Recent Articles from Beth JoJack
Van maker repays state grant after Pittsylvania layoffs
Morgan Olson has paid back a $500,000 Virginia Port Authority grant after the Michigan-based manufacturer of walk-in step vans failed to employ an agreed-upon number of workers at its facility at the Cane Creek Centre Industrial Park in Pittsylvania County. It’s not the jubilant future economic developers had envisioned when celebrating the company’s October 2019 […]
Dominion Energy COO Diane Leopold to retire after nearly three decades
Dominion Energy Chief Operating Officer Diane Leopold plans to retire from the Fortune 500 utility this summer after working for nearly four decades in the industry. Leopold, who will remain as COO and executive vice president until she steps down on June 1, 2025, oversees major construction projects such as Dominion’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia […]
Navy awards RTX subsidiary $590.8M contract for electronic attack system
The Navy has awarded Raytheon, a subsidiary of Arlington County Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor RTX, a $590.8 million contract to produce nine Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) ship sets for the military branch’s EA-18 Growler electronic warfare aircraft and four more sets for the Royal Australian Air Force, the U.S. Department of Defense […]
Ballston BID names new CEO
The Ballston Business Improvement District (BID) has named Danette Nguyen its next CEO, the Arlington County organization announced Monday. A Ballston resident, Nguyen previously was the managing director of the Maryland Women’s Business Center (MWBC), a program which encourages women to start, sustain and grow their businesses. Additionally, Nguyen spent five years working at the […]
100 People to Meet in 2025
In our sixth annual list of 100 Virginians you’ll want to meet in the new year, you’ll encounter interesting people of many ages and occupations — from a doctor in his 80s who built the Chesapeake Care Clinic to a 10-year-old CEO who started his own popcorn business and whose parents are his employees. In […]
Pittsylvania megasite wins $1.3B battery separator project
Tennessee-based Microporous will invest $1.3 billion to build a battery separator manufacturing facility at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill in Pittsylvania County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Nov. 13. The company expects to create 2,015 jobs. The megasite’s first tenant, Microporous will develop Lot 1 at the park in two phases, with each phase […]
Appalachian Power plans small nuclear reactor in Campbell
Appalachian Power, an electric utility subsidiary of American Electric Power which serves more than one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee, announced plans Nov. 14 to bring a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) project to Campbell County. The company, which has its headquarters in Charleston, West Virginia, has identified a potential site for […]
Virginians go for Texan vodka
Virginia is for lovers of vodka distilled from corn in Austin, Texas, apparently. For the seventh straight year, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is Virginia’s most popular spirit at Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) stores, according to a Friday announcement. The spirit generated $75 million in sales at Virginia ABC stores in fiscal year 2024. That’s […]
Glen Allen’s Snagajob is acquired by Boston’s JobGet
JobGet, a Boston-based hourly jobs listings platform, last week announced that it has acquired rival Snagajob in Glen Allen. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to Tony Liu, cofounder and CEO of JobGet. Snagajob will operate as a standalone entity within JobGet, creating the United States’ largest hourly workforce job platform. […]
Stephen Edwards tapped for national port association board
The American Association of Port Authorities announced Thursday that Stephen Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, which runs the Port of Virginia, has been elected to a two-year term on the AAPA’s board. Members elected the board during the AAPA’s Oct. 28 convention in Boston, which had more than 800 attendees. […]
Omni Homestead GM receives lifetime achievement award
The American Hotel & Lodging Association presented Mark Spadoni, managing director of The Omni Homestead Resort in Bath County, with the association’s General Manager Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct. 28. The association honored Spadoni in San Antonio at its second annual The Hospitality Show conference, cosponsored by Questex’s Hotel Management brand. “I am deeply honored […]
Virginians wager $622M on sports in September
Virginians bet $622 million on sports in September, up 19.6% from September 2023, according to Virginia Lottery data released Friday. Virginia bettors won $550.5 million in September. About $618.3 million of September’s gross sports gaming revenues came from mobile operators, and the remaining $3.7 million came from casino retail activity. Virginia currently has three casinos: […]
Thalhimer now sole principal for Diamond District redevelopment
Loop Capital is no longer affiliated with the development partnership working on the mixed-use development component of Richmond’s $2.4 billion Diamond District project, leaving Thalhimer Realty Partners as the development team’s sole principal. The partnership, a limited liability company named Diamond District Partners, is developing the area surrounding the planned new baseball stadium [...]
CoStar makes deal to move into Arlington HQ in early 2025
CoStar Group is accelerating its headquarters move from Washington, D.C., to Arlington County, thanks to a deal with a tenant in the headquarters building that included a $48 million early termination fee. The global real estate data and analytics company, best known for its Apartments.com and Homes.com marketplaces, announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters […]
HII’s Mission Technologies secures $3B DOD contract
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ McLean-based Mission Technologies division won a $3 billion contract to provide the Department of Defense logistics and intelligence support and technology. Under the Logistics Services, ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance] Operations and Next-Gen Technology (LOGIX) task order, the HII division will provide strategy-level support to the DOD and its m[...]
Virginia is for HQs
When CoStar Group was searching for its new headquarters in 2022, Central Place Tower at 1201 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington County, with its impressive accompanying bird’s-eye views, captured the company’s attention. Located about a quarter mile from the Potomac River, the gleaming, 391-foot-tall Class A office building features floor-to-ceiling windows across its 31 stories, reflecting [&he[...]
Powhatan approves $2.7B data center campus
Powhatan County has approved an estimated $2.7 billion data center campus on 119.9 acres partly bordering Chesterfield County. The county’s board of supervisors voted 3-2 during its Oct. 28 meeting for a rezoning and a conditional use permit allowing the proposed development to move forward. The developer, Newport Beach, California–based Province Group, estimates that its […]
Breeden promotes five property management employees
The Breeden Co. has promoted five employees in its property management division, the Virginia Beach-based real estate company announced Thursday. The five employees are Rachel Blanchard, Lisa Capps, Sheena Obermark, Tiffany Rote and Samantha Schuman. Blanchard, who was previously a project manager, has been appointed director of training and implementation. In May, a Breeden social […]
Fed’s Fifth District economy grows modestly
Economic activity in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) grew modestly from early September, according to the latest edition of the Fed’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is based on anecdotal information about economic conditions gathered [&hellip[...]
SEC, Hampton managing partner of BFM Fund settle charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges in early October against a Hampton-based managing partner of The BFM Fund and a limited liability company for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duties and misleading investors. Himalaya Rao-Potlapally of Hampton is a managing partner of Portland, Oregon-based BFM Fund, a seed-stage private venture capital fund focused on founders […]