Reston — SAIC, one of the largest employers in Northern Virginia, has announced that they will locate the headquarters for Leidos in Reston Town Center. Leidos is the to-be-formed new company that handles national security, health and engineering solutions.

They will lease office space at 11951 and 11955 Freedom Drive, otherwise known as One and Two Freedom Square. Approximately 150 employees will relocate from Tysons Corner and occupy the space immediately, with another 450 expected to move in as renovations are made over time.

“The selection of the headquarters location for Leidos was made after careful consideration of many options,” said Stu Shea, current chief operating officer of SAIC and future president and COO of Leidos. “We did careful analysis of where employees live and also mapped out key customer locations to inform our decision. Reston makes sense for Leidos, it’s easily accessible and the amenities are world class. The new facility will be more conveniently located for our employees and still gives us easy access to key customers in the area.”

Mark Ingrao, president and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, said the addition of Leidos will complement the other businesses in the Dulles corridor.

“The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce is excited that Leidos has decided to headquarter in the fast-growing and vibrant Reston business corridor,” he said. “Leidos’ presence in the community will complement the professional services, IT and technology firms that comprise the majority of the 2,400 companies located here.”

Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said the county is proud to have SAIC’s headquarters in Fairfax County, and that the county was able to retain the new company.

“To have them stay in the county is very important to us, they’ve been a great corporate citizen during their time here,” he said. “They looked at where their people currently are, looked at the amenities surrounding Reston, such as Dulles Airport, and found they didn’t want to leave. That’s the kind of success story we want to trumpet as a county.”

Gordon also said the move bodes well for the county’s future economic development.

“Companies of their nature know they can find the educated, skilled workforce they need in Fairfax County, and that’s something that’s going to appeal to other companies in the future,” he said. “Things like our schools are what’s going to continue to allow us to maintain current companies and also serve as a recruitment asset when it comes to bringing new companies.”

SAIC announced in August 2012 that it would split into two separate, publicly traded companies, pending final approval from their board of directors.

Their technical, engineering and enterprise information technology services will remain under the SAIC name, and will remain headquartered at SAIC Drive in McLean.