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Arlington Firms Make Inc. 5,000 Fastest-Growing U.S. Companies List 

By Joseph Ramos

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, StartupMonday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Shirlington Gateway. Say hello to the new 2800 Shirlington, which recently delivered a brand-new lobby and upgraded fitness center. Experience a prime location and enjoy being steps from Shirlington Village, a large retail hub with a variety of unique restaurants and shopping options. Spec suites with bright open plans and modern finishes are under construction and will deliver soon!

There were 31 Arlington-based companies included in Inc. Magazine’s annual list of America’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies.

In all, 204 Northern Virginia companies made the list. According to Inc., these companies saw a median 3-year growth of 162%, generated $12 billion in total revenue and added 16,118 jobs.

The highest ranked Arlington company was Royce Geospatial Consultants, a geospatial intelligence government contractor based out of Clarendon.

“Our experts leverage the harvesting and combination of a variety of datasets,” the company says on its website, “to include emerging open and dark web data with foundational geospatial data to provide true value added Intelligence and GIS data resources used for deeper analysis.”

Other Arlington companies on the list include transportation and defense contractor Objective Area Solutions, biometric identification company Secure Planet Inc., medical data and records contractor Capitol Bridge.

“We are a growing, Arlington-based company that exclusively focuses on public sector aviation programs and we have developed a reputation for being able to quickly respond to our client’s dynamic environment,” said J.J. Stakem, CEO of Objective Area Solutions. “The complexity of these aviation programs in areas such as drones, cybersecurity, environmental programs, surveillance, and many other areas requires consulting companies to have a highly specialized understanding of the technical, organizational, operational, and policy considerations.  OAS uniquely fills that need for our clients.”

Stakem said the company has worked to support the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, and NASA.

“Moving forward we will be continuing our work to provide holistic support to public sector aviation programs,” Stakem said. “Over the next 12 months we are focused on growing our engineering support capabilities as a component of our overall solution and we are also expanding our client base to include a wider range of aviation clients within the US Government as well as state, local, and international public sector aviation domain.”

Courthouse startup DivvyCloud also made the list at number 471 with 970% growth. The company said in a press release that its recent acquisition by cybersecurity company Rapid7 meant it was the last year the company would be eligible for the list.

“My co-founder, Chris DeRamus, and I are honored to be included on this prestigious list and ranked among the most innovative and forward thinking companies shaping our nation today,” said Brian Johnson, co-founder and senior vice president of DivvyCloud. “This announcement further validates that we are fulfilling our mission to help enterprises accelerate innovation without loss of control.”

The following list includes the Arlington companies, their ranking on the Inc. list, and their 3-year growth rate.

Photo courtesy DivvyCloud. Vernon Miles contributed to this story.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Prosecutor Files Petition Against Judges — “A northern Virginia prosecutor who says her county’s judges are infringing on her discretion to dismiss charges and enter plea bargains is asking the state Supreme Court to intervene on her behalf. Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti filed a petition Friday asking the court for a relief from a policy imposed by the county’s four Circuit Court judges.” [Associated Press]

New BBQ Pop-Up Coming to Pentagon City — “In their spare time [chefs Kevin Tien and Scott Chung] dreamed up Wild Tiger BBQ, which launches Thursday, August 20 next to Bun’d Up at Pentagon Row in Arlington. The pop-up will run Thursday through Saturday for the first few weeks.” [Washingtonian]

‘Bumper Crop of Mosquitos’ — “With the floods of summer come the pests of summer — bloodsucking mosquitoes. It takes several days to a couple of weeks for mosquitoes to hatch, molt and fly out of floodwater, but the swarms eventually arrive, in greater numbers than before the flood. After the recent flooding from thunderstorms and Tropical Storm Isaias in the Washington region, a bumper crop of mosquitoes has emerged.” [Washington Post]

