For the Record – December 2019

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

A Berryville apartment complex serving mostly older people with limited incomes has undergone a nearly $2 million makeover since last year. Washington Square Apartments, a 46-unit complex on East Main Street, opened its doors in late October so the public could view the refurbishments up close. The U.S. Department of Agriculture financed the renovations, and the complex also participates in the department’s rental assistance program. (The Winchester Star)

Cave Hill Brewery opened in late October in McGaheysville as the first brewery in Rockingham County. But it won’t be the only one for long, said Josh Gooden, the economic development and tourism coordinator for the county. By early 2020, Rockingham will have three operational breweries: Cave Hill, Elkton Brewery Co. and BrewHaHa Brewing Co. They accompany several housing developments in the eastern part of the county between Elkton and Harrisonburg. (Daily News-Record)

Frederick County’s busiest refuse and recycling center is one step closer to getting a new facility. In late October, the county’s Public Works Committee unanimously recommended spending $1.6 million to build a new Albin refuse and recycling convenience center. The county wants to move the existing facility from 137 Indian Hollow Road to a 6-acre site at 178 Indian Hollow Road, which is owned by the public school system. (The Winchester Star)

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority hopes to sell its 404 Fairground Road property by Thanksgiving if everything goes to plan. Executive Director Douglas Parsons explained in early November that the authority has approved a $350,257 price and contract for the land, but the deal had not yet entered closing. The property is one of many held as collateral by the Strasburg-based First Bank as part of a loan of about    $3.6 million to the EDA. Parsons said the potential new tenant is a small business that operates in Warren County and needs a larger facility. (The Northern Virginia Daily)

The Village, which features apartment-style living for student leaders at Shenandoah University, is getting a fourth unit called The Q. A groundbreaking ceremony for The Q was held in early November, and it is expected to open next August and house about 24 students. When all five units in The Village are open, about 120 students will live there. Students must apply to live in the community. Each apartment is 1,600 square feet and fully furnished, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry facilities and communal porches. (The Winchester Star)

Trex Company, a major manufacturer of wood-alternative decking and railing, broke ground in November on a new manufacturing facility in Frederick County. The facility is expected to create more than 150 jobs. This will be the fourth site for Trex in the Winchester area, including its corporate headquarters. The company has more than local 500 employees. (The Winchester Star)

Valley Health System officials are optimistic that mammography services will soon be offered again at Winchester Medical Center’s Diagnostic Center. The center stopped performing mammograms Aug. 31 after an annual inspection by the American College of Radi­ology, working on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, raised questions about the quality of the scans taken over the past two years. Valley Health President and CEO Mark Merrill said the equipment functioned properly, but inspectors determined that staff had not accurately positioned or compressed some breasts, resulting in scans that were not sufficiently sharp. (The Winchester Star)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

A subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc. has acquired 57 acres on the Route 28 corridor in Herndon from a major federal IT contractor. Amazon Data Services Inc., otherwise known as Vadata, paid $54 million for the 2.4 million-square-foot site in a deal that closed Oct. 4, according to public land records. The seller of the Herndon site, about five minutes from Washington Dulles International Airport, was Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC, an affiliate of Chantilly-based Perspecta Inc. (Washington Business Journal)

Social media giant Facebook Inc. has reached a deal to take a large block of office space in Reston Town Center after weighing other potential locations, including Tysons. The Menlo Park, California-based company signed a lease with Boston Properties for about 75,000 square feet. (Washington Business Journal)

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors said homes stayed on the market an average of 31 days before going under contract in September, compared with 55 days a year ago. The number of homes sold was up almost 11%, and the average home sale price rose almost 5% to $600,400. The region continues to face a lack of homes for sale. As a region, inventory is down 37% from a year ago. In Alexandria and Arlington, near the new Amazon headquarters, the number of homes for sale is down more than 50% from last fall. Association members include real estate agents in Fairfax and Arlington counties, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church, and the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton. (WTOP)

Loudoun County continues to hold the top spot in the U.S. for median household income, according to a recent survey published by the U.S. Census Bureau. Loudoun, which county officials say has held the top spot for the past 12 years, came in at $139,915 in 2018. Nearby Arlington County came in at No. 5 with $122,394, while the second through fourth counties were in California. Loudoun’s high income levels are driven largely by the government and government contracting, defense and tech industries. (Loudoun Times-Mirror)

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced in late October that it is finally accepting lease proposals for a VA hospital that will be built in the Fredericksburg area. The deadline is Dec. 23 at 4 p.m. The city of Fredericksburg has been working on getting the Hylton Tract ready to be considered as a possible site since the VA began advertising in December 2017 that it was seeking “expressions of interest” for outpatient clinic space in an area stretching from Stafford County to Spotsylvania County, mainly along the Interstate 95 corridor. (The Free Lance-Star)

