And the Northrop HQ sweepstakes winner is…

Northrop Grumman Corp. has signed an agreement to purchase an existing building located at 2980 Fairview Park Drive in Falls Church, Va., for its corporate office.

Northrop Grumman Corp. has signed an agreement to purchase an existing building at 2980 Fairview Park Drive in Falls Church, Va., for its corporate office, completing a comprehensive site selection process, the company announced today.

Northrop Grumman said it expects to initiate operations in the new corporate office facility in the summer of 2011 with employees from the company’s offices in Los Angeles and Arlington, Va.

From the time the company announced it would be moving some 300 headquarters employees to the Washington Metro area, local jurisdictions jockeyed to win Northrop’s favor.

“The foremost priority of our administration is creating new jobs and getting our economy back on track,” said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell when the company narrowed the search to just sites in Virginia. “Today’s announcement that Northrop Grumman, a Fortune 100 company, is moving to Virginia is a major step forward in this effort.”

The giant defense contractor in April narrowed the search to a handful of sites in Northern Virginia, including Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church.

The company currently employs approximately 40,000 people in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., region, Northrop said.

Northrop Grumman, of Los Angeles., ranks No. 2 on Washington Technology’s 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.