Retired Colonel Helps With COVID Response — “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early March, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel David Ashley quickly found his planned spring and summer mountain climbing trips canceled. He spent about a week doing projects around his Arlington home, but after 27 years in the military, he realized he need something else, something with more purpose.” [Arlington County]

Cab Exec’s Offensive Post Makes Headlines — “An elected town council member in Strasburg, Va., who also is chairman of the 6th Congressional District’s Republican Committee admitted this week that he posted, then removed, a sexually offensive meme targeted at Sen. Kamala D. Harris… [John] Massoud, who is vice president of Arlington’s Blue Top taxi service and was an unsuccessful candidate against ex-Del. Bob Brink for a House of Delegates seat from Arlington in 1997 and 1999, moved to the Shenandoah Valley about 10 years ago.” [Washington Post]

Analysis of Rents Near Metro Stations — “The most expensive rents ($2,200 and up) are found in areas of Arlington and Washington, DC. Rent near the Ballston-MU station is in the mid-range among DC Metro stops. But while the median price increased near Court House, it decreased near Ballston-MU, according to the analysis. The median rent for a one-bedroom unit near Ballston-MU is $1,975, a 1.3 percent decrease from 2019.” [Patch]

Clement Rips Dems for Redistricting Stance — “An independent candidate for Arlington County Board has criticized the Arlington County Democratic Committee for its opposition to a nonpartisan-redistricting constitutional amendment on the state ballot in November. Audrey Clement, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Libby Garvey for County Board, said the Democrats’ vote seems disingenuous for a party that claims to be about good government.” [InsideNova]

Arlington Makes Top Travel Destination List — “For all the talk of a move to small, less densely populated destinations, Hotwire also ranked much bigger cities. Its ‘midsize must see’ picks were St. Louis; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta; Arlington, Virginia; Tucson, Arizona; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Pittsburgh; Miami; and Cincinnati.” [CNBC]

Arlington is No. 3 Place in U.S. for Runners, Study Finds

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is the third-best place in the United States for runners, according to a newly-released study.

The website SmartAsset “analyzed data for 95 of the largest U.S. cities across six metrics related to the safety, accessibility and popularity of running as well as the affordability of local housing,” a company spokeswoman said, adding that it’s the fourth year in a row that the list has been compiled.

Arlington has actually fallen in the rankings, from first in 2018 and 2019 to third this year. It appears that a lower percentage of parkland than other locales might have hurt the county in the rankings. It fared better in other metrics.

“Arlington, Virginia has the second-highest number of gyms per 10,000 residents of any of the 95 cities in our study, at approximately 2.4,” SmartAsset wrote. The county “also ranks seventh overall for housing costs as a percentage of income, at slightly more than 20%. Arlington has a walk score of 68.9, the 15th-best score for this metric of any of the cities we analyzed.”

Running, the website notes, “is a great way to stay fit during the pandemic, as it allows people to get outdoors while maintaining social distancing with minimal equipment.”

The top dozen best places for runners, according to SmartAsset, are:

  1. Minneapolis
  2. Omaha
  3. Arlington
  4. San Francisco
  5. New York City
  6. Seattle
  7. St. Paul
  8. Cincinnati
  9. Madison
  10. Pittsburgh
  11. Boston
  12. Chicago

Here’s How Much You Need to Make to Be in the Top 20% of Arlington Households

By ARLnow.com

Aspiring to be in the top 20% of Arlington households by income? You’ll need to make more than three times what someone in Cleveland earns to crack the same top quintile.

Arlington is No. 4 among the 100 largest cities and Census-Designated Places in the U.S. in terms of income needed to be among the top earners, according to new rankings from the website SmartAsset.

The entry level for the top 20% of working households in Arlington is $216,605 in annual income, SmartAsset reports, based on Census data.

The top 3 on the list, ahead of Arlington, are all in the Bay Area:

  1. San Francisco (>$250,000)
  2. Fremont, Calif. ($243,080)
  3. San Jose, Calif. ($219,023)

Arlington’s fellow Amazon headquarters city, Seattle, was No. 5 at $190,348. By contrast, Detroit had the lowest income level for its 20% ($65,603) and Cleveland has the second-lowest ($70,632).

