History was made in early 2001 when local Internet company America Online bought Time Warner , the world 's largest traditional media company , near the end of the dot-com bubble days . After the bubble burst , Northern Virginia office vacancy rates went from 2 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2002 . After 2002 , vacancy rates fell below 10 percent due to increased defense spending after the September 11 attacks , and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars causing the government 's continued and increasing reliance on private defense contractors
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Northern Virginia