Recent Articles from Elizabeth Lake
Retired Naval Station Norfolk commander is new Suffolk econ dev chief
Retired Navy Capt. Janet H. Days, who retired last year as commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station, will be taking on a new tour of duty in February as director of Suffolk’s economic development department, the city announced Wednesday. She’ll start her new job Feb. 7, according to the announcement. […]
Richmond water crisis shuts down many restaurants, businesses
“Dry January” became all too literal in Richmond, where most city residents and businesses were struggling with a water outage that started Monday afternoon and was still leaving much of a city with a population of more than 225,000 people without running water as of mid-afternoon Wednesday. Schools were closed, many businesses were shut down, […]
Something in the Water gets extension from Va. Beach
Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival got a bit of a break Tuesday from Virginia Beach City Council members, who agreed to give the Virginia Beach-born music and fashion maven more time to fulfill an overdue part of the festival’s contract with the city. City Council voted 8-2 Tuesday to indefinitely defer an earlier […]
Booz Allen to pay $15.8M fine to settle fraud allegations
Booz Allen Hamilton, the McLean-based Fortune 500 global management consultant, has agreed to pay a $15.875 million fine to the federal government to settle allegations that one of its subsidiaries violated the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice announced Jan. 3. According to the DOJ’s statement, two former program managers at Maryland-based Booz Allen […]
Smithfield Foods files for IPO
Virginia’s Smithfield Foods announced Monday it has filed a registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering. This is the first step toward the pork and packaged meats giant’s plan of selling common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol SFD. In November 2024, Smithfield’s […]
Outlook unclear for Something in the Water festival with Va. Beach vote set
The Virginia Beach City Council is set to consider an agenda item next week that could lead to the cancellation of the April 26-27 Something in the Water music festival, if organizers don’t provide the city with a full list of announced artists within days of the Jan. 7 vote. Under an agreement signed by […]
ATCC expansion targets future coronaviruses
Rebecca Bradford raises a scary thought: “What if we were hit with two pathogens at the same time?” For example, what if, as COVID-19 was hitting the country in early 2020, a flu virus had been spreading too? It’s a distinct possibility in the future, and scientists are working hard to establish quick and effective […]
Northrop Grumman subsidiary scores $3.4B Navy contract
Northrop Grumman Systems, a subsidiary of Falls Church aerospace and defense giant Northrop Grumman, has been awarded a $3.459 billion contract by the Navy to engineer and manufacture new nuclear aircraft, according to announcements from the Department of Defense and the Navy last week. E-130J jets will take the place of the Navy’s current E-6B […]
Party City declares bankruptcy, closing 700 stores, including 18 in Va.
Party City filed for bankruptcy Saturday and said it would “commence a wind down of its retail and wholesale operations and going out of business sales at its approximately 700 stores nationwide,” including 18 stores in Virginia. The company just came out of bankruptcy in September, after bringing on a new CEO, Barry Litwin, in […]
GDIT wins $5.57B contract to upgrade military communications system
Falls Church-based General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of Reston Fortune 100 defense contractor General Dynamics, has won a $5.57 billion contract from the Air Force Mission Partner Capabilities Office, it announced Friday. Awarded in November, the single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a five-year base period and a five-year option, according to G[...]
Proposed $8.8B+ Pittsylvania data center campus hits roadblock
So many Pittsylvania County residents turned out to voice their — predominantly opposed — opinions regarding a proposed $8.8 billion-plus data center campus and natural gas power plant that a county planning commission meeting ran about five hours Tuesday, ending around 11:40 p.m. As the meeting neared its end, Steven Gould, the attorney representing Balico, […]
Martinsville doctor found guilty of 460+ counts of opioids distribution
A federal court jury in Abingdon found Dr. Joel Smithers, who previously practiced in Martinsville, guilty of 466 federal counts of illegally prescribing Schedule II controlled substances, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Virginia announced Dec. 31, 2024. He was also found guilty of one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of illegally […]
Providers, nonprofits, colleges battle health care labor crisis
Many people may be aware by now that the United States is battling a shortage of nurses and physicians, but what’s received significantly less attention is that numerous other health care occupations — from home health aides to medical laboratory technicians to physical therapists — also are facing a short supply of workers. “People think […]
U.S. Army awards RTX’s Raytheon $946M contract modification
The U.S. Army has awarded Raytheon, a subsidiary of Arlington County Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor RTX, a contract modification worth about $946.47 million for production hardware, software and services related to the Patriot air defense system, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, located at Redstone Arsenal in […]
Thalhimer subsidiary purchases Dabney Center for $75M
Thalhimer Realty Partners, a Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer subsidiary, has purchased Dabney Center, a 56-acre industrial park in Henrico County, for $75.3 million, the company announced Monday. The complex, which includes 14 buildings and encompasses more than 642,000 square feet, was purchased from Brandywine Realty Trust of Philadelphia. Atlantic Union Bank provided financing for […[...]
