IDA itself has grown and flourished, we have always felt that our relationship was mutually beneficial. Our city and economic development staff worked with IDA leadership and advisors over recent years to help identify sites that would meet the Institute’s growth for decades to come.
The location at 730 East Glebe Road in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard community sits a little more than one block from a future Metro station and in close proximity to the site of Virginia Tech’s new Innovation Campus.
“Councilwoman Pepper, fellow citizens of Alexandria, you are our partners in IDA’s mission in service to our great nation,” emphasized IDA Board of Trustees Chair, Pete Geren. “We are excited and anticipating the decades ahead.”
The new facility will feature modern conference room space in addition to a designated conference center, on-site café, health and fitness center, and improved collaboration space and design for evolving security requirements. Construction on the new 370,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed by early 2022.
IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three Federally Funded Research and Development Centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical, and analytic expertise.
