Partnership formed to promote ‘smart-city’ technologies

Published August 15, 2016 by Robert Powell, III

The Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology has begun a partnership with George Washington University and a private equity company, 22 Capital Partners, to promote creation of “smart-city” technologies in Virginia.

Under the smart-city concept, sensors and analytical tools are used to make building systems and city infrastructure more efficient and responsive to the needs of businesses and residents.

The three partners plan to create an environment for smart-city entrepreneurs in a corridor stretching from Washington, D.C., to Washington Dulles International Airport.

“Entrepreneurs and technologists in our region are pushing the boundaries each and every day through their tireless research and pursuit of technological innovation,” Ed Albrigo, the president and CEO of CIT, said in a statement. “This partnership will help create an environment that will embrace a wide range of companies; from Fortune 500 companies, tech giants to budding startups. The atmosphere and assets that will be available will help foster breakthroughs in technology that will provide the framework for the smart cities of the future.”

A smart-city prototype is being developed by Minh Le, the managing partner of 22 Capital Partners, at the Gramercy District in Loudoun County. Gramercy District is a 2.5 million-square-foot, $500 million development abutting the Dulles Greenway. It is near the Dulles airport and the Ashburn Metro station on the Silver Line that is scheduled to open in 2019.

Gramercy District is the first “smart city” in the region and one of the first in the country, according to Chantilly-based 22 Capital Partners.  The goal of the project, it says, is to merge technology with real estate to offer unique experiences and enhance quality of life. 

“Gramercy District will create an environment that continuously adapts to meet the needs of business partners and guests who are working, living, shopping and playing in the smart city,” the firm said in a statement. “The vision of the group creating Gramercy District is a model for the new standard of living and working.”