Food City to pay $8.4M to settle opioids-related allegations
Abingdon-based K-VA-T Food Stores, operator of the Food City supermarket chain, has agreed to pay more than $8.4 million to the federal government to settle allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) related to dispensing opioids and other controlled substances. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the agreement with K-VA-T Food Stores Monday, In a statement, […]
Statewide home sales, inventories rose in November
The fall 2024 housing market has outpaced the fall 2023 market across the commonwealth, according to statewide November sales data released Dec. 20 by Virginia Realtors. “For two months in a row now, Virginia has seen double-digit growth in closed sales,” Ryan Price, the trade organization’s chief economist, stated in a news release. In November, […]
Martinsville real estate, building supply firm names new president
The Lester Group has appointed Dana Cowart president, the Martinsville-based building materials and real estate development company announced Monday. Cowart started his new job Dec. 1. Cowart brings to The Lester Group more than two decades of experience in the building supply sector. Previously, Cowart was vice president of acquisitions, vice president of sales and […]
Big tech company to buy power from Va.’s first onshore wind farm
Even as political winds shift in Washington, D.C., a long-delayed onshore wind farm in Botetourt County might finally be sailing to completion. Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced Wednesday that it has reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, a wind farm the Charlottesville company has been working to […]
Hundreds pack into Caesars Virginia on opening day
Hundreds of people descended upon Danville’s Main Street Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the $800 million Caesars Virginia, the third permanent casino to open in the state. Caesars didn’t shortchange on spectacle for the first day. A faux Roman legionary struggled to climb out of a Rolls-Royce to join Vegas-style showgirls and others for […]
Leidos wins TSA contract worth up to $2.6B
Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor Leidos has won Transportation Security Administration contract worth up to $2.6 billion, according to a Tuesday notice on SAM.gov. TSA awarded the TSA Checkpoint Integrated Logistics Support Services contract for checkpoint maintenance services on Dec. 31, 2024. According to the request for proposals issued in April 2024, the contractor will be [&hellip[...]
ICF acquires tech, advisory services company
Reston-headquartered consulting and tech services provider ICF has acquired New York-based tech and advisory services company Applied Energy Group from Ameresco, it announced Tuesday. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Massachusetts-based energy efficiency and renewable energy company Ameresco acquired Applied Energy Group in 2011. “This transaction aligns with our stra[...]
Herndon office building portfolio sells for $51M
A portfolio of four office buildings in Herndon sold for $51 million, Finmarc Management announced Thursday. Dubbed Dulles Corner, the four buildings comprise nearly 620,000 square feet of Class A office space. Located at the intersection of Dulles Toll Road and Virginia Route 28, the properties are: 2411 Dulles Corner Park, an eight-story, nearly 180,000-square-foot […]
Buc-ee’s estimates first Va. location to open in June
Leave it to beaver — the behatted mascot of mega-travel center chain Buc-ee’s, that is. Texas-based Buc-ee’s projects it will open its first travel center in Virginia — its 74,000-square-foot Rockingham County location — on June 30, although the opening date is not set in stone, Buc-ee’s Media Coordinator Crissy Gonzales noted in an email […]
Virginians bet almost $761M on sports in Nov. 2024
Virginians bet more than $760.96 million on sports in November 2024, 19.1% more than they bet in November 2023, according to Virginia Lottery data released Tuesday. Virginia bettors won more than $674.6 million in November. About $756.76 million of November’s gross sports gaming revenues came from mobile operators, with the other $4.2 million coming from […]
Micron to invest $2.17B in Manassas expansion
Semiconductor company Micron Technology will invest up to $2.17 billion to expand its Manassas manufacturing facility, creating an expected 340 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. Micron will modernize the plant at 9600 Godwin Drive to produce dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips for automotive, aerospace, defense and industrial markets, according to a news release from […]
Here’s NVAR’s prediction for 2025 NoVa housing market
The Northern Virginia housing market will continue to strengthen in 2025, with moderate price increases and increased market activity, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors’ 2025 regional housing market forecast, produced with George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. Examining the past year, Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis and [&he[...]
