RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam has approved a $500,000 state grant for Discovery Inc. to expand its technology and operations hub in Northern Virginia.
The governor’s office announced Thursday that Virginia had beat out Maryland and New York for the $16 million expansion. The company projects the expansion will create 240 new jobs.
Discovery is the parent company of several TV channels, including the Discovery Channel, the Food Network and Animal Planet.
“This is a very big deal for Loudoun County, when you start to think about first of all, the corporate name of Discovery and the fact that we’re getting $16 million in investment and 240 new jobs,” said Buddy Rizer, the executive director of economic development for Loudoun County.
Rizer added this is the kind of economic diversity the county has been looking for as it branches out beyond federal government contracting and data centers.
The county’s board of supervisors has to approve a matching county grant to finalize the deal.
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