For generations, Fayetteville’s identity has been inseparable from Fort Bragg. The installation has shaped the city’s economy, culture and workforce, producing thousands of highly trained soldiers whose leadership and technical expertise have made an impact around the world.
The challenge has always been what happens when they leave the military.
Each year, approximately 7,000 soldiers transition out of service at Fort Bragg. Many possess advanced technical skills, security clearances and years of leadership experience, yet too often those professionals leave Cumberland County in search of opportunities elsewhere.
The Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation believes it has a solution.
Now under development in downtown Fayetteville, the new Defense Innovation Center is designed to do more than provide office space. The 36,000-square-foot secure facility is intended to become the hub where military expertise, private industry and emerging technology meet under one roof. For FCEDC President and CEO Robert Van Geons, the vision began with a simple question: How can Fayetteville better capitalize on one of its greatest assets?
“The gap it fills is physical infrastructure,” Van Geons said. “Fort Bragg holds a concentration of operational expertise, and North Carolina has an established commercial technology sector. There has been no accessible, secure location off post where the two could work together.”
That idea evolved into a facility unlike anything currently available in the region.
Plans call for flexible workspaces, private offices, training rooms, secure laboratories, multiple Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities and a secured briefing room capable of accommodating more than 200 people. Beyond its physical features, the center is designed to help technology companies navigate military acquisition processes while creating opportunities for service members to work directly with businesses developing the next generation of defense technologies.
“The facility serves as the anchor point of a regional defense innovation ecosystem,” Van Geons said. “It’s where talent connects with advanced employment opportunities and entrepreneurs advance new ideas.”
The impact extends well beyond active-duty soldiers.
Military spouses whose careers are often interrupted by relocations and deployments are also expected to benefit from employers establishing operations in the area. At the same time, the center is designed to help companies begin hiring immediately, even before permanent facilities are completed.
“The Center’s training rooms and key-man offices allow a company to hire and train in our community while its permanent facility is under construction or upfit,” Van Geons explained. “That shortens the time between a company’s decision to locate in Fayetteville and Cumberland County and its first local hire.”
Not everyone leaving military service is searching for a traditional job, however. Many veterans are launching businesses of their own, particularly in cybersecurity, logistics, artificial intelligence and defense technology. Van Geons says the Innovation Center was built with those entrepreneurs in mind.
“The secure offices, labs and demonstration space give those entrepreneurs a place to design, develop and prove new technologies, along with access to the operational community that will evaluate them,” he said. “The facility connects transitioning talent with employers seeking their skills while also providing a launch pad for those advancing their own ideas.”
The project represents a broader shift in how economic development is measured.
Rather than simply recruiting employers, communities are increasingly focused on building ecosystems where businesses, entrepreneurs and skilled workers can grow together. Fayetteville’s proximity to Fort Bragg positions it uniquely for that model, particularly as defense technology continues to evolve.
Looking ahead, Van Geons envisions the Defense Innovation Center serving as the front door to a much larger regional network.
“The Center operates as a portal,” he said. “Veteran talent, startups, defense innovators, research collaborators and military thought leaders will pass through the facility to train, hire and advance new technology before establishing permanent operations across Fayetteville and Cumberland County.”
Success, he says, won’t be measured solely by the number of companies inside the building, but by the long-term impact throughout the community.
“Our goal is for Fayetteville and Cumberland County to be recognized nationally as the place where commercial technology and operational military expertise come together.”
If that vision becomes reality, the Defense Innovation Center won’t simply change the downtown skyline.
It could redefine how the rest of the country sees Fayetteville not only as the home of Fort Bragg, but as one of America’s emerging centers for defense innovation.

(Photo: Guests were welcomed inside the Defense Innovation Center, June 25 for a first look at the vision taking shape. The 36,000-square-foot building will feature key-man offices, conference and training rooms, multiple SCIFs and a large 200+-person presentation hall. Photo courtesy of Cumberland County, NC Government's Facebook page)