Leidos lands $987M Air Force contract
Leidos has won an up to $987 million Air Force contract to provide sustainment support for F-16 Foreign Military Sales customers, the Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor announced Thursday. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a supersonic multirole fighter aircraft used for air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. General Dynamics initially developed the F-16 before selling its […]
Dollar Tree makes interim CEO permanent
Dollar Tree’s interim CEO, Michael C. Creedon Jr., is now the Fortune 500 discount retailer’s permanent CEO. The Chesapeake company announced the board of directors’ appointment on Thursday. Creedon joined Dollar Tree in 2022 as chief operating officer and was appointed interim CEO in November, after former CEO Rick Dreiling stepped down, citing health problems. […]
World’s first commercial fusion power plant planned for Chesterfield
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Massachusetts-based fusion energy company, plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. “It’s a nearly $3 billion capital investment, paying taxes, and it’s a bunch of really high-tech jobs,” Garrett Hart, Chesterfield’s director of economi[...]
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 […]
Raleigh-to-Richmond rail project gains steam
Preliminary construction is underway for the Richmond-to-Raleigh passenger rail project, an estimated 162-mile route along the defunct CSX Transportation S-Line corridor that will speed up travel between the capitals of North Carolina and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C., and the Northeast U.S. “We have basically funded work to advance all of the preliminary engineering […]
Petersburg prepares for casino referendum vote
This November, Petersburg voters will decide the fate of a highly anticipated casino development that could transform the city’s struggling economy. If approved, the proposed $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia project will be built on an undeveloped 100-acre site off Interstate 95, offering easy access to East Coast travelers. “I have worked for […]
Cava opens Verona production and packaging facility
Nearly three years after announcing its initial plans, Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand Cava has opened a production and packaging facility in Augusta County’s Mill Place Commerce Park. The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility in May. The Washington, D.C.-based company invested roughly $35 million to open the 55,000-square-foot facility to help centralize production [...]
U.S. 460 cell towers signal relief to businesses
Buchanan and Tazewell counties’ businesses will soon receive a needed signal boost, thanks to six cell towers under construction across the Route 460 corridor. The towers will increase wireless access along 20 miles of U.S. 460, from Red Ash in Tazewell to Vansant in Buchanan. It’s not a moment too soon, according to businesses that […]
Richmond region scores in sports tourism
With several new and expanded facilities across the region, the greater Richmond area has become an attractive hub for amateur sporting events, bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in added revenue. The region’s amateur sports tourism generated $88.7 million in hospitality-related revenue in fiscal 2023, according to Jerrine Lee, vice […]
Generous Virginians 2024: A heartfelt donation
In philanthropy as in business, Dwight Schar sees the wisdom in doubling down when the stakes — and the impact — of an investment are high. In May 2023, three decades after their initial donation to the organization, Schar and his wife, Martha, made a $75 million matching gift to Falls Church-based Inova Health System. […]
Subs going Down Under
A 2021 agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States should reap benefits in Hampton Roads soon. Dubbed AUKUS for the three participating nations, the international agreement calls for the U.S. and the U.K. to share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia, with the Royal Australian Navy set to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered […]
Australian maritime co. to start sub/shipbuilding school in Hampton Roads
An Australian maritime company announced Tuesday it will set up a submarine and shipbuilding training institution in Norfolk for the short term and will seek a permanent home in Newport News. Quality Maritime Surveyors (QMS), based in the suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, is one of the pioneering companies to take the plunge into Virginia’s waters, […]
The 2024 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards
This February, during Black History Month, Virginia Business is pleased to honor 17 distinguished leaders from across the commonwealth in our second annual Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards. This year’s cohort of honorees represent industries ranging from advertising, architecture, defense contracting, finance and health care to higher education and nonprofits. Our editors chose this year[...]
Va. Ocean Plan taking shape for 2025
As coastal populations grow and traditional and novel maritime industries increase their use of the Atlantic Ocean, the state government is developing a comprehensive plan to support the coexistence of different uses of the ocean. A group of more than 100 stakeholders — including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, […]
A steady breeze
Dominion Energy’s long-anticipated $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is steadily taking shape as gigantic monopile foundations are installed in the ocean floor 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. This past spring, four years after two test turbines began generating power, Dominion installed the first monopile foundation for the 2.6-gigawatt offshore wind farm’s […]
Amazing race
Virginia is reaping thousands of jobs and huge tax revenues as Amazon.com revamps its U.S. delivery network. The e-commerce giant is opening major distribution centers and sorting facilities across the commonwealth as part of its nationwide strategy to get goods to consumers faster and stay one step ahead of competitors like Walmart and Target that […]
Catch a wave
Updated July 26: Chuck Rigney resigned as economic development director after six months on the job. After three decades recruiting businesses to Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampton, Charles E. “Chuck” Rigney is tackling a new challenge: leading Virginia Beach’s economic development. Rigney was named the Resort City’s permanent economic development director in February. It was one year [&hell[...]