The rankings also highlight income disparities, even in prosperous cities.

“In 2018, the working households that comprised the top 20% of earners nationwide made at least $125,322 throughout the year,” SmartAsset noted. “In contrast, the working households in the bottom 20% of earners made $25,434 or less. As a ratio, top-earning households made almost five times as much as bottom-earning households.”

Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Trash Collection Delays — “Due to truck breakdowns, some residential trash/recycling routes were not completed yesterday and today. If your trash and/or recycling carts have not been emptied, please leave them at the curb for collection.” [Arlington County]

BLM Event Planned on Saturday — The group Arlington for Justice is holding a March for Black Lives on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. The event will start at the Charles Drew Community Center in Green Valley (3500 23rd Street S.). [Facebook]

Pro-School Opening Group Planning Rally — The group Arlington Parents for Education is planning a rally in support of opening Northern Virginia schools in the fall. The event is planned from 9-10 a.m. Saturday at Arlington Public Schools headquarters (2100 Washington Blvd). “Wear green. Social distance and wear masks. Bring banners and friends & families who support this cause,” the group says. [Twitter]

Marymount Offers to Host Int’l Students — Marymount University is currently planning to bring students back to campus in the fall, including international students. With Immigration and Customs Enforcement not allowing international students to enter the country if their school is operating entirely online, Marymount is also offering to host international students from other schools. [Press Release]

Arlington Ranks High for Single Homeownership — A new set of rankings from the website SmartAsset puts Arlington at No. 25 for places “where singles are increasingly choosing to buy over rent.” [SmartAsset]

Startup CEO Facing SEC Lawsuit, Too — “Former Trustify CEO Danny Boice is accused of spending millions of investors’ dollars on private jet flights, vacations, jewelry and mortgage payments on a beach house as part of what’s alleged to be an $18.5 million fraudulent scheme, according to a lawsuit the Securities and Exchange Commission filed Friday against both Boice and Trustify Inc.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington, Neighborhoods Top Lists of Best Places in U.S.

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is the No. 1 best city to live in the U.S., according to 2020 rankings from Niche.com, and two Arlington neighborhoods are No. 2 and No. 3 on the website’s new list of the Best Places to Live in America.

Arlington, which is technically a county, has topped the Niche “Best Cities to Live” list since 2016.

The site calculates the rankings “based on crime, public schools, cost of living, job opportunities, and local amenities.” Niche previously lauded Arlington for high-quality public schools, low crime rate, abundant nightlife options and walkability.

In its rankings this year, Niche cites the following recent review of Arlington from a current resident.

Arlington is a very clean and open-minded town with educated individuals and businesses that are dedicated to producing less waste. Many stores and retail centers are modern and well-kept. It is a family friendly area with great public schools. However, traffic is prevalent and real estate prices are through the roof. But, living a healthy lifestyle is easy in Arlington with many healthy food options and amazing trails all over.

Arlington neighborhoods also ranked remarkably well on Niche’s 2020 Best Places to Live lists for both the state and the country, thanks in large part due to highly-rated public schools and walkability.

The Bluemont neighborhood, west of Ballston, is the No. 2 best place in the nation, according to Niche. Radnor-Fort Myer Heights, near Rosslyn and Courthouse, is No. 3. Ballston/Virginia Square is No. 12 in the U.S. and Clarendon/Courthouse is No. 24.

Within Virginia, Arlington neighborhoods dominated the top 25: Bluemont (1), Radnor/Fort Myer Heights (2), Ballston/Virginia Square (3), Clarendon/Courthouse (4), Waycroft/Woodlawn (6), Colonial Village (11), North Rosslyn (12), Lyon Village (13), Cherrydale (14), Arlington Forest (15), Dominion Hills (16), Arlington Ridge (18), Claremont (20), Columbia Heights (21), Aurora Highlands (22), Alcova Heights (23), and Ashton Heights (25).

