Reports: Intelsat Passes Up Bethesda; Will Move HQ To Tyson's

Satellite giant Intelsat announced Monday it will move its Washington, DC-based U.S. headquarters and its 430 employees to Tyson’s Corner in mid-2014, the Washington Business Journal reports.

The company looked closely at an East-West Highway office tower under construction by Carr Properties in Bethesda, the Business Journal reported last month, and was offered “a very aggressive incentives package” to consider re-locating to Montgomery County.

According to the Business Journal’s latest report, Intelsat CEO David McGlade remarked to Virginia Sen. Mark Warner that the satellite services provider company had a tough choice between Maryland and Virginia. Minutes later, according to the report, McGlade “got a call from Gov. Bob McDonnell, touting Virginia and asking what he could do to lure Intelsat to the commonwealth.”

The company received a $1.3 million grant from the Virginia Governor's Opportunity Fund, tax credits and job training assistance, according to the report.

Montgomery County Economic Development Director Steve Silverman told the Business Journal last month that if Intelsat chose Virginia over Maryland, it would likely have more to do with rental rates than incentives.

Virginia officials are touting the pending relocation, Virginia Business reports. Intelsat will anchor the planned Tyson’s Tower, a 22-story office tower that will be one of three towers making up a 1.4 million square-foot, mixed-use development near the planned Tyson’s Corner Metro station on Metro’s Silver Line.