Rising alarm
Over the years, scientists have warned about sea-level rise, especially in Norfolk, which has the highest rate on the East Coast. “Norfolk is very flat. When you see a small increase in water levels, a wide part of land floods in response,” says Molly Mitchell, a researcher at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which […]
Digital divide
In a relatively short time, Josh Thomas has seen the Prince William County district he represents in the Virginia House of Delegates transform from farmland and residential neighborhoods to massive buildings filled with the digital infrastructure that stores, processes and distributes huge amounts of information across the global internet, from cloud computing for businesses to […]
Seeing the sites
Despite boasting a world-class port, a highly skilled workforce and easily accessible transportation infrastructures, Hampton Roads perennially comes away empty-handed in attracting large-scale industrial developments. Chalk it up to the region’s lack of shovel-ready sites, a situation that state and local economic development and political leaders are fervently working to change. Last year, the[...]
Hydrogen catches big air in Newport News
Already home to a nascent 176-turbine wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads is expanding its foray into the clean energy industry with the creation of a green hydrogen production facility at Newport News’ Tech Center Research Park. Last spring, the Blacksburg-based Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, which operates the 40-acre park […]
Hazelwood Farms is set to become industrial park
A 328-acre former James City County farm is set to become the largest speculative industrial project along the Interstate 64 corridor between the Port of Virginia and Richmond. Hazelwood Farms was purchased for $12 million in April by Houston-based industrial real estate firm Lovett Industrial, which plans to develop a 2.2 million-square-foot business park on […]
All in good time
For decades, the promise of economic revitalization has tantalized Southwest Virginia. The sparsely populated region, once home to booming coal mining and tobacco industries, has had money and resources thrown at it by local, state and federal governments, but it’s still had a difficult time finding its footing. As the region’s economy has declined, so […]
Beyond number crunching
Becoming a chief financial officer requires much more than just being a good accountant or number cruncher. Indeed, the Journal of Accountancy in 2023 reported a noticeable shift of the top finance officer’s job from being a “CF-No” — or someone who just pulls tight the purse strings — to the “CF-Know.” That’s a leader […]
2024 Virginia Women in Leadership Awards: Leading Ladies
For the fourth annual Women in Leadership Awards, Virginia Business hosted a photo shoot at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where eight of this year’s winners struck poses for Richmond photographer James Lee. Given the surroundings, Lee took inspiration from the museum’s collection and other artwork in staging the photos. The results display a […]
Watercourse of study
Starting this fall, Old Dominion University students will have a new interdisciplinary school dedicated to maritime work, logistics and supply chain management — an upgrade from an earlier program offered through the Strome College of Business. In September 2023, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) approved ODU’s School of Supply Chain, Logistics, […]
Little fish, big pond
Sometimes all it takes is seeing a child watch a crab crawl across a water table for the first time, Nate Sandel has learned. The director of education and community engagement at Nauticus, Norfolk’s science and maritime museum, Sandel saw the look of awe in a fourth-grade boy’s face as he watched crabs walk right […]
Central Virginia Year-in-Review: Pumping the brakes
During the pandemic, companies began pumping the brakes on expansions out of fear of the unknown. But, using that same car-related analogy, by late 2021, they were flooring it, explains Greater Richmond Partnership President and CEO Jennifer Wakefield. And by 2022, they had kicked it into sport mode. “Now it’s shifted back into normal mode,” […]
Central Va. Big Deal: Renaissance times
Henrico County’s near West End is seeing a renaissance. For decades, the area bordering Richmond around the Willow Lawn neighborhood has been home to mostly defunct commercial projects and old homes. But a $450 million project announced in December 2023 to renovate an old Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) campus promises to bring a “transformation” to […]
2024 BEST PLACES TO WORK — LARGE EMPLOYERS WINNER: Patriot Group
In the past five years, Patriot Group International has been recognized four times as the Best Place to Work among large employers in Virginia, but that doesn’t keep company leadership from wanting to do more and do better by its employees. Participation in Best Places to Work “provides us with great insight on some of […]
2024 BEST PLACES TO WORK — SMALL EMPLOYERS WINNER: Troika Solutions
“Partners, process, technology” is the tagline of Reston-based management and technology consulting firm Troika Solutions. In addition to valuing its partnerships with its military and government clients, this service– disabled veteran-owned small business has a keen focus on its partnership with its employees, says the company’s president and CEO, Kenneth Lasure. That’s “becau[...]