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Bon Secours Mercy Health, the Cincinnati-based not-for-profit Catholic health care system, announced in late October that it has signed an agreement to purchase three hospitals from affiliates of Community Health Systems Inc. They include the 300-bed Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg; the 105-bed Southampton Memorial Hospital in the city of Franklin; and Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center, an 80-bed hospital in Emporia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

John Sileo, a cybersecurity expert, delivered the keynote address at the CyberUp Summit in late October at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville. More than 100 people heard from Sileo and other security experts at the event presented by Averett University in partnership with the Southern Piedmont Technology Council and the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region. Sileo spoke from personal experience, having had both his personal identity and his business attacked online. He said he hoped to impress upon the audience the importance of safeguarding their digital assets. (Danville Register & Bee)

Dominion Energy is taking steps to invest about $330 million between two projects — a power plant and a solar farm — in Pittsylvania County, according to an announcement in November. The 500-megawatt, combustion turbine power plant,  which will be a total investment of more than $200 million, is projected to be the first business at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill, a few miles west of Danville. It is expected to be operational by April 2022. The other investment of $130 million will come from Maplewood Solar project, a 120-megawatt solar farm northwest of Chatham. Dominion has purchased the project, which was owned by Open Road Renewables. (Danville Register & Bee)

Morgan Olson LLC, North America’s largest manufacturer of walk-in delivery vans, will take Ikea’s place in Pittsylvania County, the governor’s office announced in October. The move is expected to create 703 full-time jobs on the company’s truck assembly line, which would make Morgan Olson the largest private employer in the county. The company plans to invest $57.8 million in the 925,000-square-foot plant currently owned by Swedish furniture maker Ikea. Hiring is expected to begin in May, according to Danville city spokesperson Arnold Hendrix. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

As part of Pittsylvania County’s strategic plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors in July, leaders aim for 90% of residents to have broadband internet access by 2024. To get resident input, the county is partnering with the Herndon-based nonprofit Center for Innovative Technology in conducting a survey that will run through Dec. 31. The Broadband Path program involves three steps: first, a needs assessment by the county; next, the locality must decide what its role is moving forward; last, the locality creates a comprehensive, 10-year plan with the goal of developing public-private partnerships that result in broadband access. (Danville Register & Bee)

Starting early next year, Norfolk-based debt-collection firm PRA Group plans to hire 300 employees over the next three years for its new location in Danville. Advertising for positions will begin in early December through PRA’s website, Indeed.com, LinkedIn and through the Virginia Employment Commission office in Danville. Operations are expected to begin soon after renovations are completed and new employees are trained. Company officials initially announced the project in December 2018, citing plans for 500 employees and an investment of $15 million, but the number of hires changed, and the investment total is now $11 million. (Danville Register & Bee)

ROANOKE/NEW RIVER VALLEY

The Blacksburg Planning Commission voted Nov. 5 to recommend a proposed development expected to give downtown its tallest building. The Virginia Tech Foundation, the university’s charitable arm and a holder of various off-campus properties, proposed the Gilbert Street mixed-use project, a 236,000-square-foot, five-story building on the existing retail site near the corner of Prices Fork Road and North Main Street. Two buildings would be demolished in the plan, and the development is expected to provide space for a national retailer on the first floor, a rooftop restaurant, offices and 250 parking spaces. (The Roanoke Times)

Montgomery County will raze downtown Christiansburg’s Phlegar building but will keep the adjacent structure that once housed the sheriff’s office as part of a nearly $1.5 million plan to relocate the magistrate’s and court services offices. Supervisors voted 6-1 in support of the proposal, and some described their decision as a compromise aimed at selecting a cost-effective plan while also fulfilling at least some of the recent calls to engage in historic preservation. (The Roanoke Times)

The former First Federal Building in downtown Roanoke was sold for $3.1 million in October. Kalyan Hospitality purchased the 48,000-square-foot office building built in 1958 that is currently occupied by Pinnacle Bank. Next year, Pinnacle plans to relocate to a new building on Campbell Avenue, and Kalyan is exploring options for the property as a downtown hotel or office space. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Mental Health America of Roanoke Valley shut down in November after more than        70 years of advocating for people with mental illnesses. The organization worked with three local nonprofits to take over its key programs. Bradley Free Clinic will take over the free psychiatric clinic, which offers help to those who cannot afford to access mental health care. Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare will provide mental health training for police, and Total Action for Progress will continue the unique arts therapy for children exposed to domestic violence. Board president Mariana Fortier said the organization was unable to raise enough funds to sustain its programs. (The Roanoke Times)