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Fox News in Arlington — “An apparently news-starved fox has taken matters into its own paws and has been spotted stealing copies of the Post from the porches of unsuspecting Arlington residents.” [Washingtonian]

In-Person Census Visits Starting — “To achieve a complete count, Census Takers will begin conducting home interviews. Starting the week of July 20 — nearly three weeks before the nationwide August 11 launch date — Census Takers will be visiting homes in Arlington, including an estimated 27,000 households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census.” [Arlington County]

Longtime Local Mail Carrier Dies — Jesus and Luz Collazos “immigrated to the United States and settled in Arlington, Va., where he spent 25 years as a postal worker. They raised a family in a home he bought after admiring it on his delivery route. On June 6, about a year into his retirement, he died of covid-19 at 67.” [Washington Post]

Should Route 29 Become John Lewis Highway? — One idea for the renaming of Lee Highway: name it after Rep. John Lewis, who died Friday. The civil rights leader grew up in Troy, Alabama, for which U.S. Route 29 is the main street. The highway also runs through his congressional district in Georgia. [Twitter]

Deer Rescued from Church Basement — “A huge thank you to Animal Services officers Schindler and D’Eramo from Humane Rescue Alliance for jumping in late last night to help our AWLA officers Ballena and Rose rescue a young deer.” [Facebook]

Synetic’s ‘The Decameron’ Project — “The Decameron, a series of 14th century Italian novellas about surviving the Black Death, is enjoying a surprising renaissance during the current coronavirus crisis… Now, Crystal City’s Synetic Theater, a physical theater troupe that specializes in literary adaptations, usually relying on music and movement to tell stories rather than spoken dialogue, has created a Decameron of its own.” [Washington City Paper]

Region Ascends Tech Rankings — Northern Virginia and the D.C. region are now No. 2 on a list of the top tech talent markets in the United States. [CBRE, Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman

Arlington Named ‘Fittest City’ in U.S.

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has again claimed the title of “America’s Fittest City.”

The results of the annual ACSM American Fitness Index, published by the American College of Sports Medicine and the Anthem Foundation, were released this morning. Arlington topped the list of the 100 fittest localities in the U.S. for the third year in a row.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

  1. Arlington, Va.
  2. Seattle, Wash.
  3. Minneapolis, Minn.
  4. Madison, Wis.
  5. San Francisco, Calif.
  6. Washington, D.C.
  7. Irvine, Calif.
  8. Denver, Colo.
  9. Boise, Idaho
  10. Boston, Mass.

“The science-based ACSM/Anthem Fitness Index evaluated America’s 100 largest cities using 33 health behaviors, chronic diseases and community infrastructure indicators,” the organization said in a press release. The indicators include access to athletic facilities, parks, and bike/pedestrian infrastructure; exercise frequency; healthy eating habits; and prevalence of chronic health conditions.

“Arlington’s balance of healthy behaviors and community infrastructure earned it the #1 overall rank,” the press release continues. “Arlington ranked in the top 10 cities for 19 of the 33 indicators in the ACSM/Anthem Fitness Index. Two indicators ranked #1, including lowest rate of adults with obesity and highest rate of residents meeting aerobic and strength activity guidelines.”

Arlington Is Among Top Places ‘Where Women Are Most Successful’

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County has ranked No. 3 nationally on a list of localities “where women are most successful.”

The new rankings, from the website SmartAsset, analyzed the “percentage of women with a bachelor’s degree, median earnings for women working full-time, percentage of business owners who are women, housing costs as a percentage of women’s earnings and the percentage of full-time working women earning $75,000 or more.”

Arlington ranked behind D.C. at No. 2 and Cary, North Carolina at No. 1. Nearby Alexandria ranked No. 13.