100 People to Meet in 2024
Virginia is full of interesting people, and when it comes to this year’s batch of 100 people to meet for 2024, the commonwealth continues to deliver a bevy of fascinating newsmakers, professionals and go-getters worthy of your valuable networking time. In Virginia Business’ fifth annual list of people to meet in the new year, you’ll […]
Shattering the glass ceiling
The COVID-19 pandemic has been unusually difficult for professional women, especially those with young children or other responsibilities, such as caring for older family members. Many had to leave work entirely or put pursuing their career goals on the back burner during the past year while handling personal duties at home. The pandemic’s future impact […]
Greensville ‘bouncing back’ after Boar’s Head plant closure
Nearly three months after Boar’s Head shut down its Jarratt plant, North Carolina-based Carolina Structural Systems announced Nov. 25 that it would spend $5.5 million to build a manufacturing site for custom trusses and similar products in Greensville County, adding 58 jobs. The county’s economic development director, Natalie Slate, calls the announcement a good start […]
New dockworker strike threat looms for Port of Virginia
Shippers in Hampton Roads are bracing for a renewed dockworker strike in mid-January after contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance stalled in November. More than 45,000 dockworkers walked off their jobs for three days starting Oct. 1 at ports from Maine through Texas, including at the Port of […]
George Mason’s Fuse tech hub opens to public
On the third floor of George Mason University’s new state-of-the-art Fuse tech hub, robots jumped, begged, rolled over and offered a mechanical paw to shake Friday while a small drone hovered above. The endearing welcome by George Mason’s RobotiXX Lab robots offered a brief glimpse into the future for the group of academics and students […]
Mind the gap
Margaret Abrams was studying engineering at Liberty University when she came across an online job advertisement from Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries. HII, Virginia’s largest industrial employer, was offering a $2,500 signing bonus to job candidates who successfully completed a 16-week computer numerical control training at the Navy’s Advanced Training in Defense Manufacturing [...]
Amazon, Dominion agree to explore nuclear development
With power consumption by data centers and AI projected to more than quadruple in Virginia in the next 15 years, Amazon.com and Dominion Energy Virginia have entered into an agreement to explore potential development of small modular nuclear reactors at North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, the two companies announced during an Oct. 16 […]
Energy storage projects slated for Greensville, Pittsylvania
Two energy storage projects proposed for Southern Virginia would help augment the area’s power capacity, diversify the region’s tax base and boost the regional economy, industry representatives say. Dominion Energy Virginia wants to build a liquified natural gas storage facility on more than 20 acres that the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility owns next to its […]
As data centers grow, Amazon and Dominion explore small nuclear reactors
With power consumption by data centers and AI projected to more than quadruple in Virginia in the next 15 years, Amazon.com and Dominion Energy Virginia have entered into an agreement to explore potential development of small modular nuclear reactors at North Anna Power Plant in Louisa County, the two companies announced at an event Wednesday […]
A smart defense
In late 2020, the Air Force made headlines when it announced that an artificial intelligence co-pilot, named ARTUµ, helped command and control a U.S. military spy plane for the first time in history. If the name, pronounced R-2, sounds familiar, it is. Think R2-D2, or “Artoo,” Luke Skywalker’s lovable droid and X-Wing copilot from the […]
Dropping anchor
LS GreenLink USA spent two years on site selection, scouring much of the East Coast for the right location to build a 750,000-square-foot factory to manufacture subsea cables for offshore wind farms. Then it landed on Chesapeake. Patrick Shim, LS GreenLink’s managing director, cited several reasons for the company’s decision: access to the Port of […]
IALR names EVP of operations
Lynchburg’s assistant city manager, John Hughes IV, has been named executive vice president of operations at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, the institute announced Monday. Hughes started in his new role Thursday. He reports directly to IALR President Telly Tucker and serves as the institute’s chief business and operations officer. “I […]
34 Va. companies make 2022 Fortune 1000 list
Thirty-four Virginia-based companies made Fortune magazine’s 68th annual Fortune 1000 list, which was released Monday. The list ranks the 1,000 largest United States corporations by total revenue, including public companies and private companies for which revenue information is available. Twenty-one companies made the elite Fortune 500 list, including Henrico County-based convenience retail hold[...]