Steve Critchfield, an entrepreneur based in Blacksburg, invested in two buildings in the town of Pulaski with the help of grants and tax credits. Now renovated, each building has two apartments upstairs with ground floors for commercial spaces. The town celebrated the openings in late October, but the renovations costing nearly $1.7 million are just phase one of Critchfield’s plan. He said he’s in the process of buying more buildings on Main Street for mixed development in what he said was a five-year plan. Deputy Town Manager Nichole Hair said the town is using $700,000 in grants to revitalize 15 storefronts and a park on Main Street, which is expected to be completed by next October. (The Roanoke Times)

The redevelopment of a former car dealership in downtown  Vinton is receiving a funding boost from Roanoke County and the town government. The project, known as Vinyard Station, will receive an economic development incentive of $750,000 from Vinton. And in turn, the county will reimburse the town $200,000 from the tax revenue generated by the development, which would include a taproom-style restaurant and two other tenants. (The Roanoke Times)

Virginia Tech will launch a new minor in nuclear engineering in January through its mechanical engineering department, the school announced in October. Students in the colleges of engineering and science will be able to take the course-load of 18 credit hours, as well as students in other majors who meet course requirements. Naval ROTC students in particular will be encouraged to obtain the minor if they plan to go into the nuclear Navy. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

Amazon.com Inc. officials visited Bristol, Abingdon and Saint Paul in October, giving local legislators and economic development leaders the chance to pitch the region’s assets so it can have a stake in the company’s second headquarters that will open in Northern Virginia. The state hopes the benefits of the Amazon project will expand across Virginia, and those in the economically distressed region of far Southwest want to make sure they reap the benefits. At a roundtable in Saint Paul, educational leaders and lawmakers emphasized a desire to build a bridge between prospering Northern Virginia and Southwest Virginia to try to shrink the wide economic divide between the two regions. (The Roanoke Times)

Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have again introduced legislation to firm up retired miners’ pensions and health care. In November, they announced the filing of the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019. Co-sponsors include Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Doug Jones, D-Ala.; Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Bob Casey, D-Penn.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. The legislation would shore up the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan — which is currently headed for insolvency due to coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis.   (The Coalfield Progress)

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in downtown Bristol saw a 139% increase of visitors in October compared with the same time in 2018, after the September release of Ken Burns’ “Country Music” documentary on PBS. Burns and his creative team kicked off a promotional tour for the documentary at the museum in March, and the 1927 Bristol Sessions, which included the first recordings of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, were featured prominently in the first episode of the eight-part series. (Press release)

Agreements filed in U.S. District Court in late October paid out nearly $5.5 million in back pay for miners from the bankrupt Blackjewel LLC’s mines in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Checks from over the summer bounced when workers tried to cash them, prompting several miners in Kentucky to protest by blocking coal shipments in Harlan County. The court agreement involves a separate entity, Blackjewel Marketing and Sales Holdings, paying the bankrupt company $5.47 million to issue paychecks to employees. (The Associated Press, Bristol Herald-Courier)

The Health Wagon broke ground in late October for a new clinic in Dickenson County named for Sister Bernie Kenny with the order of Medical Missionaries of Mary. Kenny founded The Health Wagon to provide no-cost health care services to people living in Virginia’s coalfields. The Health Wagon said the need for a new clinic has been urgent and is being made possible through contributions from donors, foundations and grants, including one from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority donated the land on Happy Valley Drive. (The Roanoke Times)

The Lyric Theater in Saint Paul is receiving $400,000 from the state’s Industrial Revitalization Fund, Gov. Ralph Northam announced in early November. Lyric project organizers want to bring live music and theater to the downtown facility and have previously received grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority. Phase I construction bids are set to open Dec. 18. (The Coalfield Progress)

Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, a group of regional advocacy organizations, released a report in early November that suggests that former coal sites could play a critical role in future economic development across Central Appalachia, including in Southwest Virginia. These sites could be promising locations for redevelopment in support of sectors like outdoor recreation, recycling, waste management, technology and renewable energy. The report featured nine Virginia-based projects, ranging from initiatives that previously received government grants to unfunded conceptual proposals. (Bristol Herald Courier)

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise launched the public phase of its $100 million fundraising campaign in October. The campaign, which reached half the goal during the silent phase, follows U.Va.’s $5 billion capital campaign theme of “Honor the Future.” When U.Va.-Wise’s campaign started unofficially in 2012, the college endowment stood at $45 million, but it has grown to $105 million today. (Bristol Herald Courier)

Virginia Business College received a provisional certificate to operate on the former campus of Virginia Intermont College in Bristol. Meeting in Richmond in late October, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approved the plan to establish a four-year private business school. VBC President Gene Couch called the approval a “significant step forward.” School officials anticipate enrolling students for the first classes in August 2020. (Bristol Herald Courier)