Here’s what SmartAsset said about Arlington’s third-place ranking:

Like last year, Arlington, Virginia ranks as the third city in the U.S. where women are most successful. It leads the metric measuring bachelor’s degrees, as 76.19% of women in Arlington have at least a bachelor’s degree. Arlington also comes in second place in the median earnings metric. The median income for a woman working a full-time job in Arlington is $80,892. The city falls behind on one metric: housing costs as a percentage of women’s earnings. In 2018, median annual housing costs, across both renters and owners, made up more than 30% of average women’s earnings.

Arlington’s Park System Ranks Fourth In the Nation for Third Year in a Row

By Vernon Miles

A ranking of park systems in cities across the country (yes, we know Arlington is not a city) placed Arlington’s fourth, not far behind neighboring D.C.

The Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore index ranked the top 100 localities on their parks, based on access, acreage, amenities and investment.

Arlington ranked 100 out of 100 for investment, meaning the amount spent on parks per resident. It also ranked 99 out of 100 on access to parks (the portion of residents within a ten-minute walk to a park) and 89 out of 100 on amenities (features like basketball hoops, playgrounds and dog parks). A press release noted that the park access score had inched up from 98% last year and exceeded D.C. in both access and amenities.

At 38 out of 100, Arlington scored lowest on acreage — the median park size and percent of area dedicated to parks.

“Arlington fell behind on park acreage,” a press release noted. “The [county] reserves 11 percent of city area for parks, compared to the District’s 24 percent. The nonprofit organization reported overall progress for parks this year but warned that city park systems have reached a critical tipping point, as widening inequities [in] park access and COVID-related budget cuts risk irreversible damage in 2020 and beyond.”

This is the third year in a row that Arlington has been ranked fourth, recovering from a sixth-place ranking in 2017.

“We are proud to be recognized again this year for our outstanding park and recreation system,” Jane Rudolph, Director of Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said in a county press release. “The County’s ongoing commitment coupled with the involvement and support of our residents make Arlington’s park and recreation system what it is today – a valued resource for our diverse community. And though our parks are temporarily closed due to COVID-19, our great park system is one that can be used long into the future.”

The top three locations on the ranking were Minneapolis, D.C. and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

“When stay-at-home orders permitted, people increasingly turned to parks, trails, and public open spaces to connect with nature, exercise, and enhance their mental and physical health,” said Diane Regas, President and CEO of The Trust for Public Land, in a press release. “Residents deeply value parks, but continued inequity and the risk of future budget cuts threaten severe damage to the park systems that make many cities so livable.”

Trails in Arlington’s parks have remained open and busy during the pandemic, while the parks themselves are closed to everything other than those walking to and from trails.

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

Arlington Ranks as No. 1 Place for Working from Home

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has the highest proportion of residents who can work from home in the U.S., according to a new study.

That’s according to financial website SmartAsset, which ranked the 200 largest U.S. cities by the estimated percentage of the workforce that can work remotely.

“A large percentage of the workforce in Arlington, Virginia is involved in two white-collar occupations: management, business & financial operations and professional & related job,” SmartAsset wrote. “According to [Bureau of Labor Statistics] data, 60% of management, business & financial operations workers and more than 42% of all professional & related workers can work from home, so many Arlington workers have that ability. We estimated that 39.23% of the total Arlington, Virginia workforce can work from home, the highest percentage for this metric across the 200 largest U.S. cities.”

That could be an underestimate. A recent ARLnow poll, though unscientific, found that 80% of respondents reported working at home (of given leave) with full pay.

Arlington was No. 1 in SmartAsset’s rankings, with Frisco, Texas; Bellevue, Washington; Irvine, California; and Washington, D.C. rounding out the top 5. Neighboring Alexandria ranked No. 14.

If much of the Arlington population is working from home and still getting paid during the current crisis, that’s good news for the local economy, suggesting a swifter return of consumer spending once stay-at-home orders are relaxed. Also good news: last month SmartAsset ranked Arlington among the most recession-resistant places in the U.S.

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