Rural Retreat-based Vitality Farms LLC, operating as Appalachian Biomass Processing, expects to invest $894,000 in Virginia’s first commercial industrial hemp fiber processing facility, which will be located in Wythe County. The project is expected to create 13 jobs. Appalachian Biomass plans to purchase more than 6,000 tons of Virginia-grown industrial hemp during the next three years, at a value of more than $1 million. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Voters in Washington County soundly defeated a referendum on Election Day that would have moved county court functions to a vacant Kmart building off Interstate 81 in Abingdon. The unofficial vote was 12,075 against the move, with 5,271 voting for it. The decision means the question can’t be brought back to voters for 10 years. The courthouse move was proposed because county leaders and judges expressed concerns over the current courthouse’s security issues, space problems and lack of a large parking area nearby. (Bristol Herald Courier)

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. has announced a $4.5 billion writedown on its $12.8 billion investment in e-cigarette leader Juul Labs Inc. The dominant company in the vaping market, Juul has been buffeted by rising health concerns about e-cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the number of vaping-related lung illnesses had risen by early November to 2,051 cases and 40 deaths nationwide and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The CDC has tentatively linked the illnesses to a vitamin supplement used to dilute THC in bootleg vaping products. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has awarded a contract with options totaling about $806 million to a subsidiary of Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. Related to a previous $2.1 billion contract, the newly awarded contract to BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. will fund the procurement of materials needed for the manufacture of naval nuclear reactor components used in submarines and aircraft carriers.  (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Mexican packaging company Cartograf will invest $65.3 million to build its first U.S. folding and micro-corrugated package printing facility in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park. The manufacturing plant will create 63 jobs. Based in Mexico City, Cartograf provides packaging solutions to international customers in more than 40 industrial sectors, including food and beverage and personal hygiene.  (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors has approved plans by online car seller Carvana to build a 190,000-square-foot vehicle inspection facility and parking spaces for thousands of vehicles. Carvana plans to use the facility on a wooded 184-acre tract to perform basic maintenance on vehicles before they are shipped to customers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Virginia is looking to the sun and wind to help power state government operations under a contract with Dominion Energy. The 20-year contract commits the commonwealth to buy electricity from a proposed wind farm in Botetourt County and four solar power facilities under an agreement with Dominion. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

GlaxoSmithKline, the global health care company that concluded a merger with Pfizer in August, is expanding in Richmond, with plans to hire 150 people for a research and development hub. GSK Consumer Healthcare expects to invest $16.7 million to expand its Richmond consumer research center. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The newsroom staff of The Daily Progress in Charlottesville voted in November to form a union as The Blue Ridge NewsGuild. The union will represent reporters, photographers and page designers, but will not include the editorial department or managers in the newsroom.  (The Daily Progress)

EASTERN VIRGINIA

The developer of Atlantic Park and the city of Virginia Beach have come up with a plan to pay for the $325 million project that would transform three blocks at the Oceanfront into a surf park and entertainment venue. The financing deal involves creating an authority that would issue bonds for the planned development and reinvest taxes generated by the project. It’s the latest twist to the nearly yearlong negotiation between Venture Realty Group and city leaders as they try to get the ambitious development off the ground. The project is backed by music and fashion icon Pharrell Williams, who hails from Virginia Beach and debuted the Something in the Water Festival at the Oceanfront this spring. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods Inc. have announced that they would double their investment to   $500 million in a joint venture converting methane to clean natural gas, creating the nation’s largest supplier of renewable natural gas. The two companies created Align Renewable Natural Gas in November 2018, allocating $250 million to the project over 10 years. With the additional funding, Align RNG is expected to power more than 70,000 homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina, Utah, Arizona and California by 2029. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

A Virginia Beach-based web and mobile platform that helps clients find and hire drone pilots is expanding its headquarters and creating 41 jobs. DroneUp, founded in 2016, created Mission Match to connect clients, including commercial, government and military organizations, to drone pilots on demand. The company plans to invest $130,000 to expand its headquarters on Newtown Road where it moved in January. Construction is expected to conclude for the most part by the end of the year, the company says, although there will likely be minor projects in 2020.  (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Frank “Buddy” Gadams of Marathon Development Group is planning to build two more apartment complexes in downtown Norfolk. One would be near the Neon District on land he bought in late 2016, and the other would sit next to his high-rise Icon apartment tower near Waterside Drive. Together, they would bring more than 500 more apartments to the downtown Norfolk area. (The Virginian-Pilot)

There’s an obvious metaphor in the 100 concrete piles, each driven 70 feet deep, bracing the foundation of Stihl Inc.’s new U.S. headquarters building in Virginia Beach. “For me, this is not just a building, but a statement of intent,” said Nikolas Stihl, the advisory and supervisory board chairman for the German, family-owned Stihl Group. That intent appears to be bolstering the roots the company has built in Virginia Beach since arriving in 1974. (The Virginian-Pilot)